Debates of March 22nd, 2017

Government Accountability

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister once expressed his admiration for the basic dictatorship of China. Now it turns out he is trying to bring that dictatorship to life right here in Canada. He is trying to avoid any accountability to Canadians by eliminating debate and by giving the Liberals unprecedented control over the House of Commons and its committees. On top of this, he wants to give all his Liberal MPs Fridays off, and it turns out he, himself, only wants to show up to work one day a week.

Why does the Prime Minister have such a blatant disregard for being held accountable to Canadians?

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, as I have shared with members in the House as well as with Canadians, our objective has always been to ensure that Parliament is more relevant for Canadians, to ensure that we can make this place more efficient, more predictable, more transparent, and more accountable. That is the purpose of the discussion paper. It is a conversation we would like to have with all colleagues in this place. I am also encouraging Canadians to be part of this conversation. As we all know, this place belongs to Canadians and that is exactly whom we are here to serve.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadian workers get up every morning and go to work to earn a living. Now the government is considering cutting back our hours of work here in Ottawa. Spending more and working less: what kind of example is that setting for society?

Merely thinking up the idea is immoral. The Liberals say this is just a consultation. Can the Liberal government work to create a prosperous Canada? Can the government respect all members and commit to changing the rules only if there is unanimous consent?

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, our government knows that the work members do here in the House and in their ridings is important.

During the election campaign, we vowed to modernize Parliament and turn it into a 21st-century workplace. Our objective has always been to ensure that Parliament is relevant to Canadians and that the House is accountable, predictable, efficient, and transparent.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals say they want to make Parliament more predictable. The only thing predictable around here is that the Liberals will do whatever it takes, including rigging the rules, to avoid accountability. Predictably, the Prime Minister only likes to show up to places where it is all selfies, slogans, and superficiality, so when he finds an opposition instead of an audience, he predictably heads for the exit.

Since he loves to be loved, will the Liberal whip demand his MPs start applauding the Prime Minister more often so that he could be predicted to maybe show up here for question period more than once a week?

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, a discussion paper that I released was made available for members of Parliament as well as Canadians. I believe it is a reasonable discussion paper, encouraging members in this place to have a conversation, to have a discussion. The member opposite is misrepresenting the document, as there are many ideas being shared. We would like to see people actually having a thoughtful conversation where we can have opposing views but really come to modernizing this place and bringing it into the 21st century.

Democratic Reform

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, House Leader of the Official Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the government House leader introduced a discussion paper, and then mere days later tried to ram that, and is currently ramming that discussion paper, through Parliament.

This is not a discussion. This is not a conversation. This is a dictatorship.

I implore the House leader. I implore the government. All we are asking for is that we all be able to come to agreement, as precedent has set, before any major changes are made. I am asking the government to reset this horrid mess it has created and listen to all of us before any changes are made.

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, it is a discussion paper, and I encourage all members, as well as the public, to read it in its entirety. There are many great ideas, and we are asking the committee to actually broaden the scope of its study. We know that many ideas have already been presented. I have made myself part of that conversation.

Every single member of Parliament is here to do important work for Canadians. We would like to make this place more relevant to Canadians, and I am sure all members would agree that we can work better together.

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, House Leader of the Official Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, this is unbelievable. There can only be one conclusion drawn.

This a quote with which I am sure the Prime Minister is very familiar: “Solutions to important problems are decided not by Party committee...but by one individual”. Do members know who said that? It was Chinese dictator Chairman Mao.

Canada is not China. Canada is not a dictatorship. The Prime Minister is not the supreme emperor, so maybe he could do Canadians a favour, take another vacation, and not come back until he is ready to stop acting like those dictators he so admires.

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians elected—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. Order—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order.

The member for Grande Prairie—Mackenzie will come to order. I have heard lots of members yelling and heckling, and I have heard enough of it. The hon. government House leader has the floor.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. This question period could be a lot shorter if it is not quiet.

Order. The Speaker can only see so much, folks, and I can only put up with so much, and I am looking in all directions.

The hon. government House leader has the floor. We will have some order.

