Debates of Dec. 5th, 2016

Ethics

[Alex Nuttall, Conservative, Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, the justice minister claimed her marijuana report had not been leaked, but two hours later, details of the leaked report were already appearing in the media. Both the National Post and The Globe and Mail quoted “sources familiar with the report”.

The report has been leaked. Is the minister in on the deal or just incompetent?

[Jody Wilson-Raybould, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, again, this gives me an opportunity to rise to recognize that the task force submitted the report on November 30. That report is being translated. I have not seen the report, nor has anyone else among my ministerial colleagues. The report will be presented in the middle of December.

I am very thankful for the work of the task force which, in a concentrated manner, over the course of over six months, has put together the report that will provide recommendations that will assist us in moving forward with legislation.

Youth

[Anne Minh-Thu Quach, NDP, Salaberry—Suroît, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in 2015, the Prime Minister said he wanted to create good jobs for young people, but in 2016, he is siding with his Minister of Finance, who said that young people will have to get used to job churn. In 2015, he told young people that the Kinder Morgan environmental assessment process needed to be reviewed, but in 2016, he approved the pipeline with Mr. Harper's dismantled environmental assessment process.

Then the Prime Minister is surprised to see young people protesting in Toronto or Ottawa. Instead of being so condescending, when will the Minister of Youth listen to young people and keep his own promises?

[Kim Rudd, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, by approving these pipelines, Canada took a step forward in supporting thousands of good, middle-class, good-paying jobs. Unlike the previous government, which failed to get any real action over the past decade, we are protecting oceans and we are pricing carbon pollution, all while finding new markets for our resources. The party opposite has taken almost every possible position, indeed in both official languages, on pipelines.

Public Safety

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

Mr. Speaker, the problem is the Prime Minister's arrogance toward protesters.

Let us talk about that arrogance. Last week, the Minister of Natural Resources suggested that the government would call in the armed forces and the police to deal with people protesting the Kinder Morgan pipeline. What a thing to say.

This statement is clearly a threat against the right to peaceful protest guaranteed by the charter, and specifically against first nations activists. This comes after we have learned that the RCMP has previously spied on indigenous activists.

Will the minister apologize and reassure this House that the government will protect the right to peaceful protest?

[Kim Rudd, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, the right to peaceful protest is a foundation of our rights and freedoms in Canada. As a government, we respect that right. We confirmed that in our election platform.

As the Prime Minister has said, we would not have approved these projects if they did not meet the highest standards of environmental protection and did not carry the support of Canadians. Our goal right now is to make sure that the projects move forward in order to create jobs and build a cleaner, brighter future for Canadians.

Democratic Reform

[Shaun Chen, Liberal, Scarborough North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in October I had the pleasure of engaging with constituents in my riding of Scarborough North on the topic of electoral reform, building on the work of MPs who led town halls, the cross-country tour of the minister and her parliamentary secretary, and the work of the Special Committee on Electoral Reform.

Can the Minister of Democratic Institutions please inform this House on the way forward for our national conversation on electoral reform?

[Maryam Monsef, Liberal, Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague from Scarborough North for all his hard work and for hosting a conversation with his constituents, as well as all of the members of this House who did the same.

Today we launched mydemocracy.ca. It will empower all Canadians to take part in a values-based conversation about their democracy, about the way they would like to be governed. The online engagement tool will complement the work of MPs, like the hon. member, as well as the members of the special committee. We encourage all Canadians to spend time this December taking part in the survey.

Ethics

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

Mr. Speaker, we know the Prime Minister does not care one iota about his own ethical guidelines. They are a prop for him and a joke. Everyone knows that. The Prime Minister openly and blatantly takes donations for the Liberals and in return does favours for wealthy individuals so that they can make more money. Everybody gets some grease and the Liberal gravy train rolls on. What will it take for the Prime Minister to have any respect for any laws in this country that may curb his out-of-control behaviour—a knock on the door from the Ethics Commissioner or maybe the RCMP?

[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 and to remind members that when it comes to fundraising, we have some of the most strict rules across the country. This government will continue to follow the rules. When we work with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, and we follow the rules, no conflict of interest can exist. The member knows that very well. What is clear is that the methods the previous government took and the ones that we are taking are very different because we follow the rules.

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

Mr. Speaker, they are very different. There was no Prime Minister Harper talking business to Chinese communists at Conservative fundraisers.

The Prime Minister today may already be breaching sections 17 and 16, which the House leader may want to familiarize herself with, of the Conflict of Interest Act. The host of this fundraiser said that he did discuss government business with the Prime Minister and he told the Prime Minister what he wanted. Again, is the Prime Minister waiting for the RCMP to come knocking on his door before he stops this unethical behaviour?

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

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate once again the opportunity to rise in the House and to remind all members of Parliament and Canadians that when it comes to fundraising, we have some of the most strict rules. Even the Chief Electoral Officer said this to Canadians when he stated very clearly that when it comes to fundraising, they are the most strict, “constrained and transparent” in the world.

