Debates of Oct. 30th, 2017

Ethics

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we have full confidence in the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner to make recommendations to parliamentarians, parliamentary secretaries, and ministers, and all parliamentarians should have that same confidence. On this side of the House, we will always work transparently with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner. We will always follow her recommendations, and that is what the Minister of Finance did. He can now continue to serve Canadians, as he has been successfully doing for two years.

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner is following up on our concerns and launching an investigation. We hope this investigation will expose all of the Minister of Finance's shady dealings, starting with his offshore company and many numbered companies. After being caught in these conflicts of interest, the minister suddenly acknowledged last week that he was indeed in a conflict of interest when he announced that he would give the profit he had made off his shares to a company—

[The Speaker, Geoff Regan]

The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance.

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, to finish the member's sentence, the Minister of Finance announced that he would be donating to charity all of the money earned on his Morneau Shepell shares since he was first elected. I think that is a wonderful gesture that demonstrates the minister's commitment to serving the public, which is the very reason he left the private sector two years ago. He has been serving the public extremely successfully by growing the economy, reducing inequality, and ensuring inclusive prosperity for all Canadians.

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

Mr. Speaker, the minister will have to donate $300,000 that he has made today, and $10,000 since question period started to charity.

In fact, the day after Bill C-27 was introduced, shares in Morneau Shepell rose sharply by 5%. By his own admission, the Minister of Finance has made $5.5 million on his Morneau Shepell stock alone since he was elected. The Ethics Commissioner is concerned enough that she is now investigating the minister's involvement in Bill C-27.

How could the minister betray Canadians like this for his own financial gain and that of his family business?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, as I have mentioned, the Minister of Finance has always worked in a forthcoming manner with the Ethics Commissioner and has followed her recommendations, one of which was to set up a conflict of interest screen. This has been put in place and described by the Ethics Commissioner as the best measure of compliance possible. It is a measure that was good enough for the member for Milton and good enough for Denis Lebel back when he was in cabinet.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the minister sought no advice from Ms. Dawson when he was involved and introduced Bill C-27.

The minister would have us believe that everything is all right, that he has followed all the rules, and disclosed everything to the Ethics Commissioner. Well, she would not be investigating the minister if that were the case.

Either the minister failed to disclose all of his assets to the Ethics Commissioner or, what is becoming increasingly clear, he willfully and knowingly ignored her advice. Which is it?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, no he did not. He always followed the Ethics Commissioner's recommendations. Back two years ago, when he took office, he met with the Ethics Commissioner to put in place a conflict of interest screen, which has been in place. It was good enough for Conservative ministers back when they were in office.

The Minister of Finance has announced he will go even further, divesting himself of all shares in Morneau Shepell, placing his assets in a blind trust, and donating to charity, so he can focus on the important work he has been doing for the last two years, serving the public and growing this economy, something the Conservatives have never been able to achieve.

Aviation Safety

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, according to internal documents from Transport Canada, pilot proficiency tests will be conducted by the airlines themselves, rather than by Transport Canada inspectors, which is at odds with the recommendations of the aviation safety report. The Liberals, like the Conservatives before them, continue to rely on self-regulation and are cutting inspection budgets. It seems that the Liberals have learned nothing from the Lac-Mégantic tragedy.

Does the minister plan to reverse this dangerous decision?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, no, we do not plan to change this rule. To us, passenger safety is always a top priority. I want to correct my colleague. We are not getting rid of the function of checking the check pilots of the airlines. The member misunderstands what we have decided to do. Using a risk-based approach, we periodically conduct an airline safety audit. It is a much more intelligent approach and it is the approach that our government has adopted to ensure passenger safety.

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, according to internal documents, Transport Canada is planning to stop evaluating pilots and will instead transfer the responsibility to private airline companies. Not only are the Liberals considering privatizing our airports, they are also planning to privatize Canadian aviation security.

The Conservatives and Liberals did this with our rail transport security and with our food safety system. In both cases, this private self-regulation has led to major disasters.

Do the Liberals have a limit to what they are willing to privatize?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, again, to address the issue, I want to correct my colleague. We are not getting rid of the function of checking the check pilots of the airlines, who check their own pilots. We are continuing to use this approach, because it is an intelligent, risk-based approach. It is one that we feel will, in the most economical fashion, address our requirements while not sacrificing in any way safety.

We are a modern transport ministry and we are working in a modern way.

