Laurel Collins

[Business of Supply, February 4th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for standing up for women's rights and sex worker rights.

Sex workers warned the government that the current sex work laws would result in more violence and put sex workers at risk. This tragic case could have been avoided if we did not allow discrimination and stigma to shape our policies.

Sex workers' rights are human rights. We criminalize the environments and the very things that would keep the workers safe, but then disregard their safety when a perpetrator's ongoing violence against women is not a reason to ensure the safety of women, all women.

My colleague mentioned that the perpetrator had been violent before at the massage parlour. However, because of the laws that criminalize the security and establishments that could keep sex workers safe, this was not able to be reported. Sex workers have said that they are the experts but that no one listens to them.

How would this event be different if we listened to sex workers, if we supported sex workers and their workplaces in reporting violence without repercussions? How would this event be different if we had a government that took violence against women seriously?

[Business of Supply, February 4th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, my thoughts are with the victim and her family. This was a terrible event and we need to ensure that it never happens again.

Violence against women is a problem that needs to be tackled seriously and it is a problem that was not tackled by the previous Conservative government and has not been tackled adequately by the current Liberal government.

The misogyny at the root of this event is apparent in the act itself, in the board's decision and in the laws that prevent sex workers from taking measures that would keep them safe.

Do the Conservatives agree that the risks for violence against women and sex worker rights are explicit factors to be considered in this study?

[The Environment, February 3rd, 2020]

Madam Speaker, we still do not have an answer to why Environment Canada investigators that were responsible to the minister took so long in their investigation and why the matter was not referred to the RCMP to pursue criminal charges, despite legally admissible statements of fact and admission of criminal wrongdoing in the U.S.

While Volkswagen was found criminally responsible in the U.S., here in Canada it was ordered to pay $196 million, which is $70 million less than the maximum fine. That is $70 million off. That sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me for a foreign company that was found guilty of committing what amounts to environmental fraud, a company that purposely put the health of Canadians and the planet at risk.

The Liberal government claims to be serious about climate change, so when will it stop making backroom deals with corporate lobbyists? When will it start standing up for Canadians and the planet?

[The Environment, February 3rd, 2020]

Madam Speaker, Volkswagen was caught lying about illegal levels of emissions. Volkswagen Canada has finally formally pleaded guilty to 60 offences under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act and was ordered to pay a fine, a fine that is $70 million short of the maximum that could have been sought. The government keeps bragging that it is the largest fine ever awarded. If letting big polluters off the hook for $70 million is the best ever, we have a bigger problem.

Last week, I asked the Prime Minister to explain why it took years to charge Volkswagen for illegally cheating emissions testing, especially when the U.S. quickly charged VW and made the company pay $20 billion.

Let us look at the facts. The company has admitted to using so-called defeat devices that allowed them to pass emissions tests while actually emitting far more nitrogen oxide than legally permissible, putting the health of Canadians and the planet at risk. Their cheating was initially discovered by U.S. scientists, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a notice of violation in 2015. Volkswagen attempted to cover up the scandal, but eventually caved under legal pressure in the U.S. and pleaded guilty, just over a year later, to three criminal felonies and agreed to pay $20 billion. They also entered an agreed statement of fact about those felonies that would have been admissible in Canadian court.

According to internal documents, Environment Canada worked closely with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency during their respective investigations, which began in Canada in September 2015. However, charges were not filed until December 2019, four years later, despite the legally admissible statement of fact existing from the U.S. for the last three of those years.

There has been no public accounting for the length of the investigation. Environment and Climate Change Canada's investigators are not independent law enforcement officers. They are designated by and responsible to the minister. The charges appear to have been laid only after a plea agreement was reached, and the Canadian charges don't go as far as U.S. charges, despite the fact that we have the same emissions laws. Volkswagen has not been charged under the Criminal Code, and there is no evidence that investigators referred the matter to the RCMP, even though VW admitted to criminal wrongdoing in the U.S.

Canadian emissions laws are the same as those in the U.S., so why did it take years to charge Volkswagen in Canada while the U.S. quickly charged VW? Why did Canada wait so long, and why did VW get a fine that is well below the maximum? We do not know. What we do know is that ministers' offices and officials from the PMO, including Mathieu Bouchard, who some may remember from his involvement in the SNC scandal, started meeting with Volkswagen lobbyists during this time. It looks a lot like a corporation that was found guilty of committing what amounts to environmental fraud got a backroom deal.

We are facing a climate crisis, so why do the Liberals keep letting big polluters off the hook, and why do they keep putting corporate profits ahead of Canadians and the planet?

[Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement Implementation Act, January 30th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, the hon. member talked about drug prices and about fundamentally being on Canadians' side. However, when it comes to pharmaceutical prices and transparency in trade deals, the Liberals have consistently shown that they are on the side of big corporations.

The Liberals promised an entire chapter to promote gender equality, but where is that? We see only superficial language on gender equality. They promised an entire chapter to promote indigenous rights, yet there is no mention of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

New Democrats believe in strong environmental provisions that can be fully enforceable, and in making sure that we are in line with our obligations in the Paris Agreement. We only got rid of chapter 11 investor-state provisions because of the work of Democrats in the U.S.

Why do Canadians need to rely on U.S. Democrats to stand up for them?

[The Environment, January 29th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, Volkswagen was caught lying about illegal levels of emissions. It pleaded guilty in the U.S. and paid a $20-billion fine.

Why did Canada wait years before laying charges? We do not know. What we do know is that Liberal ministers started meeting with Volkswagen lobbyists, and it looks like this corporation that was found guilty of committing environmental fraud got a backroom deal.

We are facing a climate crisis, so why are the Liberals putting corporate profits ahead of Canadians and the planet?

[Climate Change, December 6th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, young people have been taking to the streets calling for action on the climate crisis. They are worried about our future. They do not need more pretty words. They need action now. They want ambitious targets, a green new deal and the government to wake up. Instead, the Liberals are hitting the snooze button, kicking targets from 2030 to 2050.

Canadians are tired of the Liberal government's empty words, declaring a climate emergency one day and approving a pipeline the next. The government promised to end fossil fuel subsidies but still hands out billions to big oil and gas companies.

COP25 is a time to announce real action to invest in green jobs, power, transit and housing; to eliminate all fossil fuel subsidies; and to put tougher emission targets into law.

Canadians are counting on us.