Debates of Oct. 24th, 2016

International Trade

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

Mr. Speaker, that is a lot of spending and no jobs as a result.

The Canada–EU trade agreement is the most important agreement negotiated since NAFTA. The benefits to workers, families, and businesses in every region of the country would be enormous. However, the trade minister has failed to secure these benefits for Canadians, and the Prime Minister is too busy hosting Liberal fundraisers with his millionaire friends to even notice.

When will the Prime Minister start doing the jobs that Canadians expect, take the trade deal seriously, and personally get involved in sealing this deal?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has done its job. In contrast with the previous government, we negotiated a progressive agreement that will create jobs and growth for middle-class Canadians. Walking out on Friday was tough, and it was absolutely necessary. In fact, the member for Abbotsford's own former director of communications said, “For Canada, leaving the table at this stage is the right move because it's up to the EU to negotiate within and come back to Canada with a proposed solution.” We remain committed to signing when the EU is ready.

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

Mr. Speaker, Conservatives negotiated this comprehensive trade deal which would create much-needed jobs in Canada, but the Liberals are failing to get the ball across the finish line. Is it the Liberals' strategy to actually look weak and inept? If it is, they are actually succeeding at that. Or, do the Liberals secretly not want this deal to succeed? Do they want the deal to fail?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, the only thing that the Conservatives delivered was 10 years of slow growth and cynicism about politics in Canada. They did not deliver CETA. CETA was stalled when we formed government. We got it back on track. We got the deal through the legal scrub. It is now supported by twenty-seven and a half out of Europe's 28-member states. As the president of the European parliament said, “it's quite clear that the problems on the table are European problems”. Canada has done its job. Europe has to do its job now.

Employment

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last week, our millionaire Minister of Finance was speaking to an elite group of wealthy Liberals. But his message was for truckers. “Your services are no longer required”, he told them. He said that these quarter of a million hard-working Canadians will soon be out of a job.

Trucking is not glamourous like inheriting a fortune from dad, but it is honest work, and it delivers the goods to Canadians. It will also be among the hardest hit by new Liberal gas taxes and payroll taxes. Why is the current elitist Liberal government driving truckers out of work?

[MaryAnn Mihychuk, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, I want to clear the record. This is a government that is investing in infrastructure, investing in training, and investing in job creation. This is from coast to coast to coast, providing opportunities for truck drivers, scientists, and those who are in the workforce today and tomorrow.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is not just truckers that the millionaire minister finds obsolete. He told the same elite group of wealthy Liberals that workers across Canada will become human ping-pong balls, bouncing from one unstable job to another.

The solution is staring him right in the face. Scotiabank revealed last week that the vast majority of job growth is actually coming from businesses with fewer than 100 employees. Why will the finance minister not get off the backs of these job creators and restore Conservative tax cuts for small businesses, so that they can continue to create jobs for hard-working Canadians?

[MaryAnn Mihychuk, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to remind the House that not only—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order, please. Members were perhaps not happy with the question, but they should listen to the answer. If they feel the need to pipe in, obviously they are not satisfied. Let us listen to the answers. No interruptions are allowed.

The hon. Minister of Employment.

[MaryAnn Mihychuk, Liberal, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I want to point out to the House, and to all Canadians, that this is a government that is investing in skills development and helping small businesses, the foundation of job creation, by providing breaks on employment insurance rates, which drop from $183 to $163, a significant change in the premiums which will help every single SME in the country.

Finance

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when this government was elected just a year ago, it promised to run a deficit of no more than $10 billion, saying that this would stimulate the economy and economic growth.

A year later, the deficit is not $10 billion, but rather $30 billion, or even worse, and economic growth does not seem to be taking hold, what with the parliamentary budget officer today and the Bank of Canada earlier this week downgrading economic growth.

What does the Minister of Finance plan to do to regain control of public finances and to generate the economic growth that Canada needs?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, that is a good question because I know that it is very important to have an investment program in our country.