Economic Development

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, last Thursday, Albertans received the news that Amazon was making a major investment in Calgary's economy, committing to opening its seventh facility in Canada. This is great news for Alberta, proof positive that investing in Alberta's talented and skilled workforce is a smart investment.

Could the minister update the House on the state of the economy, as the world takes note of the strength of our economy, and why an investment in Canada is a smart investment?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Edmonton Centre for his hard work and dedication and for being a strong voice for Albertans.

As the member has mentioned, we are very pleased to hear that Amazon is opening a new distribution centre in Calgary, creating 750 jobs. This is good news for Calgary. This is good news for Alberta. This is good news for Canada.

It is because of our innovation and skills plan that we have created these conditions. Since we formed government, over 450,000 jobs have been created. We have a plan and that plan is working. We are going to focus on growth and jobs.

Taxation

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

Mr. Speaker, living with type 1 diabetes is hard enough without the Liberals stripping the disability tax credit and the disability retirement savings plan from struggling diabetics.

We have proof the Liberals changed the process in May. What is even worse is we have discovered they are doing the same thing to people with mental health conditions.

Did the Prime Minister direct the Minister of National Revenue to raise money at all costs, or did she come up with this mean-spirited attack on her own?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to ensuring that all Canadians receive the credits and benefits to which they are entitled. Last year, our government granted a record number of people with mental illness access to the disability tax credit. We are making the disability tax credit and mental health care more accessible. Under budget 2017, nurses and clinical nurses are allowed to certify application forms for their patients. We have simplified the forms and in the last budget we invested $5 billion in mental health support to—

[The Speaker, Geoff Regan]

Order. The hon. member for Louis-Saint-Laurent.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, Canadians know that the Liberals have an insatiable appetite for taxpayers' money. The Liberals have gone after business owners and Canadians, and now they are going after people who are sick. Last week, it was people with diabetes, and now it is those with mental illnesses, such as bipolar disorder, autism, and schizophrenia, who are being targeted by the Liberal government. The Liberals have made it much more difficult for these people to get access to tax credits.

I have a very simple question. Does the Liberal Party have no heart? Why is the government going after sick people?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to ensuring that all Canadians receive the credits and benefits to which they are entitled. Our government has granted a record number of people with mental illness access to the disability tax credit. We are making the disability tax credit and mental health care more accessible. In budget 2017, our government allocated over $5 billion to provide 500,000 young Canadians under the age of 25 with mental health support. We are continuing to work with our partners.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when the Conservatives were in power, our hearts were in the right place. We cared about people who were suffering. That is why we had a tax credit for people who were suffering, people who were sick, people with diabetes, and people with mental illness. The government has now made the criteria so restrictive that few people who are suffering are eligible for this eminently sensible tax credit. On the one hand, the government is spending like it is going out of style and, on the other, it is taking more money away from the least fortunate, from people who are suffering.

Why is the government doing such a poor job when it comes to people who are suffering?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, we have not changed the eligibility criteria for the tax credit for people with disabilities or diabetes. Groups have raised important concerns, and we have met with them, and we have been working with them. I would like to point out to my colleagues opposite that they spent 10 years cutting funding for scientific research. Our government invested $41 million in diabetes research. That is the kind of thing we will keep doing.

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

Mr. Speaker, if there were no changes, then why are 80% being denied now? Another week and it is another tax grab by the Liberals.

It was bad enough that the minister's department started to reject the medical advice of doctors who treat type 1 diabetics, but now there are reports that people who are mentally ill, people who have qualified for years, are suddenly being denied.

With the Liberals raising taxes and threatening benefits on the mentally ill, one can only ask this. Who is next?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, our government is firmly committed to ensuring that everyone receives the tax credits to which they are entitled.

With regard to mental health, our government allocated $5 billion in budget 2017 to provide 500,000 young Canadians under the age of 25 with better access to mental health support. Our government has also made investments in diabetes, unlike the government opposite, which slashed scientific research.

What people with diabetes want is—

[The Speaker, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Windsor—Tecumseh.

[Cheryl Hardcastle, NDP, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

Mr. Speaker, let us go over this again. Canadians with autism, bipolar disorder and other mental health issues, and those requiring dialysis, are some of the latest to be denied a disability tax credit due to changes in the way that the CRA interprets eligibility. This interpretation changed as a result of direction from the minister's office. The question is, will the minister change it back? Will the minister reverse this directive so that all persons previously eligible for this benefit can continue—