Debates of June 1st, 2023

Democratic Institutions

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is not inconsequential: A foreign power is attacking our democracy.

Most Canadians are concerned and are calling for a public inquiry. Most of the people elected by these Canadians are calling for a public inquiry. Only one man, the Prime Minister, is going against the will of the people. The Prime Minister's only supporter, David Johnston, is an unelected individual who, by his own admission, reports only to the Prime Minister, and certainly not to Canadians or their elected officials.

If we want to defend our democracy, we must start by respecting our democracy. What does the Prime Minister not understand about that?

[Pascale St-Onge, Liberal, Minister of Sport and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec]

Mr. Speaker, we must not forget that by obtaining their security clearance, the leaders of the parties will have access to the secret information used by David Johnston.

The responsible thing to do is to debate the facts, and not just opinions, get the security clearance, attend the briefings and then work with the rest of the House to propose solutions to better protect our democracy and our institutions, because foreign interference is everyone's business.

Emergency Preparedness

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, wildfires are raging across the country. We are seeing forest fires like we have never seen before so early in the season. Regions in the Atlantic are hard hit. The Prairies are hard hit, as well as northern communities and the west. Communities are hard hit and impacted.

What is the government going to do to deal with what might be a record-breaking year for forest fires and damage to communities?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, we have seen a very significant number of fires in this country. In fact, 2.7 million hectares of forest have been lost to fires so far this season. We are working very closely with provincial and territorial partners, and we are making significant investments.

I will also acknowledge that there is a great deal more work to do.

Health

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we are facing an opioid crisis that has killed a record number of people across the country.

I have met mothers who have lost a child to this opioid crisis. They requested a meeting with the leader of the Conservative Party, but he refused to meet with them. That is disrespectful.

When will this government finally take action to save lives?

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, it is shameful that the opposition leader is so committed to an outdated, discredited and illogical bumper-sticker drug policy.

His fearmongering will increase stigma and cost lives. The supervised consumption sites he wants to close have prevented over 46,000 overdoses since 2017.

We cannot return to the failed Conservative ideology of the past.

Democratic Institutions

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, in response to yesterday's vote, in which members of Parliament, representing a clear majority of Canadian voters, demanded that he step down, phony rapporteur David Johnston said he is not going anywhere. In fact, he said—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

There are some words that have a meaning that is just not really parliamentary. I am going to ask the member to keep going, but remember that.

Please start from the top, with nice language.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, in response to yesterday's vote, where MPs, representing a clear majority of Canadians, voted for him to step aside, rapporteur David Johnston said he is not going anywhere. In fact, he said he does not work for Parliament or Canadians; he said he works for the government.

That is the problem. He works for the same Liberal government that benefited from Beijing's election interference. He personally serves the Prime Minister, who chose to do nothing while Chinese Canadians were bullied into voting for his Liberal Party. Nobody is fooled by this sham of a process. When will the Prime Minister fire his ski buddy and call a public inquiry?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, I am reminded once again that it is not only unfair but also deeply offensive to listen to the member opposite question Mr. Johnston's allegiance to this country. His 50-year career in public service has made it clear to everyone that his loyalty is to Canada. As I also said, and to quote former prime minister Harper, “[David Johnston] represents hard work, dedication, public service and humility.” Canada is blessed to have a man so dedicated to public service, persevering through this type of abuse.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is cursed by a Prime Minister who tarnished that man's reputation by involving him in this scandal.

The Prime Minister cannot be the one to decide how to investigate this scandal, because he benefited from it. David Johnston cannot decide either, because he is a family friend and a long-time member of the Trudeau Foundation. Frank Iacobucci cannot be the one to sign off on David Johnston's role, because he is part of the Trudeau Foundation as well. Those are conflicts of interest.

Why is it that whenever the best interests of Canadians conflict with the political interests of the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister always chooses himself?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, protecting Canada from the nefarious, hostile activities of foreign-state actors is a priority for our government. We have taken very significant action to protect Canadian institutions and, in particular, our democracy. We recognize that there is more work—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Order. I am going to interrupt for a second. I am going to ask for everyone to respect each other so that one side does not see the other one is screaming. It goes both ways, and that is the way we are going to enforce it.

The hon. minister, from the top please. Hopefully, we have some peace and quiet and some respect in this chamber.