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

Mr. Speaker, an attendee of the Liberal Party fundraiser on November 7 said that he spoke directly to the Prime Minister about government business for the price of a $1,500 contribution. However, Liberal Party ethics rules state that “Ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries and their staff should not discuss departmental business at any fundraising event, and should refer any person who wishes to discuss departmental business to make an appointment”.

Can the Prime Minister confirm that he never discussed government business during that fundraiser?

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

Mr. Speaker, our government is working very hard for Canadians. We have undertaken an unprecedented level of public consultation in order to respond to the real challenges Canadians are facing. As the hon. member knows, when it comes to fundraising we have some of the strictest rules in Canada. Our party is following the rules.

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Chinese Anbang Insurance Group is trying to buy up the biggest retirement home chain in B.C. This deal will have to be approved by the Prime Minister and the cabinet. The Prime Minister has been caught being lobbied to approve this type of deal at, guess what, $1,500 cash for access fundraisers attended by wealthy Chinese investors.

The Prime Minister can no longer stand behind his tired rhetoric of following the rules, when it is clear to everyone that every rule has been broken. When will the Prime Minister start following the rules?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister always follows the rules and the member knows very well when it comes to fundraising, we have some of the most strict rules across the country. The member knows very well that the rules clearly state that only Canadians can donate to a Canadian political party.

Foreign Affairs

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this week marks the sixth anniversary of the unanimous vote in the House of Commons in favour of a nuclear weapons convention. Unfortunately, a few weeks ago, the Liberal government changed its position and voted against negotiations for such a convention.

The United Nations is soon going to vote on this issue again. Will the Liberal government work with the international community and vote in favour of negotiations for a nuclear weapons convention?

[Pam Goldsmith-Jones, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, our goal is to convince those countries that have nuclear weapons to be at the table as part of disarmament discussions. We did that when we recently led a UN resolution supported by 177 states. Our resolution has a goal to stop the production of materials used to make nuclear weapons and rally nuclear and non-nuclear states alike toward the realization of a fissile material cut-off treaty. This is the realistic, pragmatic approach to nuclear disarmament and a major accomplishment.

Democratic Reform

[Cheryl Hardcastle, NDP, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the government recently put into legislation Bill C-33, which the Minister of Democratic Institutions said would break down barriers to voting. This is extremely important, but the legislation left out important aspects for people living with disabilities. They still face significant barriers when it comes to participating in elections, including access to qualified assistance during the act of voting itself.

Will the minister keep her word to people living with disabilities and commit to addressing these issues?

[Maryam Monsef, Liberal, Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for the opportunity to talk about Bill C-33, but also about the passion I have for making sure that more persons with disabilities and exceptionalities have an opportunity to participate in their democratic processes. The Chief Electoral Officer in his report following the 2015 election made excellent recommendations. I met with his advisory body on persons with disabilities with our own Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities and I connected with advocates across the country. I am committed to making sure that we address this and I look forward to working with the committee members of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs to address this too.

Public Services and Procurement

[Alupa Clarke, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last week, the Minister of Public Services and Procurement indicated that she did not intend to provide Canadians with the financial details of the contract to purchase Super Hornet fighter jets. She said that she wanted to talk to Boeing and the American government about it first.

The minister suggested that her government has not yet entered into discussions with Boeing, which is rather unbelievable. What is worse, Canadians are being treated like a second-class third party in this transaction, even though the minister is accountable to Canadians and Canadians only.

When will she rectify this situation and tell Canadians the unit price of the Super Hornets?

[Judy Foote, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, we are going to do what is in the best interests of Canadians from coast to coast to coast. We are going to have an interim fleet that is going to make sure that our men and women have the equipment they need to do the job expected of them so that we can fill the capability gap.

When we are in position to talk about the cost, we will do that. We have an idea what the cost is going to be but nobody shows their hand before negotiations actually are completed.

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the procurement minister should talk to the Royal Canadian Air Force before she talks to Boeing.

The Liberal government has relentlessly undermined our military leadership. This weekend, the procurement minister continued to contradict the commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force. She attacked General Hood and torqued up the Liberals' rhetoric on the fake capability gap. As a matter of fact, reports and experts agree that a capability gap would only occur if the Liberals try to extend the life of our CF-18s past 2025.

Instead of playing politics, why will the procurement minister not listen to the Royal Canadian Air Force? It is the expert.

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I do talk to my chief military adviser General Vance. I do talk to the air force as well.

Our government has commitments to NORAD and to NATO and to satisfy these commitments we cannot do this simultaneously. That is the capability gap that we talk about.

The previous government knew about this gap but it never told Canadians about it and it did nothing about it. This is something we intend to fix.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I will give the Minister of National Defence a hand and set out the facts.

On April 14, 2016, General Hood said that the air force had enough CF-18s to carry out its duties until 2025. On November 15, 2016, Chief of Defence Staff General Vance said that the supposed capability gap was a false deduction.

However, that was before the Liberals changed the rules five minutes before confirming the acquisition of the outdated Super Hornets and withdrew a report that contradicted their rationale. That is an outrage.

When will the Liberals stop hiding the truth from Canadians?