Debates of Oct. 30th, 2017

Ethics

[Guy Caron, NDP, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, there might be something broken with this device because every time the Prime Minister speaks all I keep hearing is, “We're entitled to our entitlements”.

The Ethics Commissioner actually said that other ministers, other than the finance minister, could have benefited from those loopholes in the Conflict of Interest Act. For a Prime Minister who said he would be enforcing the highest standards for his ministers, we are seeing that he cannot even keep the bare minimum.

I have a very simple question, once again, for the Prime Minister. Who are the other ministers identified by the commissioner?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, not only on this side of the House do we follow the advice given by the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, as the Minister of Finance has indicated, we are willing to go above and beyond her original advice.

These are the facts of the matter. The issue the Conservatives and the NDP are attacking, on a personal level, is nothing but a distraction because our economy is doing well because Canadians are benefiting from growth, and they have nothing else to talk about than us.

[Guy Caron, NDP, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last week they threw the Ethics Commissioner under the bus. Today they are hiding behind her.

The fact is, they cannot enforce the bare minimum standard of ethics. Five ministers are benefiting from this loophole in the Conflict of Interest Act, and last week the government voted against the NDP's proposal to close that loophole. Now that we know multiple Liberal cabinet ministers are benefiting from the loophole, maybe the Prime Minister would like to reconsider his position. Will the Prime Minister take the Ethics Commissioner's advice and close the loophole?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, not only do we support the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner on this side of the House, we follow her advice. That is something the members opposite cannot seem to understand as they constantly criticize the work she has done and the advice she has given to all parliamentarians.

When we arrive in the House we follow the advice of the commissioner because that is what we are expected to do. That is what Canadians expect us to do, and these personal attacks are just happening because they have nothing else to talk about. That is why they are obsessed with us, while we focus on Canadians.

[Guy Caron, NDP, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last week, the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner wrote to us to say that she too had concerns about the fact that the Minister of Finance is sponsoring Bill C-27, a bill that benefits Morneau Shepell. It would be as if the Minister of Natural Resources owned an oil or gas company. That minister would be in a conflict of interest.

My question is this: Could the ministers identified by the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner also be in a conflict of interest?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, when members are elected and when ministers are appointed, they consult the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner to make sure they are following her recommendations and complying with the rules that Canadians expect members of the House to follow. That is exactly what we have done and will continue to do. Our friends opposite have nothing else to talk about or criticize, because things are going very well for the Canadian economy and the middle class.

Foreign Affairs

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Setsuko Thurlow, survivor of Hiroshima, and a great Canadian, will accept the Nobel peace prize on behalf of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. Setsuko played a key role in the UN's adoption of the landmark nuclear ban treaty. She has described the Prime Minister's refusal to sign the treaty as a lack of courage. Will the Prime Minister wake up to the reality of this global threat to humanity, and join the nuclear ban treaty?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad to have the opportunity to rise in this place and congratulate Mrs. Thurlow for a lifetime of activism on an issue that is not only dear to her heart, and to many Canadians, but to the government as well.

We know we have to continue to move forward to reduce nuclear weapons in the world to make sure our children and grandchildren are safe. That is why we are so proud to show leadership on the fissile material cut-off treaty that engages both non-nuclear and nuclear weapon-owning countries to move forward on disarmament. That is something we are going to remain focused on, because we know we need to create a world without nuclear weapons.

Ethics

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

Mr. Speaker, we have now seen the executive chair of the Institute for Governance, Yvan Allaire, express his clear opinion on the Minister of Finance's conflicts of interest. Last week, Yvan Allaire told RDI that for the past two years the finance minister has without a doubt been in conflict of interest.

If the finance minister still claims that he has nothing to hide, can he prove it by telling us what he is holding in his numbered company 2135042 Ontario Inc.?

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

Mr. Speaker, as is expected of all parliamentarians in the House, as soon as the Minister of Finance assumed office, he met with the Ethics Commissioner to ensure full compliance with the rules that govern us in the House. He followed all of the Ethics Commissioner's recommendations, including setting up a screen to prevent any conflict of interest.

Last week, he announced that he would go even further by divesting himself of his shares and by placing his investments in a blind trust. The finance minister has always worked with the Ethics Commissioner and acted accordingly, and he will continue to do so. I would remind hon. members that it is the Ethics Commissioner who is in charge of upholding the integrity of parliamentarians and Canadians' confidence in our institution.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance keeps telling us he is not in conflict of interest, but his actions prove otherwise. On October 27, Yvan Allaire even said that it would have been wise—and should have been mandatory—for the finance minister to sell all of his shares upon entering politics.

If the Minister of Finance is really being honest, can he tell us about his holdings in another numbered company, 2070689 Ontario Ltd.?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance, like all parliamentarians in the House of Commons, worked with the Ethics Commissioner, who recommended that he take certain actions after being elected and confirmed that he was in compliance with the rules and laws that govern us.

