Debates of Oct. 25th, 2017

Ethics

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, it is the opposition that is making baseless insinuations. There is no conflict of interest. The minister acted on all of the commissioner's recommendations, which included setting up an ethical screen, which the commissioner said was the most effective way to handle things. The minister followed the rules, he set up an appropriate screen, and nothing goes against Bill C-27.

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

Mr. Speaker, all MPs are required to declare their assets within 60 days, but funnily enough it took the finance minister two years to realize this. The Prime Minister is trying to deflect attention away from the finance minister's personal conflict of interest. However, the fact remains that the finance minister's bill benefited his own company, Morneau Shepell.

I have a simple question for the Prime Minister: was the Prime Minister aware that Bill C-27 would benefit Morneau Shepell?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, again, I understand that by trying to attack the government, the opposition is just doing its job. The reality, however, is that we have a Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner who makes sure all MPs follow the rules and follow her advice. The minister did exactly that. I understand that the opposition is hoping to divert attention away from the fact that our economic growth is helping Canadians and putting money in the pockets of the middle class, but it is not going to work.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is clear that Morneau Shepell and the finance minister will benefit from Bill C-27. Although we all know the Prime Minister is a very fine and gifted dramatic performer, his “let us just blame the Ethics Commissioner” shtick is not passing the mustard test. The Prime Minister needs to be clean with Canadians.

When did he find out the Minister of Finance would benefit from Bill C-27?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, I am not trying to blame the Ethics Commissioner, I am trying to trust the Ethics Commissioner. That is what opposition members need to do.

They need to understand that despite all the attacks and mudslinging that goes on here, we have a system whereby officers of Parliament and commissioners ensure that people follow the rules. That is exactly what happens here. Those rules that apply to us apply to them, and we trust the advice given by the commissioner. We will continue to go above and beyond what she asks whenever possible.

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

Mr. Speaker, we trust the Ethics Commissioner, but we do not trust the government. We do not trust the finance minister. We do not trust the Prime Minister to give the Ethics Commissioner accurate information. That is the problem.

The Prime Minister himself has a problem, because this conflict of interest is ultimately his responsibility. He either knew the finance minister was making $65,000 a month off of this and he did not care, or he did not know, which means, can he trust the finance minister's judgment and ethics?

Again, when did the Prime Minister find out the finance minister was making money off of Bill C-27?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I feel bad for the Conservatives right now. They put forward an economic plan two years ago that completely failed. They attacked us non-stop for wanting to put more money in the pockets of the middle class, for wanting to invest in our communities, to wanting to support people working hard to join the middle class. They did not believe that doing this would actually grow the economy, but it did and it has.

We have created economic growth by doing exactly what we said, We put money in the pockets of Canadians who need it. We are going to continue doing that, much to the despair of the poor Conservatives.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. Most members in all parties are able to sit through question period, and hear things they do not like, even things that might provoke them, and not be provoked and not react. There are a few who have difficulty doing that.

I encourage hon. members to restrain themselves.

The hon. member for Essex.

Trade

[Tracey Ramsey, NDP, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as we get closer to Halloween, I would like to tell a scary story. Like all good tales of ghosts and zombies, the trans-Pacific partnership is another tale that appeared dead, but apparently is not. Despite an overwhelming percentage of Canadians who want it gone, the Liberal government just keeps bringing it back to life. In an access to information request, only two out of 18,000 Canadians wrote to the Liberals in support of the TPP. That is .01%.

Why will the Liberal government not stop reviving Frankenstein, and kill the TPP for good?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, unlike the NDP, we are a pro-trade party. However, unlike the Conservatives, we believe in good trade deals. That is why we renegotiated a progressive version of CETA. That was the only way that CETA was actually moving forward.

We continue to work with the United States to ensure that NAFTA is modernized. Yes, we continue to look for opportunities to increase trade with the Pacific, but we look to do so in a progressive way that works for everyone. That is what Canadians expect from this government. That is what we are going to deliver.

Bankruptcies

[Scott Duvall, NDP, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Mr. Speaker, while in opposition, the Liberals vowed to change bankruptcy laws to protect workers, but since then, the government has done nothing to help workers except apparently monitor the situation, leaving workers at companies like Sears, U.S. Steel, Stelco, Algoma Steel, Wabush Mines, and Cliff Mines reeling. Today we wrote to the Prime Minister, asking him to initiate a special parliamentary investigation into the liquidation of Sears.

