Debates of Nov. 1st, 2017

Ethics

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I know that those parents in Milton, like other parents across the country, will be pleased to know that there is an Ethics Commissioner who takes her job seriously and ensures that the rules are followed, just as they are being followed by all of us in this House. Those parents also know that since the government changed, since our government has been in place, they have been receiving larger benefit cheques every month tax free, because the Conservatives chose to send those child benefit cheques to millionaire families and we send them to the people who actually need them. The economic growth we have seen in this country—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Carleton.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is sending child care benefits to one millionaire: himself.

Earlier today, he said that sunshine is the greatest disinfectant, yet the finance minister's myriad numbered companies are shrouded in darkness. We do not know what other conflicts he has hidden among the assets in those numbered companies. Therefore, will the Prime Minister agree to tell the finance minister to throw open the shutters and let in the sunshine so we can see what is inside those companies?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the members opposite have had a difficult time with this concept. For 10 years, the member opposite was part of the most secretive, opaque, untrusting, and untrustworthy government Canada has ever seen. The level of openness and transparency we have shown, the level of respect we have offered the commissioners of parliament, the Elections Canada commissioner, and justices of the Supreme Court that the previous government never showed is partly why Canadians have trusted us to deliver the kind of growth that 10 years of Conservatives never could.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. I am sure the hon. member for Foothills has a fabulous voice, but I encourage him to sing perhaps at a different time.

The hon. member for Carleton.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has gone so far as to suggest that somehow it would be disrespectful to the Ethics Commissioner if the finance minister were to tell us what he is hiding in his numbered companies. I wonder if the Prime Minister can tell us, did the Ethics Commissioner ban the finance minister from sharing with Canadians what assets he holds in those numbered companies?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite wants to talk about numbers, and I know he is wondering just how many young people in Carleton have been receiving the Canada child benefit. I can tell him that 16,200 kids in his riding have been receiving an average of $430 per family a month to help with the high cost of raising families, of buying new clothes, and after-school activities. These are the things that are making a difference for families in his riding, that we have increased because, unlike the former government, we do not—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Jonquière.

Pensions

[Karine Trudel, NDP, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP and the unions have sounded the alarm regarding Bill C-27, a bill that puts the Liberals' rich corporate friends first, ahead of our workers and pensioners.

The risk associated with pensions is going to shift from employers to employees. Today my colleague is going to move a motion calling for the withdrawal of that bill, which is the right thing to do.

The Prime Minister is fond of saying that he is working for the middle class.

Will he do right by our workers and pensioners and withdraw Bill C-27?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are very proud of what we have accomplished for our workers and pensioners. To support our workers, we lowered taxes for the middle class and raised them for the wealthiest 1%. We are currently cutting taxes for small businesses so that they can hire more workers.

We are also working to support our pensioners. We increased the guaranteed income supplement for our most vulnerable seniors by close to $1,000 a year and we enhanced the Canada pension plan, because we know that providing pensions to present generations is crucial. That is what we will continue to do.

[Scott Duvall, NDP, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Mr. Speaker, maybe he can answer this question since he did not answer the others.

How can the Prime Minister say his government is working for the middle class when it has put forward a bill with the sole intent of shifting the risk of pension plans from the employer to the employee? That is not working for the middle class; that is working for the wealthy and well-connected.

The fact that the Prime Minister is still considering going forward with this bill, which would have huge impacts on middle-class workers, proves that he is completely disconnected from the middle class.

I have a simple question. Will he do what is right and withdraw Bill C-27?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, just a week ago, we announced that we were going to be increasing the working income tax benefit by about $750 million in 2019. That is going to put more money in the pockets of hard-working Canadians and make a huge impact in the economic growth and opportunities that hard-working Canadians have.

We are always looking for ways to continue to help workers and their families and prepare them for their retirement. That is what we are going to continue to do. This government is focused on the middle class and those working hard to join it.

Ethics

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I noticed that one of the talking points the Prime Minister is using today is “we believe in helping those who need it”. I am just wondering if he could clarify, when he said that, if he meant helping the Minister of Finance, who holds stocks in a company that saw a share price increase after he introduced Bill C-27.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the previous government delivered Canada child benefits that went to every family across the country, including the wealthiest families. We did not think that was fair, and we got a lot of grief from the Conservatives who disagreed with us on that.

