Debates of April 13th, 2016

Natural Resources

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I have long pointed out that one of the fundamental responsibilities of any Canadian prime minister is to get our resources to market. In the 21st century, getting our resources to market means doing it sustainably, responsibly, and with community buy-in and indigenous support.

The fact is that the previous government did not understand that. It was unable to build the public trust necessary to help Alberta's industry, and indeed the jobs that needed to be created through it, and therefore failed the province it worked so hard to try to represent.

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, since taking office, the Liberals have completely failed to support Canada's energy sector.

While the U.S. has ramped up its oil exports, while at the same time blocking Canada's oil exports, the Prime Minister has done nothing about it. His principal secretary has said that oil and gas development is as bad as “hooking kids on cigarettes”. His environment minister has said that we need to move in the direction of ceasing all development in the industry.

In his ideological quest to make Canada free of fossil fuels, is the Prime Minister willing to take responsibility for the hundreds of thousands of jobs that will be lost?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Again, Mr. Speaker, I find it mildly humourous that the opposition is taking us to task for being unable to do in five months what it was unable to do in ten years.

The fact is that the initiatives taken by the previous government did not help the Alberta oil industry, did not help Albertans, and did not help the workers who are now out of work. We need a government that actually restores public confidence and gets our resources to market in responsible, sustainable ways. That is why Canadians elected us. That is what we are going to work very hard to do.

The Budget

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister can talk about the past all he wants, but this week the government announced a $70-billion cut in investments in oil development. He can talk about the past at length, but these people are living in insecurity today.

Many questions were raised after the budget was brought down. The parliamentary budget officer found that the Liberal budget was based on unrealistic assumptions when it comes to growth and that the Minister of Finance omitted crucial data for evaluating Canada's long-term economic growth. The Liberals still keep talking about transparency.

What is going on?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, today and yesterday, the Governor of the Bank of Canada confirmed that in fact, the measures we are taking in our budget will have a positive impact on growth in Canada and on families. That is what we were asked to do during the election campaign.

For 10 years, we had a government that refused to invest in Canadians. That is what we are doing. It was high time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I certainly would not agree with the Prime Minister. Unlike the Liberals, who promised a $10-billion deficit and then presented a $30-billion deficit, we made massive investments while balancing the budget.

It is unfortunate, but we now know that the Liberal's job plan was just an illusion. The number of jobs to be created by their reckless spending was greatly exaggerated in their budget. Canadians are right not to trust this government.

Why did the Prime Minister inflate the number of jobs that the Liberals' spending would supposedly create in Canada's economy?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, during and after the election campaign, and especially with the tabling of our budget, which invests in growth for the middle class, we have shown that we know how to grow the economy. We are investing in our communities and putting more money in the pockets of the middle-class, and the people working hard to join the middle class, to stimulate growth, which Canadians did not see for 10 years under the Conservatives.

It is time to kick-start economic growth and to create jobs in our economy. That is exactly what we did with this budget.

Foreign Affairs

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Catherine and I want to welcome our friend, Audrey O'Brien, Clerk Emerita of the House of Commons.

It turns out there is a slight problem in the paperwork for the Saudi arms deal, and maybe the government could help us figure it out.

For months the government has been telling us that it was a done deal under the Conservatives, but now it turns out that what to the untrained eye looks like the signature of the minister of global affairs approved it actually on April 8, just a few days ago.

Maybe the government could explain that one to Canadians. Why has the government mislead Canadians about the Saudi arms deal?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I will say today what I have been saying every time anyone asks me about this, including during the election campaign. We will honour the contracts signed by Canada in February 2014. The fact is that there are jobs in London relying on this. Commitments have been made to the world that we will honour our good name when we sign our contracts.

Even the member for Outremont understands that we cannot cancel a contract retroactively. He said, “You don't cancel a commercial accord retroactively. ... It's just not done.” On that we agree with the member for Outremont.

Ethics

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Our good name includes standing to defend human rights around the world, Mr. Speaker.

The situation in Saudi Arabia has only become worse, and the Prime Minister knows it.

However, let us talk about paperwork. During the election campaign, the Prime Minister said that “a large percentage of small businesses are actually just ways for wealthier Canadians to save on their taxes”.

He seems to have been talking about his own finances. He apparently used four companies to pay less tax.

