Liberal Minister Gets TORN APART By Conservative MPs!

Added: 2026-05-26

[00:00:00]Uh do do you recall and it's a line you've used a few times uh in mid late February. You've used the line before in a CTV interview and also in a speech.

[00:00:11]Canadians will make the best cars in the world for the world. Do you remember that line?

[00:00:15]>> Yeah, of course. And I stand by it.

[00:00:17]>> Right. And so I guess so is your position that Canadian automakers will export vehicles from Canada around the world to markets other than the United States? Well, you know, I think that uh Canadian automakers are reckoning the fact that there is an overdependency on the US with 90% uh and more of the entire production being exported to the US. Now, we will anchor them and protect them and we will support them. 75% of all the uh auto production in Canada is Honda and Toyota. And so, I was on the phone even this weekend with Dave Gemson, the CEO of Honda Canada, to make sure that that's the case for Honda. And we'll do that for Toyota. But you know for example Ford which is undergoing its a a major investment the biggest investment in its history in Canada 4 billion dollars of investment is actually looking also at exporting elsewhere and that's part of their business model. And so I'm not stating this because it's something that No, but I just want to finish my my my my uh my phrase my sentence. Sorry. Uh I just want to finish my >> I'm going to let you >> My point is I'm I'm getting the from automakers that don't worry I'll pause it.

[00:01:29]>> That's okay. So you believe that there is a business case that supports Canadian automakers exporting vehicles globally to markets outside the US. Is that correct?

[00:01:40]>> Based on my conversation with them with that's what they're proposing us.

[00:01:44]>> So are you aware has your department done economic analysis on this business case? like is there economic analysis the government has done that shows it's viable for Canadian automakers to produce vehicles here to export them to Asia or Europe as an example >> or the Middle East. Well, that's exactly why the prime minister has been going around the world and signing.

[00:02:06]>> The question is are you aware of any economic analysis that your department or any department has done in the government that supports the notion that Canadian automakers will export or can export vehicles.

[00:02:19]So I get your point but this is not up to the government to make that assumption. If the companies want to do that and they're proposing that we will support them and that's exactly I think also what they're looking at is passenger vehicles and also defense production and so you're going to see that more and more as we're putting into place their defense industrial strategy.

[00:02:38]>> So is your testimony that Canadian automakers have approached the government to say that they believe that there's a market global market?

[00:02:46]>> Absolutely.

[00:02:46]>> Okay. So Honda and Toyota have told you for example that they believe they can build cars in Canada and export them to the Middle East, Asia or >> I'm so two things two things.

[00:02:59]>> First um we've been approached by uh companies and I I can't say which one because obviously that's is business confidential information commercial.

[00:03:09]>> Well, no company has come to any of committees on Parliament Hill or gone to the media to suggest that this is a viable uh business plan.

[00:03:17]>> Listen, I'm telling you that that's what we're getting as information. So, uh also we have free trade agreements uh with many different uh markets and you know basically uh countries around the world that also why it's important but what I would say also is of course we know that the auto sector is affected by the tariffs. We know we need to protect the auto sector and that is why we'll fight for it in the context of the revision of the USMCA.

[00:03:47]>> So do you believe the Canadian auto sector can survive without access to the US market?

[00:03:52]>> I think that we need to be able to work on many scenarios and right now as the uh the conversations with the US government is continuing. We're also finding solutions to reopen Ingresol and reopen Bmpton.

[00:04:07]>> Okay. Uh my understanding is there's supposed to be a remiss process set up for the auto sector. Uh it's been a year. My understanding is that remissions process is still not set up.

[00:04:18]Are you aware of that?

[00:04:19]>> No, I think you're wrong. I think that the remission system was put into place a year ago because we had caner tariff.

[00:04:25]So I just want you to understand the remission system. But just if in my in my remaining time if if I'm wrong, do you think that you'd be able to provide to the committee the amount of money that's been remitted to Canadian automakers under the remissions process?

[00:04:38]>> So we can definitely work on try finding you the the right information, but what I can tell you is the remission framework is a year old because it's based on on counter tariffs. Now, what I think you're alluding to is the fact that in the auto strategy, we would be reviewing this remission framework, which we want to review because we want to be able to say to Honda and Toyota that actually have increased their production, that they would be able to increase their market access of cars made in the US without tariffs. Well, I look forward to the information that you'll share with the committee that shows the dollar value that Canadian automakers have chambers and minister to remission. Thank you.

[00:05:20]>> Direct the discussion.

[00:05:22]>> Minister, you outlined in part the crisis facing our auto sector. Can you clearly outline the the topline argument you have for importing 49,000 Chinese EVs into Canada? How that will benefit or not our domestic auto manufacturing sector?

[00:05:35]>> I think the plan was clear and the prime minister mentioned it at the time. Our goal was to make sure that first we were we would be able to support a canola farmers that are so important in the prairies as you know. Uh second being able also to protect our fishers that have been also uh targeted by tariffs and that was good for people in Atlantic Canada and also in the north and the west coast. And third, uh, in 2023, uh, Canada was already importing 43,000 uh, cars from China. Uh, and this is, uh, uh, uh, small increase, uh, from what we were in.

