Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, as I told my colleague, we will always be there to protect Canadians, in Afghanistan or elsewhere in the world. That is a priority for our government.
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Mr. Speaker, any Canadian who is imprisoned anywhere in the world is a priority and has access to consular services.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague needs to understand two things. First of all, the situation in Afghanistan is very difficult right now in terms of safety and security. That is why my deputy minister went to the region to try to find solutions to bring in the 40,000 refugees as quickly as possible. In the meantime, however, my job is to speak with other countries—
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Mr. Speaker, of course we have the resources. When we welcomed 65,000 Syrian refugees, we were successful and we had the resources. My esteemed colleagues should be proud, because not many countries in the world would be prepared to receive 40,000 Afghans. We can be proud because we are ready to welcome them and we will be proud to welcome them.
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Mr. Speaker, I would reply, why not?
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Mr. Speaker, there are several. Many of them have a connection to Canada. However, because Canada left Afghanistan in 2014, many interpreters also have a connection to several other countries because they were often serving other members of NATO, the military alliance Canada belongs to that was present in Afghanistan. I also want to let my colleague know that a number of countries are in a situati…
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Mr. Speaker, that would be a question for my colleague, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, but with regard to the consular services that were offered and are still available. However, the diplomatic mission in Kabul is no longer—
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Mr. Speaker, of course, conditions in Afghanistan were difficult and have become even more so since the Americans decided to leave the country.
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Mr. Speaker, I was not in office at the time. However, I can tell my colleague that when the Americans decided to leave Afghanistan last August, Canada had long since left Afghanistan, in 2011, and its remaining soldiers left the country in 2014.
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Mr. Speaker, I do not know where my colleague is going with his question, but Canada is clearly a member of the Five Eyes, and we co-operate on a range of issues.
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Mr. Speaker, I wish to reassure my colleague that, yes, we still have a good relationship, not only with the Biden administration, but also with Congress and all Americans.
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Mr. Speaker, we did raise the question of critical elements with the Biden administration. It is very important. It is important that, throughout North America, we believe in the importance of the auto sector and its supply chain, which goes to the critical elements sector. Of course, we will make the right investment to make it happen. Canada can be extremely proud of having these resources in ou…
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Mr. Speaker, I think the numbers show themselves. The employment sector right now is stronger in Canada than in the U.S. and many other countries. I also know that many companies are willing to invest in Canada and have been doing so. Six months ago, I was with the Prime Minister talking with the aerospace sector, and billions of dollars are being invested across the country in this sector.
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Mr. Speaker, our employment numbers are even better than those of the U.S. My colleague should look at the figures. At this point, we have been able to get 106% of all the jobs back since the beginning of the pandemic. That is because we have a great environment for investment in our country and we are also able to attract many companies to invest.
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Mr. Speaker, as the former tourism minister, I know that this is a very important industry to Canada. I also know that we have been there to support the industry, particularly with help for its workers and also for many businesses, the small ones and the big ones, which have had access to COVID measures throughout the pandemic.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague did not talk about Line 5, but I did.
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Mr. Speaker, I know my colleague has not raised it yet, but the question of Line 5 is also very important. That is why we have started negotiations with the United States under the 1977 treaty.
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Mr. Speaker, the U.S. knows very well that Canada is the first supplier of oil and gas and, of course, Keystone XL is a very important tool to ensure it has access to our market. We will continue to raise this issue with the administration in the U.S.
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Mr. Speaker, we will always be there to fight for the national interest and work with our workers in the oil and gas sector. I hope my colleague was able to convey the importance of our auto sector while he was in Washington, because that was the goal of our mission there.
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Mr. Speaker, the premise of the question is false. Many people in United States Congress and within the executive branch, particularly the White House and the different state and trade departments, are very much aware of the issue of electric vehicles.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague can count on the fact that we have a strong team Canada approach within cabinet, but also the Prime Minister is very much on this issue.
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Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned to my colleague, should there be a trade irritant that violates CUSMA, we will take necessary action.
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Mr. Speaker, we will always be there to raise any form of trade irritants with the United States and with any other countries with which we have free trade agreements. That is also exactly why we have a mechanism that is very important in CUSMA, which is about settlement dispute mechanisms, which the Conservatives were against.
