Debates of Nov. 4th, 2016

The Economy

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, during the election campaign last year, the Prime Minister sugar-coated the pill for everyone by talking about infrastructure investments that would justify a deficit. Once again, we are going to get another list of the many things that went wrong. In October, Canada lost 23,000 full-time jobs because of the government's decisions.

What is their plan? Are they going to do the same thing hoping for different results, or will they present us with a more realistic plan that actually works?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities]

Mr. Speaker, since we were elected, we have introduced the most ambitious infrastructure plan in Canada's history. We are talking about total investments of $187 billion, with $81 billion invested over the next few years. More importantly, since taking office we have approved more than 950 projects; 750 are part of the first phase, and 65% of these are currently under construction. There will be better transportation systems and cleaner water for our children.

Conservatives like to talk. They like to talk and talk and talk. We prefer to act.

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised Canadians that borrowing billions of dollars would create jobs for Canadians, but we just learned this morning that 23,000 full-time jobs were lost in October.

Will the Prime Minister finally get a plan to create jobs, not just deficits?

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, obviously the job survey that came out today is a snapshot of time. On the numbers for October, there were some positive aspects in there. There have been increases in employment, and the participation rate has gone up as well. Of the jobs created, two-thirds of them were in the private sector. There were 24,000 well-paying construction jobs created. I would think that has something to do with the investments that have been made in infrastructure. They will continue to grow. We know that the economy—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Lac-Saint-Jean.

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when we were in office, we implemented the two largest infrastructure plans in the country while balancing the budget. On April 1, 2014, we launched a $70-billion project. It takes two to three years to get infrastructure projects started. We are the ones who did the groundwork for the projects that the Liberals are announcing. It is easy for them brag about that today. That being said, they are going to fund their infrastructure investments with a multi-billion dollar deficit. We never did that.

They are creating deficits for the future and they are borrowing money, but no actual work is being done. What is more, winter is on the way. I look forward to seeing whether they can actually convince anyone to start digging in January.

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad that my colleague from Lac-Saint-Jean asked me that question. If he would like to see work being done, I invite him to come to Montreal.

I would like to remind my colleague of something that he is well aware of. I am proud of this government's 2016 fall economic statement. It is the next step in our plan. The first step was to invest in Canadian families. That is why we were elected.

We announced historic investments, things that the Conservatives were unable to accomplish. We will invest over $180 billion in infrastructure. We are going to create an investment agency in Canada and attract talent. That is how we are going to grow—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. House Leader of the Official Opposition.

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, House Leader of the Official Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals' big spending plan is failing. There has not been a single full-time job created. What is worse, the Liberals are borrowing an extra $32 billion to finance their out-of-control spending. This is not just a little deficit. This is serious, long-term debt that we are handing our children and grandchildren.

When will the Liberals stop their out-of-control spending and start listening to the concerns of Canadians who need jobs today, full-time jobs?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, one thing I can assure everyone is that we will continue to invest. We will continue investing in Canadians, and we will continue investing in the economy. I am very proud of the fall economic statement. This is great news for Canadians. We decided to invest in creating jobs in this country and to improving the quality of life of Canadians. That goes to infrastructure, that goes to attracting investment in our country, that goes to attracting global skills in this country. That is how to grow an economy.

I will point out that even Madam Lagarde of the IMF said that she hopes what we are doing goes viral in the world. We will continue.

Ethics

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

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are not buying that. They are also not buying the government's not guilty plea on their cash for access fundraising schemes.

Canadians are expected to obey laws and follow the rules, but they know that what the Prime Minister and his cabinet ministers are doing is wrong.

Canadians want to know, why do the Liberals always think they can get away with breaking the rules? Why does it always seem that there is one standard for Liberals and their friends, and then a completely higher one for everyone else?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to remind Canadians that at the federal level, we have some of the strictest rules and principles around fundraising at any level.

The Conservatives talk about doing fundraising differently. They did. They chose to appoint people—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I am sorry, I was having a hard time hearing the hon. government House leader because of the noise. I would appreciate it if members kept it down. It would make it easier for me to hear. I would like to thank the members.

