Evidence of meeting #12 for COVID-19 Pandemic in the 43rd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was report.
A video is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Rosemarie Falk Conservative Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK
Chair, in December 2018 the Liberals passed Bill C-76. This included provisions to prevent foreign interference in Canadian society.
Does the government believe that Joyce Murray's actions have violated this portion of the act?
Bill Blair LiberalMinister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Mr. Chair, I want to assure the member that we are always vigilant in any foreign interference in our national security or issues of political interference in our society. It's monitored carefully by the national security establishment, according to the law as it exists in this country, and we will remain vigilant.
Conservative
Rosemarie Falk Conservative Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK
Chair, in May 2019, the Liberals launched their digital charter. One of the principles was strong democracy, a commitment to defend freedom of expression. Will the Liberals hold Joyce Murray's WeChat accountable if it has violated this part of the charter?
Liberal
Bill Blair Liberal Scarborough Southwest, ON
Mr. Chair, we are absolutely committed to the rule of law and will always uphold it. I think, as the minister has made very clear, she was not involved in this process and has no control over the individual who posted that matter.
Conservative
Rosemarie Falk Conservative Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK
Chair, unfortunately I don't believe that was a sufficient answer. This is really a yes or no.
Will the government hold Joyce Murray's WeChat accountable if it has violated their part of the charter?
Liberal
Bill Blair Liberal Scarborough Southwest, ON
Again, Mr. Chair, I want to assure the member that our government remains committed to the rule of law and we will always work tirelessly to uphold the laws of this country.
Conservative
Liberal
Bill Blair Liberal Scarborough Southwest, ON
Again, I think it was very clear. We will always uphold the laws of Canada.
Conservative
Rosemarie Falk Conservative Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK
Still, was that a yes or a no? I'm not hearing a yes or a no.
Liberal
Bill Blair Liberal Scarborough Southwest, ON
I am doing my very best, Mr. Chair, to answer the question for the House and to assure the member opposite that our government will always remain committed to the rule of law. That is unequivocal.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Anthony Rota
We will now move on to the honourable member.
The floor is yours, Mr. Deltell.
Conservative
Gérard Deltell Conservative Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I am very happy and proud to be participating in this discussion in the House of Commons today.
My question is very simple: how much is Canada's deficit?
Bill Morneau LiberalMinister of Finance
Mr. Chair, we continue to be transparent with our measures. Of course, we want to make sure that our investments, our economy—
Conservative
Gérard Deltell Conservative Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC
Let me ask my question to the honourable Minister of Finance once more, since he is talking about transparency.
My question is really simple: how much is Canada's deficit?
Liberal
Bill Morneau Liberal Toronto Centre, ON
Mr. Chair, our economic situation is very fluid. We have made major investments and we are making sure that our economy is working.
Conservative
Gérard Deltell Conservative Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC
Mr. Chair, the minister's answer is not fluid at all. But the question is really simple: how much is Canada's deficit?
Liberal
Bill Morneau Liberal Toronto Centre, ON
Mr. Chair, it is important to be transparent with our investments. We look at the investments and the figures every day.
Conservative
Gérard Deltell Conservative Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC
Mr. Chair, the Minister of Finance may not know what the deficit is, but one great Canadian does know. And he knows that he knows.
Could the Minister of Finance be very clear, very fluid and, above all, very transparent with Canadians?
What is Canada's deficit?
Liberal
Bill Morneau Liberal Toronto Centre, ON
Mr. Chair, I want to be very clear with Canadians: our economic situation is very difficult. The situation is fluid. We are making investments to ensure that our economy will be strong in the future.
Conservative
Gérard Deltell Conservative Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC
Mr. Chair, with all due respect to the Minister of Finance, let me point out that, though he is not very clear, Canada's Parliamentary Budget Officer was clear yesterday. The deficit is $260 billion. That is the real number.
Why does the government not have the courage to state it clearly, as the Parliamentary Budget Officer did yesterday?
Liberal
Bill Morneau Liberal Toronto Centre, ON
Mr. Chair, we always want to be clear and transparent. It is very important for the situation to be stable in order to ensure our future. That is our economic approach. We are making investments now so that the situation becomes more stable.
Conservative
Gérard Deltell Conservative Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC
Mr. Chair, I know that the Minister of Finance is very good with figures. But he is not able to give us one. Perhaps he could comment on the statement that the Parliamentary Budget Officer made yesterday, that the emergency assistance must have an end date, and if it does not, we are heading to levels of taxation that have not been seen in this country for generations.
What is the government going to do to make sure that Canadians will not be overtaxed after this crisis?
Liberal
Bill Morneau Liberal Toronto Centre, ON
Mr. Chair, we think it's very important to make investments. That way, we will have a resilient economy in the future. That's very important. That way, we know that we'll have a good economy in the future. When we have more information, we will—