Debates of Nov. 2nd, 2017

Veterans

[Bob Saroya, Conservative, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today, 100 students from Ellen Fairclough Public School in my riding of Markham—Unionville are visiting Ottawa. I had the opportunity to attend a Remembrance Day service with the students and teachers before arriving here today.

We are forever grateful for Canada's veterans and their sacrifices. The generous service of Canadian Armed Forces members during times of war and peace have helped define and shape our country. I am thankful I was able to honour those who have served our country and thank those who serve in uniform.

I hope the students of Ellen Fairclough Public School leave Ottawa today with a greater interest and appreciation for our veterans and civic institutions.

Poland

[Peter Fonseca, Liberal, Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to rise today to celebrate a very special day for over one million Polish Canadians.

On November 11, we celebrate Polish national independence day, commemorating the anniversary of the restoration of Poland's sovereignty as the second Polish Republic in 1918. Our two countries share common values of freedom, peace, and democracy, and fought side-by-side during the D Day invasion to liberate Europe.

Polish Canadians have made a remarkable contribution to our social, economic, and political foundations in Canada. Mississauga is home to over 30,000 members of the Polish diaspora.

In honour of this day, it is my pleasure to invite all my colleagues in the House to join us this evening at the Sir John A. Macdonald Building as we welcome Poland's new ambassador to Canada. I welcome Ambassador Kurnicki. I am looking forward to seeing everyone tonight.

[Member spoke in Polish]

Indigenous Affairs

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to represent the beautiful northwest of British Columbia. Some of the proudest, strongest, and most ancient first nations have made this territory home since time immemorial.

Despite insidious and bad-faith policies from the federal government that continue to this day, the first nations I am proud to call friends continue to struggle for justice and economic sovereignty.

I have just two examples. Today in Terrace, British Columbia, the nation-to-nation summit is showing leadership by bringing together government, industry, and first nations leaders to create opportunity and success for all people in the northwest. It is also shown in the leadership of the Nak'azdli First Nation, which is creating safe housing opportunities for its people.

Far too often, first nations stories are only told when the tragedy of colonialism is manifested. I am privileged to witness the tireless and dedicated work that benefits not only the first nations of the north but all Canadians.

Accident on Highway 400

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

Mr. Speaker, OPP Sergeant Carey Schmidt said that it was one of the worst crashes he had ever witnessed in terms of its absolute carnage and destruction. Late Tuesday evening, 14 vehicles, including two fully loaded fuel tankers, were involved in a major crash near Cookstown on Highway 400. It is being reported that at least three people died, including a father of nine from North Bay.

I trust I speak for all members when I say to the families who have lost loved ones or those who were injured to please know they have our deepest sympathy and are in our thoughts and prayers.

I would like to thank the many first responders who answered the call and acted so quickly and professionally. Events like these can be traumatizing to all involved. To the first responders on scene and those who witnessed this terrible even, it is okay to ask for help. Reach out to someone sooner rather than later, talk to colleagues, family, and friends. There are mental health professionals ready to assist if they need help for the healing to begin.

Status of Women

[Anita Vandenbeld, Liberal, Ottawa West—Nepean, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the government announced the launch of the national action plan on women, peace, and security. This plan will ensure that women are involved in all aspects of the peace process.

Seventeen years ago, the United Nations passed Security Council resolution 1325, committing to include women equally in peace processes. Gone are the days when warlords met behind closed doors to divide the spoils of war and call it a peace agreement. Women are not an add-on, but central to peace building. Women are not just victims of violent conflict, but the solutions to sustainable peace.

We know that when women participate fully in the peace process, communities are more engaged and peace agreements last longer.

I would like to pay tribute to all the women who are or have been military and civilian peacekeepers, and all the women who risk their lives so our daughters and sons can live in peace and security.

Ethics

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner clearly said that many ministers are using the same loophole that the finance minister used to hide his assets. However, the Prime Minister assured us that the finance minister was the only one to do so.

The question is simple: how many other cabinet ministers are using the same loophole and who are they?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the member seems to have some trouble with numbers. What I can say is that two is less than five. Those are the numbers. What we can say is that we want to continue working with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner so that our government can be certain that it does not have conflicts of interest. That will continue to be our approach. We will work with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner. That is the government's method.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, maybe the minister can help us out. Am I getting warmer or colder? It is more than one, but fewer than five. Is it four? Is it three? Is it two? Why can this minister not just answer simple questions?

Who are the other ministers and how many are there?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, in this chamber, I had a member of the opposition come over to tell me not to take it personally because what happens here is just a game.

For our government it is absolutely not a game. We are working to improve the lives of Canadians. For those 300,000 children who are being lifted out of poverty, for their parents, it is intensely personal. They care about our country and they care about their families.

We will not play the games of the opposition. We are going to work on behalf of Canadians.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, no one here thinks that it is a game to expect ministers to be held accountable, to be open, and transparent. However, there are some ministers who have been playing a game. It was called “Hide the assets”. In the case of the finance minister, it lasted two years.