The hon. government House leader.

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative Party chose to name people like Irving Gerstein to the Senate, and charge them with the responsibility of fundraising for the Conservative Party.

We have a different approach to the Senate. We have a different approach to actually following the rules. I will repeat, the rules are some of the strongest in the nation.

Public Safety

[Murray Rankin, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Federal Court ruled that CSIS has been illegally storing sensitive personal information on untold numbers of Canadians—Canadians who the spy agency itself has determined pose no threat.

This is a gross abuse of power and an unjustifiable intrusion into the privacy of Canadians. The minister just admitted that he was told of this abuse of powers. Does he really believe it is enough to just advise the review committee? Why were Canadians not told immediately?

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

Mr. Speaker, the issue was first raised in the report of the Security Intelligence Review Committee for the 2014-15 calendar year. It relates to a period long before this government came into office. That report was tabled in Parliament on January 28. That is the time when the public was alerted to the issue.

Thereafter, CSIS worked with the Department of Justice to better inform the court. Obviously the court's decision was rendered yesterday. We are not appealing. We accept that judgment, absolutely.

[Murray Rankin, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Mr. Speaker, CSIS, the spy agency, set up the illegal program a decade ago and hid it from the court.

It is clearer now than ever that we need a parliamentary watchdog with real teeth. The government's bill, with its censored, after-the-fact review committee, just will not cut it.

The NDP has proposed concrete, balanced amendments to ensure the committee can provide real oversight and get access to all the documents it needs to do the job. Will the government accept our amendments to create real parliamentary oversight of Canada's spy agency?

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

Mr. Speaker, in the committee, we have already indicated that we are willing to consider all constructive ideas and amendments.

However, I would point out that the powers presently drafted in Bill C-22 do provide the committee of parliamentarians with the authority to examine current operations.

Freedom of the Press

[Brigitte Sansoucy, NDP, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, for several days now, the NDP has been asking exactly how many journalists the RCMP and CSIS are spying on.

When questioned about the Federal Court's decision on the collection of personal information, the director of CSIS said that he could not comment on operational details. Journalists across the country want an answer to this question.

This is an opportunity for the minister to give the people a clear answer. How many journalists are being spied on?

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the director of CSIS was very clear, and the day before that the commissioner of the RCMP was very clear, in terms of the troubling issues that are being reported upon in Quebec in the last number of days. Both the commissioner and the director have said that is not happening at the federal level.

[Brigitte Sansoucy, NDP, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the only acceptable answer is “zero”.

However, neither the minister nor the Prime Minister can tell the people that no journalists are being spied on. When questioned about this, both the Minister of Public Safety and the Prime Minister replied that safeguards to protect freedom of the press are in place.

What are those safeguards?

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

Mr. Speaker, to correct the record so it is very clear, both the director of CSIS and the commissioner of the RCMP have said clearly the answer is “none”.

In terms of the review of the safeguards that are in place, the ministerial directives are very clear and we have already indicated, long before this controversy arose, that we are reviewing all of those directives to make sure that they safeguard the rights and interests and freedoms of Canadians.

Finance

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

Mr. Speaker, this morning's jobs numbers do not bode well for the coming year for Canadians who want to work. Apparently, 23,000 full-time jobs were lost.

It is bigger than a snapshot. This is a reality. My colleague from Cape Breton—Canso said this is just a snapshot. This is a reality.

Meanwhile, the government keeps borrowing and will grow the deficit by $32 billion over the next five years.

When will the government see that its plan is not working and will be disastrous for Canadians?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, as you can see, we were so eager to answer the question, we all rose at the same time to explain to the member for Louis-Saint-Laurent, for whom we have enormous respect, how our plan is going. Let me remind him of a few things, because sometimes he tends to forget these things, but let me say what we have done in our budget.

We promised to help seniors: we did help seniors. We promised to help students: we did help students. We promised to help families: we did help families. And now we are continuing investing in infrastructure, attracting investment in Canada, and investing in talent. That is what confident and ambitious countries are doing, and we will continue to do just that.