The Minister of Finance will continue to work with the Ethics Commissioner to ensure that he is fully and transparently complying with the rules that govern us. I think we can all be proud of everything the Minister of Finance has accomplished in the last two years, during which time he has done more for the Canadian economy than the previous Conservative government did in 10 years. He created 450,000 jobs and reduced child poverty by 40%. We are very proud of our finance minister.

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

Mr. Speaker, what we know is that the finance minister owns several other numbered companies with secret assets in them. Unfortunately, we cannot trust the minister to do the right thing, especially when he thinks that nobody is watching. That is clear from the way he hid his Morneau Shepell shares over the last two years. Will the finance minister be transparent with Canadians now and disclose what he owns in his numbered company 2254165 Ontario Inc.?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Ethics Commissioner is responsible for preserving the integrity and the confidence that Canadians have in this Parliament. The finance minister, just like any parliamentarian, has worked with the Ethics Commissioner, has followed her recommendations, and has gone even further, above and beyond what she has recommended. The finance minister will always work with the Ethics Commissioner to make sure that all the rules are followed.

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

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister is mired in an ethical cesspool of his own making, and he seems quite happy to remain there. He got caught misleading Canadians about his Morneau Shepell shares. Now he wants us just to trust him, even though he has millions of dollars worth of other assets hidden secretly in these numbered companies, companies like 1446977 Ontario Inc. What is in that one?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance has always worked in a forthcoming and transparent manner with the Ethics Commissioner, and has followed her recommendations, namely what she saw as the best measure of compliance, to put in place a conflict of interest screen, which has been done from the get-go, a measure that was good enough for Denis Lebel when he was the minister, and a measure that was good enough for the member for Milton when she was the minister. That is what the finance minister has always done, he has followed the recommendations of the Ethics Commissioner.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when the Prime Minister woke up this morning and saw that blazing headline on the front page of the Globe and Mail saying there are four other ministers hiding stocks in numbered companies, he would have been so concerned that he would have called a meeting in that room on the third floor, around that big oval table, and he would have said, “Ministers who have stocks hidden within numbered companies raise your hands.” Which ones did?

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

Mr. Speaker, what is expected of all parliamentarians and all ministers is that they work with the Ethics Commissioner, who has our utmost faith and greatest respect, in order to preserve the integrity of Parliament. That is what all parliamentarians on this side of the House have always done, namely, work in a fully transparent manner with the Ethics Commissioner.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, one of those who did put up his hand was the Minister of Finance. He said over the weekend, “If there’s something that I can do to make sure that people have absolute confidence, I’ll do it.” He was speaking of his conflicts of interest. One thing would be to reveal what is inside his vast network of numbered companies and trust funds.

Could the minister, for example, tell us what is in numbered company 2070689 Ontario Limited?

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

Mr. Speaker, what the Minister of Finance has always done, and will continue to do, so he can deliver for Canadians is to work with the Ethics Commissioner to make sure that all rules are followed, to follow her recommendations. He has mentioned that he would go even above and beyond.

If I could just refresh the member's memory, former finance minister Joe Oliver was the sole owner of a corporation that held publicly traded securities. The member from Nepean was the minister of democratic institutions, had recommendations from the Ethics Commissioner, never acted upon them.

What I see is a bit of hypocrisy and a lot of amnesia. At the same time, I can understand why those members are trying to forget their decade in power. Millions of Canadians are trying to forget.

Foreign Affairs

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we learned last week that Canadian contribution to UN peacekeeping has reached its lowest point since the 1950s. According to the CBC, UN officials believe this government's actions to be of line with UN peacekeeping priorities. Two weeks from now, Canada will be hosting the world at a peacekeeping summit in Vancouver, and we have nothing to offer. When will this government do what it promised, what the UN has asked for, what the rest of the world expects from Canada and—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

[Matt DeCourcey, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we believe very strongly that Canada has an important role to play on the world stage. We are proud of our record, and Canadians expect us to make this international contribution. That is why we have committed to contributing half a billion dollars and 600 troops for peacekeeping operations. This decision was not made lightly, as Canadians would expect.

[Randall Garrison, NDP, Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke, BC]

Mr. Speaker, rather than celebrating the first anniversary of another Liberal promise, I am sure Canadians would rather celebrate a contribution to peacekeeping. However, under both the Liberals and the Conservatives, Canada's contribution has been minimal. Despite this, Canada will be hosting a peacekeeping summit next month, scheduled on the understanding that we will be providing a significant commitment to UN peacekeeping.

It has been more than a year since the Minister of Defence pledged to contribute up to 600 Canadian Armed Forces personnel and 150 police officers, but the government continues to avoid committing to a specific UN mission.

When can Canadians expect to see the Liberals keep their promise on peacekeeping?

[Matt DeCourcey, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, as I just mentioned, Canada knows we have an important role to play on the international stage. We are proud of our peacekeeping traditions, as are Canadians, and Canadians expect us to make a contribution. That is why we have committed half a billion dollars and 600 troops to return to peacekeeping operations.

We are taking our time to make this important decision, understanding the impact that Canada can best play. That is what Canadians expect of us.