We decided that it is very important to make investments in the future in order to get growth levels higher than they have been in the past few decades. That is precisely the goal of our program.

Thanks to our investments in infrastructure and in the future of our country, we are going to ensure that our children and grandchildren are better off.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, three weeks ago, without consulting anyone, the Minister of Finance announced, or rather, imposed, new mortgage lending rules.

Today the Hill Times reported that Liberal members are not happy about it. I am not sure who would be prepared to admit it publicly. We know that the member for Surrey Centre is not happy. Well done, sir. Other members spoke anonymously and said:

“These are major changes affecting...Canadians overall, and no consultation. I don't know what to say.”

What does the minister have to say to this member, who does not know what to say?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I would remind the hon. member to always address his comments to the Chair.

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to address this House on this very important issue.

We know that the long-term stability of the housing market is of critical importance to all Canadians. To those Canadians who are struggling to buy a house, those Canadians who have a house, they want to know that this investment is sound for the long term.

We took measures that we know will help ensure that over the long term, people's most important investment is stable and secure. That is better for our economy, better for Canadians, and that is better for those people who want to buy a house for their family.

Indigenous Affairs

[Romeo Saganash, NDP, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, while severe concerns are being raised about mercury poisoning from the Muskrat Falls dam, the response from the member for St. John's East was, not to worry, just eat less fish.

The answer is shameful and goes against the Prime Minister's own commitment to indigenous peoples.

The Nunatsiavut government is asking that the project be delayed until these issues are addressed. Is the government prepared to listen? Does the government propose to uphold its constitutional duty to the Inuit of Labrador?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, I understand that the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is working with the proponent, with indigenous peoples, and stakeholders with respect to this project.

We expect the province will meet its responsibilities to ensure the health and safety of Canadians. We are encouraged that Premier Ball will be meeting with local indigenous peoples.

Our government will continue to make our scientific expertise available to inform discussions between Newfoundland and Labrador and indigenous governments related to the Lower Churchill project.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Wenjack and Downie families have shown Canadians what true reconciliation looks like, and the Prime Minister promised solemnly to stop fighting residential school survivors in court.

However, the Minister of Justice is in court fighting against a ruling in favour of a childhood rape victim at the Spanish residential school.

This week she filed documents actually stating that her lawyers did nothing wrong when they misrepresented evidence regarding a notorious pedophile and had the case thrown out.

Will she explain why she is breaking the Prime Minister's vow and why she is fighting these survivors in court?

[Yvonne Jones, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's call to action has provided Canadians with a renewed path for reconciliation with indigenous people. A whole of government approach is being coordinated to collaborate and track all of those calls to action and implementation.

We want to ensure that we do the right thing as the government to support victims of residential schools. That is why we have continued to make this a priority, and we will continue to do so going forward.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I want to remind the member for Timmins—James Bay that the time to speak is when he has the floor, not when he does not.

Ethics

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, now that we know that the Minister of Finance is participating in partisan fundraising events that cost $1,500 per person, we believe that safeguards to protect personal donations and group donations are becoming hazy for Canadians. The safety line around ministerial conflicts of interest appears to be very thin.

Does the minister have any reassurances to offer the House on this matter?

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, all members and all parties engage in fundraising. We all have to follow the same rules. Those rules were put in place by the previous government.

I would remind my colleagues that on July 9, 2016, about three months ago, the House Leader of the Official Opposition joined the previous prime minister, Stephen Harper, at a barbecue fundraiser in Calgary that cost $2,000 per table.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this is 2016, and with the return of the Liberal scandals and culture it seems like we are watching one of the old Godfather movies.

Do all Liberal ministers provide access to the highest bidder?

How can the Minister of Finance and the Prime Minister reassure the House that they comply with the code of ethics in terms of real or perceived conflicts of interest?

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, there are rules and we follow them. We follow the same rules as all members of the House. These rules were instituted by the previous government. If they worked for them when they were in government, why would they not work now?