Debates of Nov. 29th, 2016

Ethics

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this morning we learned that the head honcho for marijuana legalization, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, appointed by the Prime Minister himself, took part in Liberal Party fundraising events attended by lawyers and marijuana lobbyists as he was preparing the bill on legalizing marijuana. Once a Liberal, always a Liberal.

When will the people across the way follow the Prime Minister's own ethics rules? Are they trying to tell us that lobbyists are running this government?

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

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows full well, the rules governing fundraising are among the strictest in the country and our party follows the rules.

The Chief Electoral Officer said that political financing laws in Canada are the most advanced and constrained and transparent in the world. He confirmed that every party and every campaign holds fundraising events that have admission fees.

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, let us now talk about the Prime Minister, his friends, and ethics rules.

As recently as this past summer, the CFO listed on the Liberal Party's website was the most influential man in the cannabis industry in addition to being a shareholder in the biggest cannabis company in Canada. There is never smoke without fire. I should say there is never smoke without pot.

Am I the only one to see this blatant conflict of interest? When will the Prime Minister follow his own rules?

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

Mr. Speaker, the rules governing fundraising are among the strictest in the country and our party follows the rules.

We have held unprecedented public consultations in order to address the real challenges that Canadians face. We will continue to work with Canadians.

[Blaine Calkins, Conservative, Red Deer—Lacombe, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it seems like Cheech and Chong are stuck in Groundhog Day with these answers.

Abi Roach of the Cannabis Friendly Business Association told the media, “They took our money happily without question” and, that, “no one vetted [me] ”. She also said, “I would rather to speak to a politician one-on-one in an office than have to pay.”

I guess everyone got the memo that if one wants to talk to the current Liberal government one has to pay up. It sounds like cash for access to me.

When will the Prime Minister put an end to these unsavoury hash for—I mean, cash for access events?

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

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to rise in this House to remind all members that this government committed to working with Canadians. This government has taken an unprecedented level of consultations when it comes to responding to the very real challenges that Canadians are facing.

When it comes to fundraising rules, the member knows very well that we have some of the most strict rules across the country. Even the Chief Electoral Officer has stated that they are some of the most strict around the world.

[Blaine Calkins, Conservative, Red Deer—Lacombe, AB]

Mr. Speaker, we are just trying to weed out the truth here. The Cannabis Friendly Business Association paid the entrance fee and got their 10 minutes of face time with the parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Justice.

Abi Roach said, “There was lot of people from the cannabis industry as well who were vying for his attention, more from the licensed producers’....”

Licensed producers? Did the Liberals take money from unlicensed producers as well? Does the Prime Minister actually believe in his own open and accountable government document, or did the paper it was written on go up in smoke?

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

Mr. Speaker, Canadians elected a government that is here working hard to respond to the very real challenges that they are facing.

I am actually pleased to stand in this House today when we have representatives from the Waterloo region here. This government committed to working better with provinces, territories, and municipalities, so that we can respond to Canadians, so that we can help grow the economy, and so that we can sustain the environment. We know that if we work together more collaboratively, we can make that happen.

Indigenous Affairs

[Georgina Jolibois, NDP, Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK]

Mr. Speaker, a Manitoba judge decided that requiring residential school survivors to show a perpetrator's sexual intent was “fundamentally inconsistent” with past cases involving sexual assault.

Instead of applauding this decision, this Minister of Justice is appealing it. The Liberals are arguing these survivors of sexual assault must prove the intent of their abusers in order to get compensation. This is despicable.

Will the minister do the right thing and immediately drop this appeal?

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the government is committed to ensuring justice for all the victims of this dark chapter in our history, and that all those entitled to compensation receive it.

We believe the court's decision goes beyond its jurisdiction by unilaterally changing the settlement agreement, which was agreed to by all parties. This could greatly impact the independent assessment process, and the government is therefore appealing the decision.

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

Mr. Speaker, this is a sad day because I have to rise once again to remind the government that reconciliation is more than just words. By appealing, the minister is sending survivors of horrendous residential schools the message that they do not have the same right to justice as every other citizen. That is nothing short of appalling. What happened to the promise to build a new relationship?

I will repeat my question: will the Minister of Justice drop the appeal?

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the government is committed to justice for all victims of this dark chapter in our history and to ensuring that everyone who is eligible for compensation receives it. Our position is that the court overstepped its jurisdiction when it ruled to unilaterally change the settlement agreement adopted by all parties. Given the significant impact the decision could have on the independent assessment process, the government decided to—

[The Speaker, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Chilliwack—Hope.