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Scarborough Southwest, ON]

Mr. Speaker, protecting Canada from nefarious hostile activities of such foreign-state actors as China is a priority for our government. We have taken significant action to protect the integrity of Canadian institutions and, in particular, our democracy. We recognize that there is more work to do, and we all have a responsibility to stand up and protect our democracy. I would invite all members to cease their attacks on some of the finest Canadians I know and to unite in this important work.

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Edmonton, AB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, after this House voted non-confidence in the so-called special rapporteur, the rapporteur issued a statement in which he said that he does not answer to this House; instead, he answers to the Prime Minister. Now that the Prime Minister's so-called rapporteur has finally admitted that he is not independent, will the Prime Minister end the charade, fire him and call an independent public inquiry?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, as I already explained, Mr. Johnston's 50-year career in public service, culminating in his role as the governor general of this country, has made it crystal clear to all Canadians that his loyalty is to Canada—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I think everyone asked me to stop people from heckling and shouting, but I am still hearing voices coming. I will do it for each side. If members do not want me interrupting them over and over again, we might have to change the way we do things in here as far as the list goes. I expect quiet.

I am going to ask the hon. minister to start again.

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Scarborough Southwest, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as I have already made clear, Mr. Johnston has a 50-year career in public service, culminating in his role as the former governor general of Canada. This has made it crystal clear to all Canadians, and certainly to this House, that his loyalty is to this country, to this nation, to Canada. His ideals of hard-working dedication, and his commitment to persevere through some of the, frankly, offensive criticism that is being sent his way, is something for which all Canadians should be grateful.

We are very fortunate to have a man of his experience and values leading this work on behalf of the nation.

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Edmonton, AB]

Mr. Speaker, his loyalty should be to the people of Canada and the elected members of this place, not to the Prime Minister.

This House voted non-confidence, and Canadians have no confidence in the so-called special rapporteur because he is in a conflict. He is a lifelong friend of the Prime Minister and a former member of the Beijing-financed Trudeau Foundation. Yesterday, he admitted that he does not work for Canadians; he works for the Prime Minister.

Why will the Prime Minister not acknowledge this blatant conflict of interest and fire his fake rapporteur?

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the only thing fake in this place is the Conservative outrage.

All Canadians expect opposition parties to work hard to criticize government, but what Canadians also expect is that they do so with information and that they are informed. By refusing to receive the confidential information that was the basis of the Right Hon. David Johnston's report, the Conservatives are living under a veil of ignorance. However, Canadians expect that, on issues of national security, there are reasonable, responsible members in this House serving their—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

With the interference that I am still hearing, I am going to try something different. The end of the list may be less noisy.

The hon. member for Spadina—Fort York.

Foreign Affairs

[Kevin Vuong, Independent, Spadina—Fort York, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today marks 1,241 days since the IRGC murdered 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents among 176 people killed when Flight PS752 was shot down. One of them was my friend.

Last year, on the 1,000th day, Iranian Canadians came to Ottawa to get justice for those innocent victims and get action on Iranian operatives who threaten and intimidate Iranian Canadians on our own soil. They also wanted their government to finally designate the IRGC as terrorists, but they got only useless platitudes.

On June 11, when they return to Parliament Hill, will they again receive empty promises?

[Maninder Sidhu, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the Iranian regime bears full responsibility for the tragic downing of Flight PS752.

We are focused on the next steps, and we will continue to pursue all available means for holding the Iranian regime accountable. Action is under way, under the Montreal Convention, and we are seeking binding arbitration. If an arbitration tribunal cannot be organized within six months, we will then be able to move on to litigation before the International Court of Justice.

We will not rest until the families have the justice, transparency and accountability from Iran that they so truly deserve.

Air Transportation

[Lori Idlout, NDP, Nunavut, NU]

Uqaqtittiji, communities in Nunavut must rely on safe, affordable and accessible air transportation. The government's new deal with Canadian North jeopardizes the overall well-being of Nunavummiut. Raising prices would increase the cost of food and supplies and threaten the health care that people in Nunavut rely on, which is already limited.

Will the government commit to keeping air travel affordable, so northerners can access the services and care they need?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, our government understands the importance of accessible and affordable air transportation to many regions of Canada, including the north. We have been working diligently with the airline and the territories to ensure that the airline is able to maintain viable, efficient transportation. This will ensure that people who live in the north are able to access that critical service.