Debates of Nov. 22nd, 2017

Ethics

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

Mr. Speaker, this is indeed historic. Never in the history of Canada have the Minister of Finance and the Prime Minister been under investigation by the Ethics Commissioner at the same time. That is the Liberals' idea of making history.

The problem with the Minister of Finance is that he is hiding things from Canadians. He introduced Bill C-27, which benefited his family's company tremendously, but said he worked with the Ethics Commissioner. I believe him because that is precisely what he did after introducing the bill. That is unacceptable.

Why is the Minister of Finance not being straight with Canadians?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the reason the hon. opposition member is focusing on me is because he does not want to focus on Canadians.

We will continue to improve the lives of Canadians. Today we announced our housing strategy. It is very important for Canadians. We will help 500,000 Canadians have access to housing. It is very important. We are going to help people who have nowhere to live. This is a very important day for Canadians.

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

Mr. Speaker, of course we are going to talk about the Minister of Finance.

It was this minister who said that he would put his assets in a trust, but did not do so until he was caught red-handed. It was this minister who introduced a bill that put him in a direct conflict of interest because of his family business and who consulted the Ethics Commissioner after the fact. The Minister of Finance still has private numbered companies.

Why is the minister not answering Canadians' questions and why has he not disclosed all his assets so that Canadians can finally properly judge him?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I will continue to do important work on behalf of Canadians while the opposition focuses on me. It is very important to continue strengthening our economy. We are in a very good position. Our economic growth is much better than it was two years ago. That is very important. We have 500,000 new jobs and the lowest unemployment rate in a decade. The economy is growing and we will continue with our work.

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

Mr. Speaker, we know the finance minister has already been found guilty of breaking the Conflict of Interest Act. That is clear. What is not clear, maybe as clear as mud, is how many other conflicts of interest he is in. Therefore, the finance minister has a choice to make. He can continue to keep Canadians in the dark, or he can reveal what assets he has owned in numbered companies over the last two years, or what exactly the finance minister is trying to hide.

Yes, we are focused on the finance minister.

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, as often as the opposition focuses on personal attacks, we are going to focus on what we are doing for Canadians. That, we know is important.

Today, as we have said, is a particularly important day. We are talking about budget 2017's $11.2 billion invested in housing, and how that is going to make a difference for Canadians.

The Prime Minister is going to be talking today about how 500,000 people are going to have access to housing. That is critically important. We are going to reduce homelessness by 50% in this country. These are important goals which we know Canadians are waiting to hear. We are looking forward to telling them more this afternoon.

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

Mr. Speaker, as leaders in this country we all are called to a higher standard, and that includes being held accountable for our actions. That is not anybody picking on us or anybody picking on the Minister of Finance. It is him being accountable for his actions, and it is shameful to see him refusing to do that.

The Prime Minister talks about sunny ways. He talks about sunshine being the best disinfectant.

Let us give the finance minister a chance to be accountable, and instead of keeping Canadians in the dark. Let him reveal to Canadians what assets he has held, be accountable for his actions, own up, stand up, and take some leadership.

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I am accountable, and I will continue to be accountable to Canadians.

While the opposition focuses on fabrications, I will focus on being accountable to results for Canadians. We are focused on making sure the economy grows. We are focused on making sure that it helps Canadian families.

Those two things are demonstrably having an impact. We have seen the highest level of growth in years, significantly higher than we saw in the previous government, and importantly, a lower level of employment than we have seen in a decade. Those are important goals, and we are accountable for that.

Poverty

[Brigitte Sansoucy, NDP, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, two years ago, the government promised us an anti-poverty strategy. The parliamentary budget officer's report shows that the government has failed on that count. Not only has it not yet carried out an analysis of existing measures to see whether and how they are working, but also many of its measures are poorly designed.

If fighting poverty is so important to the government, when will it launch a comprehensive anti-poverty strategy?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, that is a very good question. Our first step was to introduce a strategy to reduce poverty in our country. Thanks to the guaranteed income supplement, we have helped seniors by giving them more money. We also introduced the Canada child benefit, thanks to which, again this year, 300,000 children will no longer have to live in poverty. Today, with our housing strategy, we are going to help a lot of people find a place to live. This is very important, and it is all part of our strategy to make things better.

Intergovernmental Relations

[Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet, NDP, Hochelaga, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have a nasty habit of imposing their vision on the provinces and municipalities. We saw this with the legalization of cannabis and the health accords. We have every reason to believe that they will do the same thing with the housing strategy. Some 1.7 million Canadian families are having a hard time finding places to live.

Will the government create a true partnership with the provinces and municipalities in order to tailor the strategy to local realities?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, today is a very important day with regard to improving housing outcomes in our country. We will continue to work with the provinces and municipalities, but today we are announcing how we can improve the situation now.

With the $11.2 billion allocated in budget 2017, we will explain how we can help 500,000 Canadians get access to housing. This is very important. We will explain how we are going to reduce homelessness by 50%. This is an important strategy. Today is an important day.

Ethics

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

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister keeps repeating that he disclosed all of his assets since day one. We are not fabricating the fact he hid his offshore corporation for two years.

The Prime Minister says the minister has always worked since day one with the Ethics Commissioner to ensure his personal finances were in line with the expectations of Canadians. We are not fabricating the fact he never received the commissioner's permission to introduce Bill C-27, a bill from which he and his family would profit.