Natural Resources

[Mark Strahl, Conservative, Chilliwack—Hope, BC]

Mr. Speaker, today, the Prime Minister has a choice, and that choice is clear: approve pipelines and champion projects so that our economy can create good well-paying jobs, or continue to play politics with the lives of Canada's unemployed energy workers.

If built, these safe and modern pipelines would create tens of thousands of family-supporting jobs that would help pay the mortgage and put food on the table.

Will the Prime Minister approve these job-creating pipelines today, and do everything in his power to ensure that they actually get built?

[Jim Carr, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the House understand that energy workers and the natural resource sector represent about 20% of Canada's economy. We know how important they have been, and how important they continue to be.

The member also knows that on January 27, the government announced a set of principles that would govern those projects that were currently under review. At that time, we made commitments, and we established principles and timelines. We have respected the principles and we will respect the timelines.

[Mark Strahl, Conservative, Chilliwack—Hope, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's oil and gas sector contributes billions of dollars toward our health care, education, and social programs and creates hundreds of thousands of well-paying jobs. All of the pipelines we are talking about today were approved months ago by the independent regulator who deemed them to be safe for the environment. These safe and modern pipelines are necessary to help get middle-class Canadians back to work. It is time that the Prime Minister stopped playing politics with the livelihood of energy workers. Will he finally stand up for them, approve these pipelines, and ensure they get built?

[Jim Carr, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, the government understands very well the importance of the energy sector to the Canadian economy. We also understand that there are many families in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador who have suffered as a result of low commodity prices. We understand firmly that if projects are to be built, the process has to be seen as credible and the environment and the economy must be developed together.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, today energy workers across Canada and their families are desperately waiting to hear the decision that the government is going to make on northern gateway and Line 3. As the minister talks about these decisions and the more the Liberals consult, these severance packages and EI benefits are being exhausted. These energy workers are relying on food banks and many are losing their homes.

Today, will the Prime Minister show some leadership. Will he stand up for the Canadian economy and stand up for Canadian jobs and do everything he can to ensure these nation-building projects get built?

[Jim Carr, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, we understand the importance of the energy sector and we also understand the fairness of saying to proponents that there would be timelines that would be respected and a set of principles that would govern these reviews. From the very moment that we announced those principles and the very moment that we announced the timelines, we have been fair and direct with the people of Canada.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians need more than understanding and actions speak louder than words. Approving a project is one thing, but getting it built is another. Canadians want jobs. Unemployed energy workers and their families are hurting. Their livelihoods and futures are at risk and they just want to get back to work. Canada's energy workers benefit the standard of living in all communities and they produce the most environmentally and socially responsible oil and gas in the world.

Will the minister remove roadblocks, end delays, and ensure these pipelines actually get built?

[Jim Carr, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, the way in which the previous government went about the business of having these pipelines approved and built did not work. They did not work because the Federal Court of Appeal quashed a project because of insufficient consultation with indigenous communities. The record will show that during the course of the tenure of the Harper government there was not one kilometre of pipeline built to the oceans. We had a choice. The choice was to follow a path that did not work or to try another one. We chose to—

[The Speaker, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Beloeil—Chambly.

Freedom of the Press

[Matthew Dubé, NDP, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, now we know why the government said that no journalists were currently under surveillance. Yesterday we learned that CSIS did spy on journalists in the past, and we have every reason to believe it is still happening.

The troubling revelations about the surveillance of journalists, the surveillance of indigenous activists, and CSIS's illegal storage of data show a disturbing trend that the government can no longer ignore.

Will the minister finally take these revelations seriously and launch a public inquiry into freedom of the press?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, freedom of the press is a fundamental Canadian value enshrined in the charter. Yesterday at committee, CSIS officials confirmed exactly what the Prime Minister and the commissioner of the RCMP and the CSIS director have said. The recent police activity in Quebec, probing journalists for their sources, is not happening at the federal level. We have undertaken to review all of the safeguards in place and we are completely open to receiving representation from journalists and lawyers about what needs to be done to strengthen the law.

Foreign Investment

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Anbang Insurance Group, a massive foreign conglomerate, is trying to buy a B.C.-based long-term care provider. Unconfirmed estimates place the value of this takeover at over $1 billion and there is much more that we do not know. The company's ownership structure is murky. It has tried to hide its identity in previous transactions and most importantly, we do not know how these critical health services will be affected. Will the government commit to a fully transparent review to determine how this foreign takeover will impact Canadians and share those details with the House?