Debates of Sept. 27th, 2016

Justice

[Scott Brison, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, we will not take any advice from the Conservatives on appointment processes. It was under the Conservatives that their minister of justice, for six of the nine appointments for justices in Nova Scotia, appointed his friends. In fact, he appointed the best man from his wedding to the bench. He appointed his best man's wife to the bench. If the Conservatives had not been turfed out in the last election, they might have appointed his entire wedding party to the bench.

The fact is that Atlantic Canadians deserve better than that, and we are giving—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for St. Albert—Edmonton.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Justice has said that the government will support our Conservative opposition motion calling on the government to respect Atlantic Canadian representation on the Supreme Court, but the minister has refused to actually confirm that the government will appoint an Atlantic Canadian.

Will the minister confirm that the government will appoint an Atlantic Canadian to fill the vacancy of Justice Cromwell, or is this just another example of the Liberals saying one thing and doing another?

[Sean Casey, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, the decisions taken by the Supreme Court affect us all.

The process that was employed by the previous government was opaque, outdated, and in need of an overhaul. That is why our government has announced a new Supreme Court of Canada appointment process that is open and transparent. Under this process, the advisory board will identify suitable candidates who will be jurists of the highest calibre. They will be functionally bilingual, and they will be representative of the diversity of our great country.

I am pleased to report that the list contains candidates from Atlantic Canada, and we can certainly compete—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Glengarry—Prescott—Russell.

The Budget

[Francis Drouin, Liberal, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday morning I had the pleasure of attending an announcement made by the Minister of Finance at La Cité collégiale in Ottawa. The minister announced the launch of the prebudget consultations for his second budget, budget 2017.

I wonder if the minister could share his objectives with the House.

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague from Glengarry—Prescott—Russell for his excellent question.

Yesterday we announced the launch of our consultations for budget 2017. Last year we engaged with over 250,000 Canadians to solicit their ideas for the budget. Those consultations were extremely successful, and we hope to gather even more suggestions this year.

Anyone who would like to participate can do so by completing the questionnaire on the Finance Canada website.

Innovation, Science and Economic Development

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

Mr. Speaker, I too have an excellent question.

The National Optics Institute, a global leader located in Quebec City, has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs to prosper. This institute has a plan to expand into Ontario and Alberta to create jobs. The chairman of the board called for assistance this morning and got radio silence. The government is not responding to this Canadian gem.

The Prime Minister instructed the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development not to address issues from the Quebec City area.

Will the Prime Minister allow the minister to help out the National Optics Institute, which is in his own riding?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, as the member opposite knows, we are very much engaged with the institute. We have heard their funding request. As we do with all requests, we base it on merit. We look at the best possible outcomes to commercialize these ideas, to help make sure we help small businesses and grow the economy.

This is a great initiative and we look forward to supporting it.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, to strip someone of their Canadian citizenship is a very serious matter.

Stephen Harper's Bill C-24 took away due process for Canadians, even in the case of an honest mistake. The Liberals promised a full repeal of Bill C-24, but so far they have failed to deliver. In fact, the government is aggressively pursuing citizenship revocation for up to 60 Canadians every month.

When will the minister fix Bill C-24? Will he halt citizenship revocation until fairness has been restored?

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, Bill C-6 adheres to our fundamental election commitment that a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian, and it revokes citizenship revocation for criminal acts applied to dual citizens alone. That was the central focus of the bill. It has now passed through the House of Commons and will be considered in the Senate.

Citizenship revocation for misrepresentation is under consideration and we are considering further lines of appeal.

International Development

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, York South—Weston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the fifth replenishment conference of the Global Fund was recently held in Montreal. Canada generously pledged $800 million from 2017 to 2019 to fight AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.

Will the Minister of International Development update the House on the leadership role played by Canada and on the progress made at this conference to eradicate these three terrible diseases that have claimed so many lives?

[Marie-Claude Bibeau, Liberal, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie]

Mr. Speaker, our government has once again shown leadership. The Replenishment Conference, hosted in Montreal, raised close to $13 billion in pledges to eradicate HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis.

We are proud of our pledge of over $800 million. It will help save an additional eight million lives.

Government Expenditures

[Chris Warkentin, Conservative, Grande Prairie—Mackenzie, AB]

Mr. Speaker, earlier this week, when caught misusing taxpayers dollars, the Prime Minister's friends, Gerry and Katie, said that when they reviewed their expenses, they found that there were some that were unreasonable.

The government continued to say that it was following the rules and was forced to make these payouts because of the rules, but in fact, the senior vice-president at Brookfield Global Relocation Services said just minutes ago that they were not forced to do this. As a matter of fact, they would have been briefed on the exact expenses they themselves were claiming.

The question is, did Gerry and Katie believe that these expenses were unreasonable when they claimed them or only when they got caught?

[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 answer the member's question, and I will quote once again from Guy Giorno, former chief of staff to Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

He said, “The relocation process is run by an independent third party. The third party determines the actual cost according to the program criteria.... There's a reason the system has an independent third party decide on actual costs and apply the rules fairly and consistently to everyone. Do we want a fair and independent determination based on consistent rules, or do we want [the hon. member for Saskatoon—University] to impose his arbitrary and personal opinion on”—

Health

[Rhéal Fortin, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in a letter addressed to Premier Philippe Couillard on August 21, 2015, our Prime Minister wrote, “Unlike Mr. Harper, I do not intend to deal with this issue unilaterally.” He added, “My party is aware of the challenges that increasing health care costs...represent.”

The Liberals have managed to do worse than the Harper government. It is Harper with conditions.

How can the Prime Minister justify breaking the promise he made to the Premier of Quebec and make unilateral cuts that affect the sick in Quebec?

[Jane Philpott, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are proud of their public health care system. They expect their government to ensure that this system will always be there for them.

The Canada health transfer was more than $36 billion this year, and next year it will increase by more than $1 billion to more than $37 billion.

I am meeting with my provincial and territorial counterparts in the coming weeks. I am very much looking forward to that meeting.

[Luc Thériault, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the axe has fallen. The Minister of Health has decided, in the Liberal tradition, to unilaterally decrease health transfers. What a great way to work collaboratively with her Quebec counterpart. This is a direct attack on the Quebec health system. There is less money for access to doctors, less money for nurses, and less money for care and surgical procedures.

Why are the 40 Liberal members from Quebec saying nothing and letting this government attack Quebec's health care system?

[Jane Philpott, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, let us be sure that this House has the facts correct. We are not cutting health transfers. We had the biggest transfer ever this year, more than $36 billion, but next year it is going to be even bigger than that, more than $37 billion.

We are interested in collaborating and working with our colleagues in the provinces and territories who are doing such a good job delivering care.

We want to invest in areas where we have agreed upon priorities, including increased investments in home care.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

It being 3:05 p.m, pursuant to an order made on Thursday, September 22, 2016, the House will now proceed—

Point of order, the hon. government House leader.

Oral Questions

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

Mr. Speaker, during question period, I quoted a document from Guy Giorno, former chief of staff to prime minister Stephen Harper, where he offered a spirited defence of the government relocation policy. I would like to table this important document, in both official languages, for the benefit of all members.

The House resumed from September 22 consideration of the motion.

Opposition Motion—Appointments to the Supreme Court

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

It being 3:05 p.m., pursuant to an order made on Thursday, September 22, 2016, the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion of the member for Niagara Falls concerning the business of supply.

Call in the members.

[And the bells having rung:]

The question is as follows. Shall I dispense?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

No.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

[The Speaker read text of motion to House]