Debates of Jan. 25th, 2016

Shooting at La Loche

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this past Friday the entire country was heartbroken with the news of a mass shooting at La Loche Community School. We send our deepest condolences to the families of the victims, our thanks to the first responders for their quick actions, and our love to the entire community that continues to suffer this terrible loss.

I would like to thank, in particular, my friend and colleague, the new member for Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River for her incredible work in supporting her community in the aftermath of this tragedy. She is the former mayor of La Loche and had friends and family at the school. This shooting hits particularly close to home for her.

There are no words to express our heartache over this tragedy. Canadians across the country feel a profound grief, and our hearts go out to everyone affected by this tragedy.

La Loche is a small community that needs resources and assistance now and in the future. Let us work together to provide this assistance and start the healing process.

Terrorist Attacks in Indonesia and Burkina Faso

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in this House to address all Canadians about the tragedies that took place in Jakarta and Ouagadougou. Let us remember Tahar Amer-Ouali, a hearing aid specialist from Laval, who was sadly killed in an attack in Indonesia.

Let us also remember the victims of the attack in Burkina Faso: Louis Chabot and Suzanne Bernier, from the greater Quebec City area; and Maude Carrier, Charlelie Carrier, Gladys Chamberland and Yves Carrier, from Lac-Beauport, in the riding of Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier.

They were all working to help and bring hope to the people of Burkina Faso. Everyone who knew them describes these individuals as generous, compassionate, and giving. No one deserves such a tragic death, and our community has lost some extraordinary people.

It is our duty to honour their memory. Let us respond to these cruel, unfair, and unfathomable attacks by working together to combat the terrorist threat and build a better world.

Burkina Faso Terrorist Attack

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I rise today for the first time in 2016. On January 15, exactly 10 days ago, six of our own, six wonderful people from my region were tragically killed in a terrorist attack in Burkina Faso. We condemn that attack in the strongest possible way.

They lost their lives in an unspeakably violent and barbaric attack, but we can speak their names. Suzanne Bernier, Louis Chabot, Maude Carrier, Charlelie Carrier, Yves Carrier, and Gladys Chamberland embodied humanity's best qualities; they were dedicated and generous, with a zest for life. Unfortunately, they met the worst of humanity on their life's journey.

I would like to extend my sincere condolences to the victims' families, and I invite all of my colleagues in the House to honour the lives of these exceptional men and women and join me in keeping them in our thoughts and prayers.

Shooting at La Loche

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I now invite the House to rise and observe a moment of silence for the victims of La Loche, Saskatchewan.

[A moment of silence observed]

Public Safety

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, on Friday, Canadians were shocked and saddened by the news from La Loche, in Saskatchewan.

On Friday, Canadians were shocked and saddened about the news from La Loche, Saskatchewan. Our hearts, our thoughts, and our prayers are with the community and with the families and friends of the victims.

Could the Prime Minister update the House on any new situation with the issues that happened in La Loche?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member opposite for her heartfelt words and indeed add to them personally that the entire government and indeed the country stands with the community of La Loche. Our heartfelt condolences go out to the community, to the family members, and we offer all of our support.

The RCMP and victim support services are working hard to make sure that we are giving the kind of support necessary to a community, not just in these difficult days, but in the weeks, months, and indeed years to come.

The Economy

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, while the Prime Minister was swanning around Switzerland with actors and billionaires, Conservatives were back at home listening to business owners and volunteers and regular Canadians. What we heard from them is that they are increasingly concerned that the Prime Minister has no plan for the economy.

Canadians are worried about their jobs, they are worried about the cost of groceries, and they are worried about their kids' futures. Infrastructure is not going to be enough. What is the Prime Minister's plan to get these people back to work?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, for 10 years we have watched Canada not have the kind of growth to create opportunities for Canadians, which is why we were elected on a commitment to create investment in our communities, to create jobs for Canadians. Part of what I was doing in Davos was talking to leaders like Jack Ma of Alibaba and Mary Barra of GM about the challenges they are facing, and to Axel Weber of UBS, to draw in people in investing, from companies like Ubisoft, GE, and Unilever, who are already tremendously invested in Canada. We are working hard every day to create jobs for Canadians.

Natural Resources

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister went to Switzerland to hang out with the one percent, but he could not actually help running down the people back at home who are working hard every day. The natural resources sector has some of the world's leading technology, scientific innovation, and creativity, but the Prime Minister just does not get it because it is not his world. He just does not care about these jobs.

Does the Prime Minister understand he is insulting Canadians right across the country when he insults the natural resources sector?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I find it quite peculiar that the hon. member does not realize that when we talk about the resourcefulness of Canadians, we include the natural resources sector and the people who work extremely hard to innovate, to create technologies, to build on science, to ensure that while they are working hard we are creating the very best of value to everything we have to offer the world. Resourcefulness is at the heart of everything Canadians do and will continue to be as long as we are in government.

The Economy

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that we left this government with a $1.2 billion surplus.

The Liberals cannot even tell us how high their deficit will run and how much they are going to borrow from Canadians to pay for all their promises. They have already broken their promise to limit the deficit to $10 billion.

