Debates of Dec. 8th, 2016

Ethics

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

Mr. Speaker, once again, I am proud to be representing the good people of my riding of Waterloo and to do the work that this government is doing for Canadians. What is insulting is that we cannot work better together to respond to the very real challenges that Canadians are facing.

When it comes to political financing, we have some of the strictest rules across this country, and this government, this party, will continue to follow the rules.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government has been asked a slew of questions about its ethics and all it is giving us in response is talking points.

Many organizations are warning that the government lacks credibility when it comes to its fundraising activities. The more the government refuses to give us honest answers to our questions, the more dishonest it proves itself to be.

Are the ministers waiting for Canadians to call for an inquiry or will they finally put a stop to this questionable behaviour and follow the Prime Minister's ethics rules?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I have said in the House a number of times, the rules governing fundraising are among the strictest in the country. We follow all the rules.

The Chief Electoral Officer also said that political financing laws in Canada are the most advanced, and constrained, and transparent in the world.

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

Mr. Speaker, serious ethical questions are being asked about the Prime Minister, his cabinet ministers, and their cash for access fundraisers, but all we get day after day are irrelevant talking points about Elections Canada finance rules.

There is government business being discussed at Liberal fundraisers, and people who pay $1,500 are getting whatever they want: a new bank, an appointment, whatever.

When will the Prime Minister stop breaking his own ethics rules and finally put an end to his unethical shakedowns?

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

Mr. Speaker, once again, I appreciate the opportunity to rise in this House to remind and assure Canadians that when it comes to political financing, we have some of the strictest rules across this country. I can assure Canadians that we will continue to follow the rules.

I also know that Canadians appreciate that this government has taken unprecedented levels of consultation so that we can respond to the very real challenges that Canadians are facing.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has stated that Canadians have a lot of questions regarding the Liberals' cash for access fundraising scheme. No kidding. Yet, for all the assurances he tries to give, nobody is buying it. The Prime Minister set some pretty high expectations, and he is now demonstrating that punching above his weight was a one-time-only event.

Canadians should be asking when the “for sale” sign will be going up in front of the Prime Minister's Office, if it has not already. When will he come clean and admit that he made a promise on ethics he had no intention of keeping?

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

Mr. Speaker, I encourage the member to listen and understand that when it comes to political financing, we have some of the strictest rules across this country, and we will continue to follow the rules. Even the Chief Electoral Officer has stated that when it comes to Canadian financing, the rules are some of the strictest, advanced, and transparent in the world.

We will continue to respond to the very real challenges that Canadians are facing, and we will continue to do the good work that they expect us to do.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in Ontario we have seen the Liberal cash for access scheme go full throttle for well over a decade with the Prime Minister's friends at the controls, and it is travelling at hyper-speed since the operation moved from Queen's Park to the PMO. Everyone knows it is wrong.

The Prime Minister's promise of a higher standard of transparency was only a mirage. Repeating the “strictest rules in the country” line is nothing more than a cheap Jedi mind trick. These are not the fundraisers they are looking for. Canadians were offered a new hope, but is this cash for access scheme not more like the—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. government House leader.

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

Mr. Speaker, Canadians wanted a government that works for them. Canadians wanted a government that responds to the very real challenges that they are facing. That is exactly what this government is doing.

This government recognizes that when we follow the rules no conflicts of interest can exist, and that is why this government always follows the rules.

Democratic Reform

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, today we launched a rescue mission to save that fun little Liberal quiz, MyDemocracy.ca, because, Houston, the Liberals have a credibility problem.

Instead of having a survey of confusing and ridiculous questions, we are suggesting adding clear and relevant questions. Here is one: Should the number of seats a party holds reflect the number of votes it actually received from Canadians? Our questions were drafted by experts and unanimously approved by the all-party committee, including our Liberal friends across the way.

Will the government come back from outer space and support our proposal and reboot their—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. Minister of Democratic Institutions.

[Maryam Monsef, Liberal, Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, this is another opportunity to invite all Canadians to go online or pick up the telephone and take part in MyDemocracy.ca. We want to hear from as many Canadians as possible about their values on electoral reform. We are proud that tens of thousands of Canadians have already taken part. We are proud of the Canadian political scientists who helped us draft these questions. We look forward to hearing from as many Canadians as possible before introducing legislation in this House.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the survey at MyDemocracy.ca is as scientific as Harry Potter's Sorting Hat.

Will the government be innovative, challenging, or pragmatic? Personally, I would liked to have been Gryffindor. One thing is certain: the minister is Slytherin.

This morning the government was asked to fix things by including the committee's questions in its e-consultation. What is positive about these questions is that they are not biased or partisan.