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Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Innovation is in Detroit right now to talk about just that. We believe that we need to invest in critical elements and we need to make it part of our industrial policy.
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Mr. Speaker, I am not here to comment on hypotheses. I am here to ensure that I answer clear questions from my colleagues. I want to reassure the member that when it comes to a relationship with the United States, we want to work with the opposition, all the opposition, because it is important that we have a team Canada approach.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague can trust the government when it comes to negotiating with the United States. Also, he can trust that we have a good deal in CUSMA. That is exactly why we know that our farmers can count on having important access to the American and Mexican markets.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague knows that we will always be there to defend our entrepreneurs and our workers. We know that when it comes to the U.S., many jobs on the U.S. side and on the Canadian side of the border are dependent on this relationship. That is why we want to make sure that we have a good relationship, but at the same time that we defend our interests.
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Mr. Speaker, it is a very important industry, and we will always be there to make sure that we work with the workers and the entrepreneurs in the sector.
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Mr. Speaker, I know my colleague the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food has been on this. It is important that we work with farmers in P.E.I., and that is what she has been doing. We are working right now on many solutions, but we will always fight for our farmers in P.E.I. We know that the potato industry is important and we have the industry's back.
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Mr. Speaker, we will not take any lessons from the Conservatives when it comes to trade with the U.S. The member should talk to the Leader of the Opposition, his boss, regarding the fact that during the CUSMA negotiations, he himself wanted to capitulate. We were there and we fought strongly for our own national interests and our industries and we were able to make a good deal for Canadians.
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Mr. Speaker, I refuse to accept the premise of the question. Of course we have an independent foreign policy and are very proud of it.
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Mr. Speaker, I share my colleague's concern regarding potatoes in P.E.I. We know it is a very important industry. That is why I have been in contact with the premier on this very question. Also, the Prime Minister raised it with President Biden when we were in the Oval Office two weeks ago.
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Mr. Speaker, the Minister of International Trade always raises important questions. She has been on this, as has the deputy minister. It was clearly part of the negotiations of CUSMA that we were able to make sure that we were fighting for it.
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Madam Chair, workers in Alberta, Saskatchewan and across Canada will have our support when it comes to their natural resources sector, particularly the oil and gas sector. We also know that Canada is the single-largest supplier of energy to the United States, and we always remind our friends in the U.S. of that.
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Madam Chair, I share my colleague's concerns regarding the next winter Olympics. We were informed by the United States yesterday about its decision to not send any diplomats to Beijing. We will continue to engage with our allies and like-minded countries on this issue. I know my colleague shares my point of view in terms of ensuring that our athletes can attend, but obviously we are still in discu…
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Madam Chair, let me start by saying that we are very happy that the two Michaels, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, are back home. I would like to thank everybody who was involved in ensuring we were able to get them released, including Ambassador Barton, the Prime Minister and many of our colleagues in the House.
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Madam Chair, every time we meet our colleagues and friends in the U.S., we mention our national interests, and obviously we raised the question of Line 5, which is key to ensuring we can get our product to markets, including in the U.S.
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Madam Chair, my colleague is right that this issue was raised by congresswomen and congressmen in the U.S., and I had the chance to have a conversation with the Prime Minister directly about it. I know it is very important. It is dear to me as well, and we are working on solutions.
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Madam Chair, obviously what is happening right now in Ukraine is very important. We know there is a Russian military buildup on the border of Ukraine, and that is why I raised this very issue with my colleagues at NATO and the OSCE, including Ukraine's foreign affairs minister, my counterpart in the U.S. and my Russian counterpart. We take allegations very seriously and want to make sure that we d…
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Madam Chair, obviously we want to make sure that we are able to resettle 40,000 Afghan refugees. My deputy had the chance to go to the region, including to Qatar, Kuwait and Pakistan, to find ways to partner with these countries to resettle the 40,000 refugees I just mentioned.
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Mr. Speaker, I was having technical problems, not with the vote we just had, but with the previous vote on the motion moved by the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan. I would like to change my vote and vote in favour of the motion.
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