House of Commons Hansard #122 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was fasd.

Topics

EthicsOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Mississauga—Malton Ontario

Liberal

Navdeep Bains LiberalMinister of Innovation

Mr. Speaker, with respect to the Investment Canada Act, it is an independent process that is put in place to look at the net economic benefit for Canada. As the minister responsible for innovation, science and economic development, I am responsible for overseeing that process. I can assure the member and this House that any decision we make will be in the best interests of Canadians. That is always guiding our decisions. It is an independent process, and we take that process very seriously.

EthicsOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Conservative

Blaine Calkins Conservative Red Deer—Lacombe, AB

Mr. Speaker, this is just in. The individual who organized the Prime Minister's Vancouver fundraiser in November with Chinese millionaires is now bragging the fundraiser was a quid pro quo. He got an invitation from the Prime Minister to meet the Chinese premier in Ottawa and then offered to host the cash for access fundraiser in return.

The gig is up. This rotten, stinking, filthy, corrupt cash for access fundraising scheme has finally been exposed for what it is, so the only question is: When will the Prime Minister stop it?

EthicsOral Questions

2:35 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 the member recognize that when it comes to political financing, we have some of the strongest rules across this country and when all of the rules are followed, no conflicts of interest can exist. This government is committed to working hard to respond to the very real challenges that Canadians are facing: the concerns that my constituents raise with me and the concerns that many members in the House hear from their constituents. Let us get to work so that we can actually work harder for Canadians.

Democratic ReformOral Questions

December 6th, 2016 / 2:35 p.m.

NDP

Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC

Mr. Speaker, we are not the only ones who found the Liberals' mydemocracy.ca survey to be completely bogus. I applaud the thousands of Canadians who have mocked the survey's questions on social media. One question asks whether people prefer online voting or being chased by a horde of bloodthirsty clowns.

This is about our values. All kidding aside, how can we take a survey seriously when, at the end, it puts participants in these phantasmagoric categories? Where did they find this quiz, in a celebrity gossip magazine?

Democratic ReformOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Peterborough—Kawartha Ontario

Liberal

Maryam Monsef LiberalMinister of Democratic Institutions

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his sense of humour. I would also like to thank the tens of thousands of Canadians who have already participated in mydemocracy.ca.

This initiative is about empowering as many Canadians as possible to be part of this conversation. I encourage all Canadians and all members of the House to do so.

Democratic ReformOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

NDP

Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC

Mr. Speaker, watching the Liberals' electoral reform process is like watching that bus in Montreal slowly sliding down the icy hill, mesmerizing disaster in slow motion. After just one day, the minister's electoral reform survey turned into a dumpster fire on social media. Pollsters like Mario Canseco at Insights West said, “I've seen @Cosmopolitan quizzes that were better designed”, “Bad questionnaire... = Unusable data”.

I have a question for the minister, inspired by her own survey. Does she believe seats in Parliament should be allocated based on popular vote or based on the outcome of rock, paper, scissors?

Democratic ReformOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Peterborough—Kawartha Ontario

Liberal

Maryam Monsef LiberalMinister of Democratic Institutions

Mr. Speaker, we are pleased that so many Canadians are involved in mydemocracy.ca and engaging with the questions. Here is what Cliff, the CEO of this Canadian company that created mydemocracy.ca, had to say, “we worked with an advisory panel—”

Democratic ReformOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

Democratic ReformOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

Order, order. I know that members are enjoying the humour in today's question period. We need to hear the questions and we need to hear the answers, and we do not need to hear anybody else who does not have the floor. Let us show a little respect for each other here or at least for this place.

The hon. Minister of Democratic Institutions.

Democratic ReformOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Liberal

Maryam Monsef Liberal Peterborough—Kawartha, ON

Mr. Speaker, I think we can all agree that we are proud of Canadian scientists. We worked with an advisory panel of prominent scholars in areas such as research design, survey methodology, and electoral politics. We developed a survey that drew from existing literature on electoral reform in Canada and tried to identify various values—

Democratic ReformOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

The hon. member for Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston.

Democratic ReformOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Conservative

Scott Reid Conservative Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, ON

Mr. Speaker, last Friday, the Prime Minister described the mydemocracy.ca survey in the Toronto Star as “a fun little questionnaire”. He was so right. Based on people's responses, the website groups them as a guardian, a challenger, a co-operator, a fossil, or a snowflake. I found out I am a unicorn. The shared values of unicorns include rainbows, sparkles, and ranked ballots.

My question to the minister is this. Will she now share with Canadians the identities of the academics who advised the Liberals to model their survey on the Sorting Hat at Hogwarts?

Democratic ReformOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

Democratic ReformOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

Order. We are losing time. I know members are enjoying question period. They would not want it to be shorter today, with all this fun they are having.

The hon. Minister of Democratic Institutions.

Democratic ReformOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Peterborough—Kawartha Ontario

Liberal

Maryam Monsef LiberalMinister of Democratic Institutions

Mr. Speaker, it appears the member opposite has gone to mydemocracy.com, and not mydemocracy.ca. I encourage him to go back to the website.