[00:06:14]>> I appreciate you bringing up the agricultural, uh, exports because, as you know, that's not really an equal exchange the way that your government negotiated. It's only a temporary reprieve of some of the agricultural export controls that China put on as pork still remains, canola oil still remains, and the reprieve that you did uh that you did get is expiring by the end of this year. But when these Chinese ves come into Canada, as you well know, they're they're here to stay. So, you didn't negotiate a long-term agreement for our canola farmers. And so, they don't think that that exchange is quite how you're how you're selling it. But I am glad that you brought up 2023 because it was the following it was the following year about a year and a half ago I suppose that you yourself as you know put in quite strong restrictions for Chinese electric vehicles. In fact you said the reason was was because they would put unwarranted downward pressure on pricing challenging the profitability of Canadian producers and they would reduce choice by crowding out other imports. And you were really correct in that instance minister. of course in Mexico, Indonesia, Brazil, Australia, most places that have allowed Chinese e Chinese EVs have crowded out that market and jeopardized that domestic supply chain. So again, I'm not clear why you're bringing these in when we're facing such a crisis in the auto sector in Canada. So, first and foremost, when it comes to our uh negotiation with China, I think that many premers were actually very positive regarding uh the importance of this deal and the consequences on Canadians particularly actually in the prairies, including Premier Mo, Conservative uh premier. Um and I think that it was important to be able to settle key issues particularly when it comes to agriculture. At the same time, I think it was important issues are not I think it is I think it is important to be able also to understand that >> uh 49,000 uh vehicles while being important is some some um less than 3% of the entire production in Canada. I'm sorry my colleague is talking over me.

[00:08:10]So I just want to finish my answer.

[00:08:11]>> Yeah, madam n I'm going to give the minister another kind of 20 or so here to wrap up her response at which point we'll go back to you. So my my point is it's less than 3% of production and in that sense we are working already with uh many companies who are will be uh will be uh important to Canada but at the same time we're uh trying to uh support not only uh ongoing production in Canada but actually increase in production and that's exactly what has happened in the last year. There's been an increase in production in the auto sector.

[00:08:40]>> The agriculture issue is not by any means settled again. And it's a temporary reprieve on part of the agricultural exports. And in fact, in the last 10 years that you that you have been a minister and that the Liberal government has been in power, the Chinese uh government has used our agriculture and our farmers as a baton to beat Canada with to coersse us with over four or five times I believe. So consistently this is an issue that you have failed to resolve in the long term.

[00:09:03]a number another of the issues that you cited um sort of one of the three standards you said last time you were here of allowing these vehicles into Canada was labor standards. So I want to go back to the force labor issue. You said to my colleague Mr. Faulk that your point of view will always be to follow what the UN is saying. the UN is unequivocal and of course as you know from the office of the UN high commissioner on human rights um they've said that there was various course of methods being used uh to secure surplus laborers in Xi Jang there are serious human rights violations have been committed in Chuir a UN 20 uh 2022 reports that there are indications that labor and employment schemes appear to be discriminatory in nature involve elements of coercion in January of this year UN experts expressed deep concern regarding persistent allegations of forced labor they went on to say in many cases the coercive elements are so severe that they may amount to forcible transfer or enslavement as a crime against humanity. So if you're agreeing with the UN, how are you allowing the import to vehicles that may have aluminum in them, for example, that's been traced to force labor? How how are you justifying this?

[00:10:04]>> So Mr. Chair, there was an entire um uh testimony on my part um um uh three weeks ago just before the recess uh where I spent an hour explaining our position on EVs. I think there's been an entire study on the part of uh parliamentarians. So, of course, uh everything that I said at the time still holds and everything that I've said on forced labor still holds.

[00:10:30]>> But at the time, you sort of kicked the bucket over to CBSA and your public safety colleague. You said that he'll deal with it. But if you agree that there's forced labor going on, you have allowed this negotiation to allow these 49,000 vehicles to enter and you're saying, well, public safety will deal with it. So that it's just not a nonsensical position. Either you believe that this is happening that they therefore should not come in or you're kicking it over to public safety, say, well, maybe he'll catch them. So are you saying is your position then that public safety and CBSA will will turn them away? Is that the position of the federal government? So I think that you're making an um assumption on the 49,000 EVs uh that is only linked to different Chinese auto companies which I you know I would challenge uh and we are in for Can I just finish my answer?

[00:11:18]>> Yeah. And I we're we're we're going to be overtime. So I'm going to give the minister the opportunity to reply.

[00:11:24]>> Is um there will be lots of Western auto companies uh shipping their uh cars to Canada and eventually there will be also a Chinese one but at this point uh the allocation of the 49,000 is not over yet.

[00:11:40]>> Okay. Thank you very much Madame Dano.

[00:11:41]Madame Oor the floor is yours for six minutes.