Will the minister take electoral reform seriously, change her approach, and include our committee's questions?

[Maryam Monsef, Liberal, Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the hon. member's interest in Harry Potter, and his interest in MyDemocracy.ca.

Over 22,000 Canadians participated in the survey that the committee put forward. We thank them for their participation. Now, we would like to hear from as many Canadians as possible in an accessible and inclusive way about their values on electoral reform before we move forward on this initiative. Tens of thousands of Canadians are responding. We are proud of this initiative, and we look forward to hearing many more voices before introducing legislation.

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, based on his response to an earlier question, it sounds like the Prime Minister's choice of MyDemocracy.ca was a Freudian slip.

The CEO of Vox Pop Labs says that many responses to the MyDemocracy.ca survey will be rejected; not only responses unaccompanied by personal information but also any that do not meet the test of what he calls “a series of screening measures...to ensure that the...dataset [is] consistent with unique respondents”. To be clear, the screening test is proprietary and therefore opaque.

When the final survey results are released, will the minister let Canadians know how many responses were excluded from the results and for what reason?

[Maryam Monsef, Liberal, Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, I can assure all Canadians that we are open to hearing from as many voices as possible before introducing legislation. I can assure all Canadians that providing personal information is completely optional. I can assure all Canadians that we will incorporate all feedback into the final result, whether Canadians have chosen to incorporate their personal information or not. As always, we will be open and transparent about all of this.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

Mr. Speaker, since the minister seems to have trouble answering questions, maybe I could make it a little easier for her by putting it in the form of a multiple choice question, like her so-called democracy survey.

Who ultimately chose the questions that were to be included in the Liberal survey? She could press one for experts, press two for academics, press three for her political staff, or press four for the magical democracy fairy.

Will the minister finally be honest with Canadians and simply admit that this is nothing more than a Liberal distraction tactic?

[Maryam Monsef, Liberal, Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, we are proud that tens of thousands of Canadians are engaging in a conversation about their democratic reform.

We are proud to be a government that is open to hearing from Canadians before introducing legislation in this House. We are proud that the initiative MyDemocracy.ca was developed in collaboration with Canadian political scientists.

We look forward to hearing from many more voices before we introduce legislation in this House.

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

Mr. Speaker, the minister has told us that she wants to consult Canadians by launching a survey to determine the respondents' age, gender, nationality, and what kind of voter they are. Oddly, she never talks about real things. Do Canadians want a referendum? Do Canadians want proportional representation or first past the post? Do Canadians want regional representation?

If the minister did not create this survey, can she tell us who are the geniuses who rigged the questions?

[Maryam Monsef, Liberal, Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, MyDemocracy.ca is about empowering as many Canadians as possible to be part of this important conversation.

MyDemocracy.ca is based on the values that are at the heart of our democratic system. MyDemocracy.ca asks these questions based on the research that exists out there, based on best practices out there. Indeed, the very committee the member opposite participated on responded in its report that because there is no perfect system, the best way to have this conversation with citizens is through a values-based approach.

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I have been a member of Parliament for over twelve and half years, and I cannot recall a time when a minister or a government initiative has been mocked so relentlessly as this minister and this survey. Does the minister not realize that the reason she and her government are being ridiculed is because the survey in itself is ridiculous?

The minister appointed a panel of so-called academic experts to help her design the survey. I can see why, because it gives the minister a chance to blame yet another group of individuals for her own failures.

Why does the Prime Minister not simply do the right thing and appoint somebody who knows what they are doing to this important file?

[Maryam Monsef, Liberal, Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the hon. member for twelve and half years of service to his constituents and to Canadians.

I am sure that he can agree that we all wake up every day hoping to make this a better place for all Canadians. We can all agree that we are all working towards creating a healthier democracy. That is what I am committed to. That is what we are committed to on this side of the aisle. We are thankful that tens of thousands of Canadians see the merit in our approach and are engaging.

Health

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, carfentanil is a devastating drug, a hundred times more powerful than fentanyl.

It has hit Canadian streets, and people are dying in British Columbia and Alberta. It is so deadly that first responders are overdosing when they merely enter a room in which it is airborne. Yet the government refuses to declare a national public health emergency or repeal Bill C-2, as experts have called for to save lives now.

Can the minister tell us, what is she waiting for? Must more Canadians die?

[Jane Philpott, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, like the member opposite, I am extremely concerned about the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the opioid crisis, which is the cause of hundreds of deaths across the country.

I can assure the member opposite that my department and I and our government are working on this matter every day. I am working with my colleagues, including the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, on this file. We are making sure that first responders have the resources they need.

This very day I was in communication with the Minister of Health for British Columbia to discuss making sure that all resources are being made available to respond to this crisis.