Is the Minister of Finance a bad economic manager or, worse, does he just not care about the consequences?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it is quite something to hear that party talk about bad economic management.

We were elected on a platform to invest in Canada to ensure a stronger future, create the growth that has been lacking for 10 years now, and create jobs for the middle class and all those who want to join it.

That is what we are going to do. We are working hard every day to provide Canadians with job prospects and that is what we will keep doing with our budget.

Natural Resources

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, maybe the Prime Minister should stop using his cell phone for selfies with Leo DiCaprio and pick it up and call Denis Coderre and fight for natural resources. There are almost 100,000 people out of work in this sector.

Does the Prime Minister understand that his lack of leadership on this issue is creating divisions in the country?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again it is interesting that the members opposite are criticizing us for not getting done in 10 weeks what they were unable to do in 10 years.

We are working very hard right across the country with municipal leaders and with provincial leaders to ensure we are creating the social licence, the oversight, the environmental responsibility, and the partnership with communities to get our resources to market in a responsible way, because that is what it takes in the 21st century.

International Trade

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the trans-Pacific partnership was negotiated in secret during the final days of the Conservative government. Now, after campaign promises of a more open government with real consultations, the Liberals say they will sign the Conservative-negotiated trade deal with absolutely no changes.

TPP would kill 58,000 Canadian jobs, weaken supply management, hurt our auto sector, and put Canadian innovators at a competitive disadvantage.

Why is the Prime Minister signing this bad Conservative trade deal without the consultations he promised?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question because it allows me to set something absolutely straight.

We were elected on a commitment to consult with Canadians and indeed to consult with the House of Commons before a decision was made on the trans-Pacific partnership. Indeed, not signing in the upcoming step would mean that we decided, without consulting with Parliament, not to go forward with the TPP.

Of course, we are open to consulting with Canadians and consulting with Parliament, and that is the step that brings us toward ratification or not. That is what it is all about, and that is our commitment.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals decided to sign the very controversial trans-Pacific partnership with no changes, but there have been no consultations.

Does the Prime Minister really think that people will fall for this? Does he think they will not realize that this is spin-doctoring and that he has no intention of changing a single thing? This will kill tens of thousands of good manufacturing sector jobs. It looks like the only factory that will keep operating at full capacity in Canada is the one that spits out the Prime Minister's platitudes, hollow words and clichés.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out that if we are serious about wanting to consult Canadians and members of Parliament, which we are, we have to sign next week so that we can hold those consultations. If we adopted the NDP's approach and decided not to sign next week, that would mean not consulting people or analyzing whether this is a good agreement for Canadians. That is not what we are going to do. We will be accountable, which is what Canadians asked us to be when they elected us.

Taxation

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in bad economic times, those who have the least suffer the most. In the upcoming budget, choices will have to be made. Helping families and fighting inequality must be a priority.

The parliamentary budget officer has confirmed that the Liberal tax plan primarily helps the wealthy and that most Canadians, including the lowest-paid workers, will get absolutely nothing from the Liberal plan.

Will the Prime Minister accept the NDP's proposal, which the parliamentary budget officer—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The right hon. Prime Minister.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud of the Liberal Party's proposal, which will be central to our budget and involves giving a new family allowance to Canadian families. This will put more money in the pockets of nine out of 10 families. The NDP criticized this proposal during the election campaign, but we want to put more money in the pockets of Canadians who really need it, and that is exactly what we are going to do with the family allowance for Canadians.

Government Appointments

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, what the Prime Minister just said is false, according to the parliamentary budget officer's findings last week.

Last year, while sitting on the board of governors of Carleton University, Michael Wernick said that a group of peaceful students protesting an increase in tuition fees had “no place in a lawful democratic society”, and then he likened them to “Brownshirts and Maoists”.

The Prime Minister just appointed the same Mr. Wernick to be the Clerk of the Privy Council, the highest position in Canada's civil service.

Will the Prime Minister ask his new Clerk of the Privy Council to apologize for these totally unacceptable remarks?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are very pleased to have Michael Wernick as the new Clerk of the Privy Council.

Mr. Wernick has had a long career in the public service. We look forward to working with him to renew the professional and non-partisan public service.

Employment

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, over 100,000 jobs now have been lost in Alberta. Housing values are dropping. People are desperate.

Anyone who thinks this is only an Alberta problem is sadly mistaken, and now the mayor of Montreal has come out opposing energy east.

Where was the Prime Minister? He was in Davos being star-struck by Hollywood actors.

If the Prime Minister will not show his leadership, will one Liberal member of Parliament from Alberta, one of the four, stand up for western Canadian jobs?

[Jim Carr, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, as a proud western Canadian, I will stand up for jobs in Alberta, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland.

If this were question and answer period, I would ask opposition members how many major pipelines they built in 10 years. The answer would be zero.

The reason they did not build major pipelines is that their process did not have the public confidence of Canadians.

We are talking to Canadians now, and what comes after these consultations will be Canadians' confidence in delivering these resources to market in a sustainable way.