We think doing more for the families that need it and less for the families that do not is a way of growing the economy. It worked. The Canada child benefit, lowering taxes for the middle class and raising them on the wealthiest 1%, and now lowering small business taxes and increasing the WITB work.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, that is why the GDP has shrunk and the deficit has increased I am sure—sorry, the other way around.

The Prime Minister has also said that we rely on the excellent work of the Ethics Commissioner, but the reality is that the buck stops with him with all his cabinet ministers. Day after day, the Prime Minister has been standing up and saying that nothing has been done wrong. Today the Ethics Commissioner said that the Minister of Finance broke the law.

Why is the Prime Minister continuing to stand up and cover for his minister?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, day after day I stand up and defend the Ethics Commissioner and talk about the fact that everyone in the House works with her and respects the work and the advice she gives. That is one of the foundations of the functioning of this place.

Despite the back and forth we have, we do have someone independent of partisanship who actually ensures the rules are followed. When mistakes are made, they are rectified. That is the role of the Ethics Commissioner and that is exactly what I have been standing up, time and time again, and trying to explain to the members opposite.

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

Mr. Speaker, there we have it. Rather than raising the bar on the ethics of Liberal cabinet ministers, as the Prime Minister mandated in his letters, the Minister of Finance, with the Prime Minister's help, has lowered it.

The Ethics Commissioner has now confirmed that the finance minister broke the law and was fined. The minister has broken the law and the Prime Minister turns a blind eye to it.

Since there are so many young people here today, I would like to ask the Prime Minister one simple question. Is breaking the law now the new normal for the Prime Minister of Canada and his cabinet ministers?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased the member for Barrie—Innisfil brought up the young people in this place today. It is important for them to know that despite the back and forth that gets quite robust sometimes, particularly on Wednesdays, we do have a system that ensures that beyond partisanship, everyone in this place follows the rules. If mistakes are made, there are consequences for it.

We have a commissioner in place to defend the institutions of Parliament and democracy. Unfortunately, for 10 years, the members opposite spent their time attacking those folks who were defending our democracy.

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

The rules were not followed, Mr. Speaker; they were broken.

The Prime Minister's letter told the minister he had an obligation “that is not fully discharged by simply acting within the law”. Also, he must live up to the “highest standards of honesty and impartiality”. Now we know the minister broke the law.

Where I come from in Barrie—Innisfil, one is either accountable or one justifies. How can the Prime Minister keep making excuses for the Minister of Finance?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, I am demonstrating that we respect, work with, and follow the advice of the Ethics Commissioner.

However, I know the member for Barrie—Innisfil wants to know how kids in his riding are doing. There are 19,730 children in his riding who are doing better because of the Canada child benefit. This is an average monthly cheque to families of $540. This money is being delivered to those families.

The Conservatives gave cheques to everyone. We are giving them to those who need it the most.

Pensions

[Anne Minh-Thu Quach, NDP, Salaberry—Suroît, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in late 2015, the president and CEO of Morneau Shepell said the company viewed transferring pension risk from employers to employees as one of its biggest business opportunities.

By a strange coincidence, Bill C-27, a bill designed to do just that, was tabled a few months later by the Minister of Finance.

If the Prime Minister loves the middle class so much, why did he let his finance minister table a bill that attacks workers' pensions in order to line his cronies' pockets?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to talk about what we are doing for the middle class, for workers, and for our pensioners.

We reversed the previous Conservative government's decision to increase the retirement age from 65 to 67. We are currently giving almost $1,000 more a year to our most vulnerable seniors, and we have made major improvements to the Canada pension plan for the first time in generations, because we know that investing in our workers' retirement funds is important for the future.

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

Mr. Speaker, why has Morneau Shepell been asking for legislation to enable targeted benefit pension plans for years? Because these plans are good for its clients and the employers, but not so good for the employees.

Tabling a bill that places the burden of risk and accountability on pensioners is not working for the middle class; it is working for corporate interests.

Will the Prime Minister stop spewing talking points about the middle class and really help them by withdrawing Bill C-27?