House of Commons Hansard #116 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was cpp.

Topics

Foreign AffairsOral Questions

2:20 p.m.

Saint-Laurent Québec

Liberal

Stéphane Dion LiberalMinister of Foreign Affairs

Mr. Speaker, what he will not do is create a situation where we internalize even more of the past. We encourage the people of Cuba to unify, all together, and to work hard together to give a better future to their children, with more freedom, and to go step by step toward democracy. The leadership of our Prime Minister will be key for that.

The fact that Canada has had strong links, people to people, with Cuba over the last 50 years, not because we agreed with the regime, but because we wanted to support the people of Cuba, will be an asset.

Foreign AffairsOral Questions

2:20 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

Foreign AffairsOral Questions

2:20 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

Order. Members may not have as much respect for members on the other side as they would like, but I know they have respect for this place, and I would like them to show it.

Foreign AffairsOral Questions

2:20 p.m.

Conservative

Peter Kent Conservative Thornhill, ON

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister, instead of paying tribute to a dictator, should have offered condolences to the long-suffering, repressed people of Cuba.

The Prime Minister should have spoken of hopes for a better democratic future for the people of Cuba. Instead, the PM not only expressed personal sorrow at Fidel's passing, but described as a real honour his recent meeting with Fidel's successor, the equally ruthless, Raúl.

Why will this naive Prime Minister not address democracy, human rights, and the rule of law?

Foreign AffairsOral Questions

2:20 p.m.

Saint-Laurent Québec

Liberal

Stéphane Dion LiberalMinister of Foreign Affairs

Mr. Speaker, when Fidel Castro passed away, the leaders of the world, with very few exceptions, did not call him a dictator. They said about the same thing as our Prime Minister and Ban Ki-moon: that former president Castro of Cuba made advances in the fields of education, literacy, and health.

The European Union has said, “a man of determination and a historical figure”; the Mexican president has said Fidel Castro was “a friend of Mexico”; Spain, “a figure of enormous historical importance” and “a son of Spaniards”; Britain, “historic if controversial figure”—

Foreign AffairsOral Questions

2:20 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

The hon. member for Outremont.

Democratic ReformOral Questions

2:20 p.m.

NDP

Thomas Mulcair NDP Outremont, QC

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are really concerned that the Liberals are going to break the promise they made that the 2015 election would be the last to be held under the current, unfair system.

The special all-party committee on electoral reform will present its recommendations in the next few days.

Is the minister reneging on the Liberals formal promise because the committee does not support the Liberal Party, or simply because the Liberals have rediscovered the beauty of a system that has just given them another false majority?

Democratic ReformOral Questions

2:20 p.m.

Peterborough—Kawartha Ontario

Liberal

Maryam Monsef LiberalMinister of Democratic Institutions

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows just as well as every member of this House that we have been committed to this file since we began our mandate. We gave the majority on the committee to study electoral reform to the opposition. My parliamentary secretary and I have been out there connecting with Canadians from coast to coast to coast, and we have been clear from the very beginning that we will not move forward on reform without the broad support of Canadians. I am looking forward to receiving in this House the committee's report, and moving forward then.

National DefenceOral Questions

2:20 p.m.

NDP

Thomas Mulcair NDP Outremont, QC

Mr. Speaker, the report released by StatsCan confirms that sexual misconduct is widespread in our military: 1,000 reports in the last year alone. Eighty per cent of all forces members saw, heard, or personally experienced “inappropriate sexualized behaviour”. We are not talking about the 1950s here; we are talking about 2015. This report is only the tip of the iceberg.

The government cannot just wash its hands of it and call the situation unfortunate.

What concrete action will be taken to fight sexual assault within our military?

National DefenceOral Questions

2:20 p.m.

Vancouver South B.C.

Liberal

Harjit S. Sajjan LiberalMinister of National Defence

Mr. Speaker, sexual misconduct of any kind is completely unacceptable, and will not be tolerated. Through Operation Honour, the Canadian Armed Forces remains fully committed to eliminating harmful, inappropriate sexual behaviour within its ranks. I sincerely thank the over 43,000 Canadian Armed Forces members who participated in the survey on sexual misconduct. We need to do better, and we will do better.

Democratic ReformOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

NDP

Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC

Mr. Speaker, the minister says she respects the work of the all-party committee. Then we have to wonder why she spent the weekend on television undermining the work of that very same committee.

The Liberals campaigned and were elected on the promise to make 2015 the last election under the unfair first-past-the-post system, but since forming government, this minister has increasingly backed away from this committee. This, when the all-party committee is just days away from issuing its report to all Canadians. Why is the minister undercutting the committee's work? Will she now clearly commit to implementing the recommendations of our committee?

Democratic ReformOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Peterborough—Kawartha Ontario

Liberal

Maryam Monsef LiberalMinister of Democratic Institutions

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member opposite for his work on the committee. I am looking forward, in this House, to receiving that report on December 1.

The member asked what I was doing on television over the weekend. We introduced Bill C-33 in this House. We repealed the unfair elements of the Fair Elections Act. We extended voting rights to those Canadians living abroad. That is what I was doing.

Democratic ReformOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

NDP

Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC

Mr. Speaker, it is fascinating that the minister threw a committee of the House of Commons under the bus while she made these announcements on this bill.

She is supposed to be the minister of democratic reform, not the minister for undermining democratic reform. Perhaps we should remind the minister that her single most important job was to make good on the Liberal promise that 2015 was the last election under first past the post.

The committee has heard from hundreds of experts and thousands of Canadians who have told us overwhelmingly that the current system distorts the democratic will of Canadians. When the committee is working so hard to build a compromise, when so many Canadians are saying yes to reform, why has this minister become the voice of no?