Will the Prime Minister initiate an investigation, and commit to changing bankruptcy and insolvency laws to protect Canadian workers, retirees, and their families, yes or no?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, of course our hearts go out to the workers affected by the decision taken by Sears. We are making every effort to connect Sears' employees and pensioners with programs and services that will help them through this tough time. I understand that the current Sears Canada pension fund assets are held in trust and must be used solely for the benefit of pensioners. Service Canada has been meeting with representatives of Sears Canada to ensure a rapid national and coordinated response to meet the needs of the impacted employees. We will continue to work to help employees affected by this decision.

Taxation

[Pat Kelly, Conservative, Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, earlier in question period, the Prime Minister claimed that the Liberals would never take away a benefit from a vulnerable Canadian. However, we have a letter dated May 10 that confirms that this is exactly what they have done. The Liberals changed the process, resulting in an 80% denial rate for applicants suffering from type 1 diabetes.

Does the Prime Minister really think that this latest tax grab on vulnerable Canadians is helping the middle class, or is it just a desperate attempt to raise additional money to fund an out-of-control spending problem?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are ensuring that all Canadians who deserve benefits and qualify for benefits get them. However, again, the allegations and the insinuations of the members opposite that we are spending money in the wrong places really makes us wonder, what are the investments they have such issue with? Is it putting more money in the pockets of the middle class? Is it raising taxes on the wealthiest one per cent and lowering them on the middle class? These are the kinds of things that the Conservative Party worked against in the last election and continues to rail against now, even though it is growing the—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola.

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is incredible that the Liberals are taking money away from the most vulnerable. Every day, we hear more and more cases of type 1 diabetics who had previously been approved but have now been rejected for the disability tax credit. It is even worse than we thought, though. Canadians with type 1 diabetes may lose thousands of dollars more in government assistance. That is because in order to qualify for a registered disability savings plan, people have to qualify first for the disability tax credit. Will the Prime Minister stop trying to raise revenue on the backs of the most vulnerable Canadians?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

On the contrary, Mr. Speaker, we are focused on helping and supporting the most vulnerable Canadians. That is why we are moving forward on accessibility legislation to help Canadians across the country. That is why we are ensuring that people get the benefits to which they are entitled, which is why we are rehiring nurses at the CRA to help process these files after, yes oh yes, the Conservatives fired them.

The fact is we are going to continue to stay focused on Canadians who need the support and need the help. Unfortunately, the Conservatives for 10 years chose to do things like closing veterans offices and eliminating health benefits for—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis.

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have a very simple question for the Prime Minister. It comes from a constituent from Sainte-Justine.

She is concerned because she has diabetes and can no longer collect her disability tax credit. Worse yet, she will no longer qualify for a registered disability savings plan. The Prime Minister better not tell us that he needs more nurses. For years these people have been getting their credit automatically through their doctors.

Why is it easier for the Prime Minister to protect the Minister of Finance than it is to take care of a woman with diabetes in Sainte-Justine?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we will continue to work on ensuring that people who are eligible for assistance receive that assistance.

Our government's priority is to help the most vulnerable and help those who are in need. For 10 years, under the Conservative government, people were getting less help than they needed. We have restored the government's ability to serve the public.

In the matter at hand, I will be happy to to make sure that the Minister of Health and the Minister of National Revenue follow up on this case should we be asked to do so.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, two years ago, Canadians had a choice. They could go with the NDP and Conservative plan for cuts to services, or they could go with our plan to support the middle class and people working hard to join it. They chose our plan that helps people put a roof over their heads and healthy food on their tables. Our plan grows the economy and provides opportunities for people to join the middle class.

Can thePrime Minister tell the House what we are doing to help vulnerable Canadians?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we know that we have a responsibility to support those who are working hard and who need just a little help. Yesterday, we announced that we will further increase the working income tax benefit by $500 million per year. This means a total increase of 65% to this program. Pedro Barata, co-chair of the National Housing Collaborative, said that the “Extra help for [the] working poor is welcome news”, and that this announcement was a key plant to reduce poverty. We could not agree more.

Foreign Affairs

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has, for decades, been a petri dish of corruption, financial mismanagement, and political bias. Instead of honouring education, science, and history, UNESCO has denied Jewish history on Temple Mount and across Jerusalem and outrageously proclaimed Hebron's Tomb of the Patriarchs to be a Palestinian world heritage site.

The United States is withdrawing from UNESCO, as is Israel. When will Canada and the Liberals take a stand?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have taken a stand. We believe in ensuring a strong Canadian voice within UNESCO to continue to stand up for Israel, to continue to stand up for good projects around the world, to continue to be the voice that Canadians and, indeed, people around the world expect from our representatives to stand up and fight for what is right. We believe that doing that from within organizations rather than from without is, in many cases, the best way to go.