How much tax did he avoid paying by using four investment companies?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, when I worked as a professional speaker, I registered a company, as many Canadians do, and I paid all of the necessary taxes.

However, I have always said that the government has a duty to encourage small businesses, which create jobs, and that is exactly what we are doing with budget 2016.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

So, Mr. Speaker, when the Prime Minister said that small businesses were just a way for rich people to avoid taxes, he knew of what he spoke.

Perhaps the Prime Minister can give us an answer to the following question. Why did he choose to dismantle one of the investment companies he had used to avoid paying taxes the day after the election, on October 20?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, when I ran for the leadership of the Liberal Party, I was open and transparent about my holdings and my personal finances. I have been from the start. I have always been open and transparent, and I will continue to be.

People expect the level of transparency and openness that we are giving them, especially after a government that thumbed its nose at ethics and transparency for years. This is what Canadians expect from us.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Is there a boat in Panama as well, Mr. Speaker?

When the Prime Minister revealed details about his financial arrangements, it turns out he left a few things out of the picture. The Prime Minister failed to disclose all of the companies that he used to shelter his investments.

Why did the Prime Minister not tell Canadians about all of these companies he was using to shelter his investments and avoid paying his full share of taxes?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians know that every step of the way I have been open and transparent about my own personal finances and about my own holdings. Indeed, I raised the bar on transparency and openness in a way that members opposite simply never did.

I stand by my disclosures, my openness, and continue to challenge members on the opposite side of the House to reach the level of openness and transparency that on this side of the House we have always demonstrated.

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

It is hard to keep a straight face, Mr. Speaker.

Last week we learned that the Minister of Justice attended a high-priced pay-to-play fundraiser in Toronto with Bay Street lawyers. Now it seems she has outdone herself. She is headlining a $1,000-per-head fundraiser later this month. Copying the Wynne Liberals, the current government is creating a whole new scheme of paying for access to cabinet ministers.

Can the Minister of Justice tell us how many lawyers and lobbyists will be attending her latest pay-to-play Liberal fundraiser?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite should be ashamed to raise an issue—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order.

Of course members, I know, are all mindful of the fact that it is Anti-Bullying Day and are going to act accordingly, on all sides, and are going to listen to the answers.

The hon. House leader.

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Beauséjour, NB]

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the member who just asked the question should talk to his colleague for St. Albert—Edmonton, who, in fact, wrote a letter to the Ethics Commissioner with many of the same frivolous allegations. He received a three-page letter from the Ethics Commissioner, dated April 13, and the paragraph that I know everyone wants to hear reads as follows:

Based on the information available in the case, the fundraising involved the Minister of Justice, section 16—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Red Deer—Lacombe.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is hard for Canadians to trust the justice minister to do her job with all of her dodgy fundraising activities.

It has been six months, but she has not introduced a single piece of legislation. Her husband has registered to lobby her own department, and miraculously, in the budget the organization he lobbied for got $20 million. She has been caught giving access to high-priced lawyers and lobbyists.

Can the Prime Minister stop hiding behind his House leader and tell Canadians if this is the standard that he set for his own cabinet ministers?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the only person who is hiding appears to be the member who just asked that question. He knows very well that this is a series of fabricated allegations that his colleague sent to the Ethics Commissioner. Today the Ethics Commissioner confirmed that those allegations have no merit and no basis.

Why can the member not be satisfied with the independent opinion of the Ethics Commissioner that this House asked to look into these kinds of matters?

I have more faith in her judgment than in his.

Justice

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Edmonton, AB]

Mr. Speaker, while the Minister of Justice attends pay-to-play fundraisers, the minister has been AWOL in fulfilling her responsibilities as minister. After nearly six months, the minister has yet to make a judicial appointment, creating a situation that the Chief Justice of Alberta has called “desperate”.

When will the Minister of Justice stop attending pay-to-play fundraisers and start appointing desperately needed judges, or is the minister taking applications at the fundraisers?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I think what Canadians are wondering is when that member will tone down the feigned indignation, especially given the fact that he got a three-page, precise answer in writing from the Ethics Commissioner, which concluded that the fake complaint he made had no merit.

The members opposite love to table documents in the House. They should stay tuned. Maybe after question period I will ask for consent to table the letter the Ethics Commissioner sent to that member.