Democratic ReformOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Peterborough—Kawartha Ontario

Liberal

Maryam Monsef LiberalMinister of Democratic Institutions

Mr. Speaker, as Minister of Democratic Institutions, I have been committed to this file since I began my mandate. The member knows well that I have a great deal of respect for the work of this committee and for the committee's independence, and that I am looking forward with a lot of eagerness, probably more than any other member in this House, to receiving that report on December 1. We are going to take the time to give that report the respect it deserves and present this House with a thoughtful plan forward.

EthicsOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Conservative

Marilyn Gladu Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON

Mr. Speaker, before this Liberal government came to power, Canada was consistently ranked as one of the least corrupt nations in the world. These cash for access fundraisers are showing a pattern of behaviour that smears our Canadian reputation. From the Prime Minister's secret meeting with Chinese billionaires to the justice minister's lawyer fundraisers, to the finance minister's dealing with drug companies suing the government, this pattern of behaviour has to stop.

When will the Prime Minister do the right thing and end these cash for access fundraisers?

EthicsOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Waterloo Ontario

Liberal

Bardish Chagger LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism

Mr. Speaker, as the member very well knows, we have some of the strictest rules around fundraising of any level of government, and our party follows those rules. In fact, the rules clearly state that only Canadians can donate to political parties. The Chief Electoral Officer stated that Canada's political financing laws are the most advanced and constrained and transparent in the world.

In regard to ticketed fundraising events he confirmed that every party and every campaign does them.

EthicsOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Conservative

Marilyn Gladu Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON

Mr. Speaker, well, Canadians are perceiving corruption.

International media are now reporting on the Prime Minister's questionable fundraising. The New York Times is even reporting about the Prime Minister's questionable shakedowns. They are highlighting the secret fundraisers the Prime Minister had with Communist Chinese officials. They are drawing attention to the payment they gave to the Trudeau Foundation, a foundation controlled by the Prime Minister's family. What is it going to take for the Prime Minister to end his unethical fundraising schemes?

EthicsOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Waterloo Ontario

Liberal

Bardish Chagger LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism

Mr. Speaker, it is important that all members and Canadians note that the Prime Minister has no involvement with the Trudeau Foundation. This is something that has been stated time and time again.

What Canadians elected us to do is to work hard for them, and this government has had unprecedented levels of public consultations to make sure we are responding to the varied challenges facing Canadians. We will continue to do that work. Once again, Canadian fundraising rules are some of the strictest in the world, and we will continue to follow them.

EthicsOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Conservative

Karen Vecchio Conservative Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON

Mr. Speaker, for years, the Trudeau Foundation relied on donations from Canada. It was 2014 when the foreign money started to flow. In 2015, nearly $430,000 of foreign donations were given to the foundation. However, the Prime Minister landed a huge donation when his Communist Chinese friends gave $1 million, including $50,000 to the building of a statue of his father.

When will the Prime Minister admit that mixing his personal, party, and government business is wrong, and when will he put an end to it?

EthicsOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Waterloo Ontario

Liberal

Bardish Chagger LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism

Mr. Speaker, as the member stated, the foundation confirmed that discussions on the donation began in 2014, when Stephen Harper was actually the prime minister.

The foundation is an independent charity that supports research in social sciences and humanities. I would hope that the member opposite supports organizations that promote research.

EthicsOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Conservative

Sylvie Boucher Conservative Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d’Orléans—Charlevoix, QC

Mr. Speaker, what did the Liberals learn during their ten years in purgatory? Absolutely nothing.

In 2004, the Gomery Commission shed light on the sponsorship scandal. A few days ago, we learned that Chinese billionaires are donating to the Liberal Party in order to gain privileged access to the Prime Minister and his ministers.

Will there be another inquiry in the wake of these revelations of conflict of interest ?

EthicsOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Waterloo Ontario

Liberal

Bardish Chagger LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism

Mr. Speaker, we find it odd that opposition members are trying to politicize this matter especially when it is a well-known fact that the approval process began in 2012 under the previous government, and that their minister of finance, Joe Oliver, gave final approval in July 2015, before Canadians rejected them.

EthicsOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Conservative

Chris Warkentin Conservative Grande Prairie—Mackenzie, AB

Mr. Speaker, the waters continue to muddy around the Prime Minister's cash for access schemes. In trying to defend foreign donations to his family-run foundation from Chinese billionaires, the Prime Minister claimed that he had stepped away from all family-related responsibilities after he was elected. However, the facts paint a different picture.

The Prime Minister was elected in 2008, but he continued to help run the foundation until 2014. What is the Prime Minister trying to hide, and why won't he come clean with Canadians about what he promised these Communist officials in exchange for the million dollar payment?

EthicsOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Waterloo Ontario

Liberal

Bardish Chagger LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism

Mr. Speaker, it is good to be back in this place. I think it is important to note that Canadians have elected us to get some real work done and actually respond to the very real challenges that Canadians are facing.

The member knows very well that when it comes to fundraising, we have some of the strictest rules in the world. In regard to ticketed fundraising events, the Chief Electoral Officer confirmed that every party in every campaign fundraises.

This government has undertaken unprecedented levels of public consultation to make sure that we are responding to the very real challenges that Canadians are facing. In regard to accepting donations, the member knows very well that only Canadians can donate.

EthicsOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Conservative

Chris Warkentin Conservative Grande Prairie—Mackenzie, AB

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has stated that Chinese nationals were at the Liberal Party fundraiser so that he could “draw in investment” from these billionaires. He secured some investment all right, $1 million for his family-run foundation.

Canadians deserve answers. These events break every element of the Prime Minister's ethics rules.

When will the Prime Minister finally come clean with Canadians and admit what he gave in exchange for this $1-million payment?