The minister still has mystery assets. Why will he not tell Canadians what is inside all of his other companies?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, that is a fabrication of an issue. That is all I can say. Being clear on my assets was important from day one.

That is what allows me to continue—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. I would ask the hon. member for Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d'Orléans—Charlevoix and the members around her to stop heckling.

The hon. Minister of Finance

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

As I said, Mr. Speaker, by being free of conflicts from day one, we have been focused on things we are working for on behalf of Canadians, and that is having a real impact. The kind of impact Canadian families can see.

They can see it with more money in their pockets, because of the Canada child benefit. They can see it if they are a senior with the improvement in the guaranteed income supplement.

We can see that all those actions are leading to a much better economy, an economy that is helping all of our constituents and all Canadians.

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

What is not a fabrication, Mr. Speaker, is the erosion of trust that Canadians are having in the finance minister.

It is not just about what is hiding behind door number two, door number three, or door number four.

What about Morneau Shepell stock held by family members? How much has he and his family profited from decisions made by the finance minister? Since the minister was sworn in, shares in Morneau Shepell have skyrocketed by 38%.

Do Canadians have the right to know if the minister's financial interests and that of his family conflict with his public duties, yes or no?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, as I reported to the House, I have no interest nor does my family in Morneau Shepell.

We on this side of the House work here to improve the situation of Canadians.

It is going well. Canadians are doing well. The economy has improved. There is more work to do. We are talking today about the work we are going to do in housing to help 500,000 Canadians to have the key to their house, or more money in their pockets to ensure they have housing. We are going to make sure we have 50% fewer people who actually do not have a place to live.

This is the sort of work we are going to continue to do on behalf of Canadians.

[Mark Strahl, Conservative, Chilliwack—Hope, BC]

Mr. Speaker, for two years the Minister of Finance hid his Morneau Shepell shares in a numbered company, and we only found out about that because he was caught.

He said he was working with the Ethics Commissioner from the beginning, but we know that is not true. He has been caught again. He is under investigation yet again, and Canadians do not know what else he is hiding.

The Prime Minister has said that sunshine is the best disinfectant. Will the finance minister let the sunshine in, face it with a grin, open up his books, and let Canadians in on what else he is hiding?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, to repeat, 100% of my assets have been disclosed from day one to the Ethics Commissioner.

The opposition is focusing on personal attacks and does not want to focus on the last decade in which it did nothing in housing. We are talking today about how we are going to make a huge difference in housing. The $11.2 billion we set in budget 2017 is going to make a significant long-term difference for Canadians, with 500,000 people with a key to their own home, or money to actually pay for their lodging.

This is huge. We are going to reduce homelessness in this country by 50%. We are on the job for Canadians, and we will not be distracted.

[Mark Strahl, Conservative, Chilliwack—Hope, BC]

Mr. Speaker, at least on this side of the House we can remember the homes that we own.

For two years, the finance minister profited from his ownership in a company that made millions after he introduced legislation that benefited that same company. There was no blind trust. There was no sign-off from the Ethics Commissioner, and we only knew about his continued ownership with Morneau Shepell because he got caught. Now he is under investigation yet again.

Canadians want to know what other skeletons the minister is hiding in his closet. When will he finally come clean, and reveal what else he is hiding, so Canadians can see his other conflicts of interest?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I understand why the members opposite want to focus on me. They do not want to focus on what is going on for Canadians. They do not want to consider how well our economy is doing, because, of course, it paints a very different portrait than what happened over the last decade.

We are seeing that the work we are doing, investing in Canadians, is paying off. Canadians are doing better. Families are doing better. We are seeing a huge benefit to Canadian families. More money in their pockets means our economy is doing better. We will continue to focus on improving the lives of Canadians, because we know that focusing on Canadians works.

Canada Revenue Agency

[Pierre-Luc Dusseault, NDP, Sherbrooke, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General's report is damning for the current Minister of National Revenue, not the minister who was in office two years ago. This report once again proves that the Minister of National Revenue is incapable of managing the important issues that fall under her agency's responsibility.

Her mandate letter states that she must make the CRA a client-focused agency, but she is far from achieving that goal. On the new government propaganda website, the minister has put that objective under “ongoing commitments”. What does that mean? Does it mean the government does not care about this objective? The minister should have created a new category entitled “we have given up on this commitment because we failed miserably”.

After two years, how would the minister grade herself on fulfilling her mandate? Would she give herself an E or an F?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, we already have an action plan to improve the quality of services the CRA provides to Canadians. As of 2018-19, we will have a new telephone platform that will allow us to answer more calls, give an estimate of the wait times, and make sure that Canadians are not getting a busy signal.

As part of this plan, we also intend to provide better training for call centre agents by creating a national quality control team. What is more, the CRA will be updating its service standards to better meet its clients' expectations. All of these practical measures will improve the services offered to Canadians and respond to the concerns raised by the Auditor General.

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

Mr. Speaker, the revenue minister's list of greatest misses is truly impressive. First, she wanted to tax employee discounts, then she started rejecting Canadians who had been granted a disability tax credit. Now we learn from the Auditor General that her department does not just reject half the calls it receives but of those that actually make it through, 30% of Canadians get the wrong information.

If the minister wants to win back just a little bit of credibility, will she make this promise today that no Canadian will face a fine or penalty if they followed the bad advice of her agency?