This questionnaire is about reaching out to those Canadians who are not engaged in this conversation. This engagement initiative is about hearing from as many voices as possible before we make a decision. Surely we can all agree that it is a good idea to hear from more people.

Democratic ReformOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Conservative

Scott Reid Conservative Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, ON

Mr. Speaker, do not blame me for going to the wrong website. They only registered mydemocracy.ca with GoDaddy on October 24. Check that out; it is true.

Last Thursday, the minister said the committee ducked its responsibilities because it did not recommend any particular electoral system. Why, then, does her survey not contain any questions about any particular electoral system? Does this not just mean that, when the responses are all counted, the minister will be lecturing Canadians about whether they too had ducked the hard choices and failed it?

Democratic ReformOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Peterborough—Kawartha Ontario

Liberal

Maryam Monsef LiberalMinister of Democratic Institutions

Mr. Speaker, our government will be responding to the committee's report in due course.

Let us go to page 43 the report, which said:

...increasing involvement in the greater political process is a goal shared by all members of the Committee. The Committee recognizes that fulfilling the objectives of this principle requires ongoing work and commitment.

We agree. Engaging more Canadians is exactly what mydemocracy.ca is about. We are encouraged by the Canadians who are accepting our invitation, and we encourage all members of this House to join us and Canadians.

Democratic ReformOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Conservative

Blake Richards Conservative Banff—Airdrie, AB

Mr. Speaker, when I was taking the minister's BuzzFeed, I mean democracy quiz, I learned two things: first that I am more of a Monica than a Rachel; and, as it turns out, the Liberals will only count the surveys that they want to count.

It says that people do not have to provide personal information, but if they do not give their gender, their year of birth, their level of education, their household income, and other demographic information like their postal code, their input will just be thrown out.

Was the minister misleading this House when she said that Canadians did not need to provide their personal information?

Democratic ReformOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Peterborough—Kawartha Ontario

Liberal

Maryam Monsef LiberalMinister of Democratic Institutions

Mr. Speaker, we are thrilled that tens of thousands of Canadians are engaging in mydemocracy.ca. The member opposite knows that providing demographic information is completely optional; it is not required to engage with mydemocracy.ca. Responses will remain anonymous, and any data collected will be protected by the federal Privacy Act. I encourage all members and Canadians to engage with this exciting new initiative.

Democratic ReformOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Conservative

Alain Rayes Conservative Richmond—Arthabaska, QC

Mr. Speaker, over the past year, there have been over 600 interventions by government members in the House, and we are still hearing the same thing from the minister, like a broken record.

At the same time, a parliamentary committee representing the House consulted Canadians and experts from all over for six months and reached one simple conclusion: if we are going to change our electoral system, we must seek the approval of Canadians through a referendum.

Will the minister finally respect this institution and the people of Canada and require a referendum be held if she wants to change our electoral system?

Democratic ReformOral Questions

2:45 p.m.

Peterborough—Kawartha Ontario

Liberal

Maryam Monsef LiberalMinister of Democratic Institutions

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the member opposite's passion for a referendum, and I encourage all members of this House to read the committee's report. This government will be responding to the report in due course

InfrastructureOral Questions

2:45 p.m.

NDP

Guy Caron NDP Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC

Mr. Speaker, the financial crisis began less than 10 years ago and was caused by Wall Street firms, including Morgan Stanley. Today, the Liberals are asking Morgan Stanley to advise them on the privatization of Canada's ports.

In 2014, Credit Suisse paid a record fine of $2.4 billion to the United States for tax evasion. Today, the Liberals are asking Credit Suisse to advise them on airport privatization.

What is next? Will they ask Tony Accurso to advise them on the privatization of infrastructure?

InfrastructureOral Questions

2:45 p.m.

Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount Québec

Liberal

Marc Garneau LiberalMinister of Transport

Mr. Speaker, of course, as a new government, we are looking at all sorts of options. In the case of airports, we will certainly not do anything unless it is in the best interests of airline passengers. When it comes to our ports, which are extremely important economic drivers, once again, we will not make any decisions that are not in the best interests of our ports and our economy.

InfrastructureOral Questions

2:45 p.m.

NDP

Rachel Blaney NDP North Island—Powell River, BC

Mr. Speaker, speaking of infrastructure, the Competition Bureau is already witnessing some collusion taking place in the federal infrastructure program. In fact, investigations have been launched, and according to the bureau, developments could be announced in the coming months.

Liberals have been warned by the bureau that shady companies will definitely be tempted to pull a fast one on taxpayers. Do the Liberals understand the danger? What safeguards are they putting in place to protect Canadians from being scammed?

InfrastructureOral Questions

2:45 p.m.

Edmonton Mill Woods Alberta

Liberal

Amarjeet Sohi LiberalMinister of Infrastructure and Communities

Mr. Speaker, 98% of the infrastructure that we fund is owned by provinces and municipalities.

We expect government partners to ensure that their procurements are fair and transparent and provide value for Canadians. Infrastructure Canada provides infrastructure funding for projects for municipalities and provinces. The agreements require that the project proponents attest that contracts are awarded fairly, and the department has rigorous reporting and auditing provisions in place.