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, I do believe that this is actually demonstrating more of a reason why this conversation and discussion is necessary.

Every single member of Parliament is elected by their constituents to represent their voice in this place. It is important for us to have these conversations so that we can better serve the Canadians that we are here to represent. These are tough conversations, I agree, but I think they are important conversations for us to have, and that is why I released a discussion paper not only for members of Parliament but for the public to also participate in so that we can have the important conversations that we need to have.

Justice

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in an unprecedented act, the federal government is dropping its judicial case against 36 individuals arrested in the largest anti-Mafia sting since the Rizzuto case. Thanks to Liberal dithering, serious criminal charges are being either stayed or withdrawn.

Is this the reason that the Liberal government is abandoning this case? Is the Minister of Justice going to throw six years of anti-Mafia investigations in the trash because they refuse to provide proper resources to our justice system?

[Jody Wilson-Raybould, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, decisions such as this are made by the Public Prosecution Service, which is independent of government. I will say that there are still charges pending in this case.

Further to that, I will use this opportunity to again talk about the reforms that we are making and the comprehensive review of the criminal justice system that we are undertaking, including sentencing reform and looking at bail reform. We introduced an open and transparent process for judges to ensure public safety, respect for victims, and respect for the charter. I look forward to continuing this work.

Softwood Lumber

[Karine Trudel, NDP, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, budget day brings with it high expectations about the future of thousands of jobs in the softwood lumber sector in the Saguenay and across Quebec.

We are still waiting for the government to share information about its plan for the forestry industry. The government has a unique opportunity to show that it is taking the possibility of a trade war with the United States seriously by proposing a plan B that involves loan guarantees.

Will the government step up once and for all and show that it is ready to act on behalf of workers in Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean and Quebec?

[Jim Carr, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday, we recognize the importance of Canada's forestry sector. We have initiated a very good dialogue with the provinces that could be affected by new measures. We will absolutely have a plan to work together to protect jobs in this country. Canadians can count on us.

Ethics

[Blaine Calkins, Conservative, Red Deer—Lacombe, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister thinks he is elected royalty and Canadians should lavish him with exotic island vacations, nannies, and a jet-setting lifestyle. The Prime Minister spent $127,000 on his island excursion with the famjam and his BFFs. Seventeen hundred dollars were spent on food and drinks alone for a three-hour flight. There are people in my riding who are struggling to pay the mortgage, but the Prime Minister thinks he is entitled to his caviar and champagne.

Why does this wealthy trust-fund Prime Minister think he can abuse taxpayers' dollars entertaining himself this way?

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, as was the case for previous prime ministers, including the former prime minister, for security reasons the RCMP accompanies the Prime Minister, whether for personal or business purposes. It was this government that recognized that there was not a policy in place and asked the Clerk of the Privy Council office to help set some guidelines.

I would also like to remind the member that it was this government that lowered taxes on middle-class Canadians by increasing taxes on the wealthiest 1% of Canadians. Conservatives voted against that measure, but I am sure the member would agree that the middle-class tax cut has benefited hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Canadians.

[Blaine Calkins, Conservative, Red Deer—Lacombe, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is no wonder the Prime Minister only wants to be here one day a week. When someone thinks he is elected royalty, he does not have to work, and the average Canadian can pick up the tab for caviar and champagne, but when the Prime Minister wants to fire up the old Challenger, jet off to an island, and get away to entertain his friends, he just pulls out the old taxpayer credit card.

Can the Prime Minister justify to Canadians why they are on the hook for his $127,000 vacation and his $1,700 snack bill?

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, it is this government that lowered taxes on middle-class Canadians by increasing taxes on the wealthiest 1% of Canadians. It was this government that introduced the Canada child benefit to help families with children who need help the most, to ensure that they get the most. It was this government that took unprecedented levels of public consultation so that we could respond to the very real challenges that Canadians are facing.

In regard to the member's question, when we took office, there were no guidelines in place. One of the first things we did was ask the Clerk of the Privy Council office to put guidelines in place, and we will continue to do the good work Canadians expect us to do.