All that the opposition wants to know and all that Canadians want to know is who are the ministers who are using similar loopholes, how many are there, and when did the Prime Minister know this was going on?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite is wrong, and he knows he is wrong. I disclosed all of my assets to the Ethics Commissioner and will continue to work with her. We will not play the games they are playing. We will continue to work with Canadians.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Shame on you, Bill, you're being dishonest. You're being very dishonest.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I would ask the hon. member for Carleton and others to listen to the answers, as well as the questions, of course. We need to hear both and, as Speaker, I need to hear when people say things that break the rules of the House. Therefore, we need to listen.

The hon. Minister of Finance has the floor.

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, we will not be playing games. We will focus on Canadians.

For the member for Regina—Qu'Appelle, we know that for the 16,090 children who have received the Canada child benefit, an average of $700 per family, it is not a game. It is helping their families. That is what we are working to do, and we will continue to do so.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I would be happy if the minister could tell me how I am wrong. Am I wrong when I say that the minister hid his assets for two years? Is the Ethics Commissioner wrong when she says there is more than one minister, but fewer than five? Are Canadians wrong to expect a little bit better from this finance minister and this Prime Minister?

Once again, simple questions deserve simple answers. Who are the other ministers that are using the same loophole the finance minister used?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, yes, I can say that the member opposite is wrong when he says that I did not disclose all of my assets. I worked with the Ethics Commissioner, as all of us on this side are committed to doing. We will continue to do so.

What I can also say is that Canadians were right when they decided to elect our government, because they knew that we would focus on them, and not focus on playing games that are not to their advantage or their families' advantage. Happily for them, our country is in a much better situation with higher growth and a better situation for their families across this country.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I have to ask the hon. member for Brandon—Souris to remember not to speak unless he has the floor. I know he has a great baritone voice, but I only want to hear it when it is his turn to speak.

The hon. leader of the opposition.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, if I am wrong, then so too must be the Ethics Commissioner who fined the finance minister for not disclosing his assets. Is that some kind of a compliance fine that she issued him?

My last question for the finance minister would be that if he actually if he did disclose his assets for the past few years, will he be asking for his $200 back?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, what I can say to the member opposite is: wrong again.

What happened here is that I disclosed all of my assets, and in fact there was an administrative error that we satisfied the commissioner with the $200 fine I paid.

We are trying to work to help Canadians and not play the games that the members opposite are trying to play, because we know that was what we were elected to do. For all of those Canadians who looked at what we announced last week, the level of growth our country is seeing, and the improvements we are going to make in the Canada child benefit and the working income tax benefit, we are going to tell them that we are working for them.

Access to Information

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

Mr. Speaker, “Failing to Strike the Right Balance for Transparency” is the punchy title of the Information Commissioner's report, which indicates that the Liberals are once again breaking their relatively clear election promise to make representatives of the Prime Minister's Office and other ministers' offices subject to the Access to Information Act.

They could have accomplished that with Bill C-58, but the bill falls far short of the mark.

Why is the Prime Minister backtracking rather than forming a government that is truly open and transparent?

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

Mr. Speaker, after more than 30 years, we are the first government to modernize the Access to Information Act, and we are applying it to ministers' offices through proactive disclosure.

I understand why the NDP does not like proactive disclosure. When we were in opposition and the Prime Minister was the leader of the Liberals in opposition, he led the charge on proactive disclosure of MPs' expenses. The Conservatives signed on to it quite quickly, but the NDP members were dragged kicking and screaming to disclose their expenses to the Canadian public. They did not like proactive disclosure then, and they do not like it today.

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

That is coming from the party of the sponsorship scandal, Mr. Speaker.

The Information Commissioner dropped a bombshell yesterday. The Liberals' new no access to information bill, Bill C-58, will make things even worse than they were under Stephen Harper and Jean Chrétien. Ethics, cash for access, and open government were all promises made, and all promises that were broken. From the sponsorship scandal to missing and murdered aboriginal women and girls, all of this came to light through access to information.

Will the minister listen to civil society, immigration groups, and first nations, and fix this bad bill?

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

Mr. Speaker, we are proud to be the first government in more than 30 years to modernize the Access to Information Act. I want to be very clear on a specific issue the hon. member raised in regard to indigenous peoples.

I will be very clear that we will support an amendment that would require departments to seek approval from the Information Commissioner before refusing a request. This would ensure that broad requests would not be refused simply because they were broadly applied in their descriptions. We want to ensure that this modernization of access to information strengthens the regime, and we are open to narrowing the application of this clause,

Ethics

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, exactly no one in first nation communities believes what the minister just said.

Liberals seem to have invented a whole new game. It is called “Ethics Bingo”. How many Liberals have secret numbered companies they have not told Canadians about? Is it one? Yes, there is one. Is it two? Oh yes, at least two. Is it three? Tell me when I get to the right one and we can all yell “bingo” together. Enough with the games.

Here are the Prime Minister's pre-end zone instructions to his ministers:

...you must uphold the highest standards of honesty and impartiality...and the arrangement of your private affairs should bear the closest public scrutiny.

When are they actually going to live up to those words, or are they just meaningless words written on paper?