House of Commons Hansard #241 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was senate.

Topics

EthicsOral Questions

3 p.m.

An hon. member

Oh, oh!

EthicsOral Questions

3 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

The hon. member for Foothills will come to order please.

The hon. member for Edmonton Strathcona.

The EnvironmentOral Questions

3 p.m.

NDP

Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Environment is facing court action for failing to comply with laws protecting Canada's boreal woodland caribou. She has just this week received a petition seeking an order to protect the critical habitat of five severely threatened caribou herds in northeastern Alberta. Successive governments have failed in their mandatory duties to ensure the protection. The province admits it lacks the necessary powers.

Will the environment minister immediately recommend to the government to issue a section 61 order to save these herds?

The EnvironmentOral Questions

3 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, we take seriously the responsibility of protecting our natural environment. We know that protecting the environment and growing the economy go together. We will continue to work with our partners, including conservation groups and provinces and territories, to ensure that we are fulfilling all our obligations in terms of protection, protecting species at risk, in terms of keeping our environment protected for future generations.

Indigenous AffairsOral Questions

3 p.m.

NDP

Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON

Mr. Speaker, children at St. Anne's Residential School suffered nightmarish levels of abuse, torture, and child rape, yet the office of the Attorney General suppressed thousands of pages of police evidence that identified those perpetrators and in doing so, they had cases thrown out and undermined the hearings. Now that the justice department has been forced to turn over those documents, they claim it is inadmissible unless a survivor finds a witness to verify these atrocities.

To the Prime Minister, enough. The survivors of St. Anne's deserve better. Will he instruct his government to end this obstruction of justice against the survivors of St. Anne's, once and for all?

Indigenous AffairsOral Questions

3 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, the ills done to indigenous people over decades and centuries of colonialism in this country are shameful and are something that we need to learn from and move forward on. That includes respecting the rights of indigenous people now in all their different aspects. That is why we are working with survivors, working with communities to ensure that we can move forward in a way that is fully respectful of all their rights as we get to the bottom of this, understand their history, and make reparations in the right way moving forward.

EthicsOral Questions

3 p.m.

Conservative

Gérard Deltell Conservative Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC

Mr. Speaker, here are the facts: on November 30, 2015, an individual sold 680,000 Morneau Shepell shares. One week later, the Minister of Finance introduced a tax measure that resulted in a 5% loss in the value of Morneau Shepell. Earlier, the minister rose and spoke in English. I will now give him the opportunity to answer clearly in French.

Did he sell his shares or not?

EthicsOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, what we are seeing is the dilemma that the opposition members are grappling with. They cannot criticize us or even attack us on our economic record, which is extremely positive for Canadians, for the middle class. Instead they have decided to launch a smear campaign and hide behind parliamentary privilege by not repeating their allegations outside this chamber. I know that Canadians expect better from all members of the House, including the opposition members. Let us see if they start to live up to those expectations.

EthicsOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Conservative

Gérard Deltell Conservative Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC

Mr. Speaker, Canadians expect the government to be accountable. Canadians expect the Minister of Finance to give clear answers. Canadians certainly do not expect the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance to be under investigation by the Ethics Commissioner. Canadians certainly do expect the Minister of Finance to be able to tell us whether he was or was not the person who sold 680,000 shares one week before he introduced tax measures that led to a 5% drop in the share price of his family business.

Was it him or not?

EthicsOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, it is clear to the members of this House and all Canadians that the minister has already answered this question, but the opposition members continue to sling mud because they have nothing else to do. They cannot criticize us, because in two years we have already achieved a much better economic record and helped far more Canadians than they managed to do in 10 years, despite their vaunted economic expertise. The Conservatives are showing that they overstated their expertise. We are the ones who are good at creating economic growth.

EthicsOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Conservative

Sylvie Boucher Conservative Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d’Orléans—Charlevoix, QC

I will bite my tongue, Mr. Speaker.

Everything about the Minister of Finance is shady and hypocritical, yet he is still trying to convince us that the opposite is true by refusing to answer our questions. Canada's finances must be managed by someone who is responsible, transparent, and honest because this is Canadians' money we are talking about.

In light of the commissioner's investigations, the minister's personal gains and his refusal to respond to questions about his financial transactions, will the Prime Minister fire his finance minister, yes or no?

EthicsOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, what we have learned from talking to Canadians, whether it be in Lac-Saint-Jean, South Surrey—White Rock, or anywhere else in the country, is that they recognize that our economic growth record, the impact of the Canada child benefit, the tax cut for the middle class, and the tax hike for the wealthy are helping our communities, helping families, and helping individuals. That is what we are doing, and that is why the opposition members are conducting a smear campaign, because they cannot find anything else to criticize.

HousingOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Liberal

Salma Zahid Liberal Scarborough Centre, ON

Mr. Speaker, from coast to coast to coast, housing advocates are raving about Canada's first-ever national housing strategy. Many are calling the national housing strategy a game-changer. Others are saying that the national housing strategy is a model of how modern progressive policy-making should be done. No less an authority than the UN special rapporteur on housing is calling the strategy “an incredible moment for Canada and our leadership on human rights.”

Could the Prime Minister please inform the House what the first-ever national housing strategy means for all Canadians?

HousingOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

I thank the member for Scarborough Centre for her extraordinary community leadership. The national housing strategy is not just the first-ever national housing strategy in Canada, it is also the first time a federal government has committed itself to a human rights-based approach to housing. We are going to reduce chronic homelessness by 50%, build up to 400,000 new, repaired, or renovated units, and remove half a million households and individuals from housing need. We are all proud of delivering real and historic change to the Canadians who need it most.

Foreign AffairsOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Conservative

Dean Allison Conservative Niagara West, ON

Mr. Speaker, John Chang and Allison Lu are Canadian citizens who have been unfairly detained in China since March 2016 over a customs dispute. According to their daughter Amy, who is in Ottawa today, it has been over six months since she has had discussions with multiple ministers in the government who said they would look into it and move on this, and yet she has heard nothing. We need to bring John and Allison home.

As the Prime Minister heads to China next week, will he promise to raise this issue and refuse to discuss any new trade agreement with China until John and Allison are released?

Foreign AffairsOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, Canadians well know that wherever I travel around the world, I stand up for Canadian values and human rights and will continue to, including in China. The plight of Canadians, anywhere around the world, is of deep concern to our government. That is why we have had so much good news over the past two years in our capacity to bring Canadians home.

We know that engaging with China to be able to set the rules and ensure opportunities for Canadian workers and Canadian businesses to succeed in a globalized world is just the right thing to do, and we will do it while standing up for Canadian values and human rights.

Immigration, Refugees and CitizenshipOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

NDP

Matthew Dubé NDP Beloeil—Chambly, QC

Mr. Speaker, on Christmas Eve 2016, Nicolas Faubert of Mont-Saint-Hilaire died in a tragic accident. He was sponsoring his spouse, Sophie Thewys, and her son for permanent residence.

The application was approved, but because of his tragic death, Sophie was sent back to square one. This appalling lack of compassion is preventing a single mother from grieving properly.

I have written authorization, so the government cannot hide behind privacy excuses.

Will the government right this injustice and give Sophie permanent resident status?

Immigration, Refugees and CitizenshipOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, Canada is a generous and compassionate country. We know that we must help those in need here at home and around the world.

We are always looking for ways to do more for people. I know that the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship is currently taking a close look at this case. I know that everyone wants to ensure the best outcome in this situation, while maintaining the integrity of our robust immigration system.

Agriculture and Agri-foodOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

Rémi Massé Liberal Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC

Mr. Speaker, here is a concrete example of one of our government's successes on the agricultural front.

In July, the Minister of Agriculture signed an agreement with his provincial and territorial counterparts on the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, Canada's next five-year agricultural policy framework.

Can the Prime Minister tell the House about the kinds of investments and programs we can expect to see under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership?

Agriculture and Agri-foodOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia for his question and for his leadership of the Quebec caucus.

Last week, we announced a $1-million federal investment as part of the Canadian Agricultural Partnership. This investment will open markets for our farmers, make the sector more innovative and sustainable, and strengthen the sector by better reflecting the diversity of our communities and supporting public trust.

Citizenship and ImmigrationOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

Conservative

Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB

Mr. Speaker, 200 million women alive today have undergone female genital mutilation. Today, the United Nations tweeted, as part of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence that “FGM is a human rights violation. You must end cutting now for a better future for young girls”.

Canada's citizenship guide informs newcomers that FGM is a crime in Canada. However, Canada's Prime Minister has decided to delete this information. Will the Prime Minister stand with the United Nations and FGM survivors and reverse his decision?

Citizenship and ImmigrationOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, not only do I stand with the United Nations on this and many other issues, I actually, personally, brought up this issue when I was in Liberia, challenging local leaders and local governments to step up on the fight against FGM.

We will continue to stand against violence against women. We will continue to lead the way, pushing for an end to these barbaric practices of female genital mutilation, everywhere around the world and here in Canada. This is something we take very seriously.

EthicsOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

Bloc

Luc Thériault Bloc Montcalm, QC

Mr. Speaker, the 2016 political financing report reveals a coincidence in the Papineau riding that is troubling, to say the least.

On July 6 and 7, 2016, while the Liberal government was approving a Chinese bank in Vancouver, the Prime Minister received nearly $70,000 for his riding from wealthy Chinese individuals from Vancouver. That was nearly two-thirds of his political financing in under 48 hours.

Can he explain that to us?

EthicsOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, Elections Canada is there to ensure that all political financing rules are followed at all times. I am proud of the political financing rules that apply here in the House of Commons and at the federal level. We will always make sure that all rules are being followed.

EthicsOral Questions

3:15 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

On November 22, 2017, the following motion was adopted by the House of Commons:

That, notwithstanding any Standing Order or usual practice of the House, following Question Period on Wednesday, November 29, 2017, the House resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole in order to welcome Canada's 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games athletes; provided that:

(a) the Speaker be permitted to preside over the Committee of the Whole from the Speaker's chair and make welcoming remarks on behalf of the House;

(b) the names of the athletes, coaches and mission staff present be deemed read and printed in the House of Commons Debates for that day;

(c) only authorized photographers be permitted to take photos during the proceedings of the Committee; and,

(d) when the proceedings of the Committee have concluded, the Committee shall rise.

The House will now go into committee of the whole.