House of Commons Hansard #165 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was education.

Topics

InfrastructureOral Questions

April 12th, 2017 / 4 p.m.

Conservative

Dianne Lynn Watts Conservative South Surrey—White Rock, BC

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are sending a quarter of a billion dollars to China for the Asian infrastructure bank. Canadian taxpayers will be liable for $1.3 billion if these projects default.

The Liberals claim the bank is a good way to finance development projects in the poorest countries. However, Canada already funds these types of projects through Global Affairs Canada.

Why are the Liberals duplicating a process that already exists and sending taxpayer dollars to China instead of building infrastructure and creating jobs right here in Canada?

InfrastructureOral Questions

4 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, we are proud that in budget 2017 we highlighted historic amounts of investment in infrastructure right across this country for bridges, roads, public transit systems, social housing. The impact on Canadians right across this country is going to be massive.

Indeed, Canada has developed over the years a tremendous level of expertise in infrastructure investments, whether it is through our pension funds or elsewhere. Participating in infrastructure investments all around the world makes good sense for Canadian know-how and for Canadian investors.

Indigenous AffairsOral Questions

4 p.m.

NDP

Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON

Mr. Speaker, a political decision was made in the office of the justice minister to suppress 12,000 pages of police evidence documenting the rape, the torture, and the abuse of children at St. Anne's Indian Residential School in Fort Albany. Justice officials trashed the legal proceedings and the credibility of survivors and fought to have legitimate cases thrown out.

Will the Prime Minister of this country instruct his justice minister to end the cover-up and turn over the memos so we can find out who in her office is responsible, and will he ask her why? Why are they—

Indigenous AffairsOral Questions

4:05 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

Order. I am sorry, but the last eight seconds were cut off before they should have been. I ask the hon. member for Timmins—James Bay to repeat the last sentence, if he would not mind.

Indigenous AffairsOral Questions

4:05 p.m.

NDP

Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON

Mr. Speaker, it is a simple question for the Prime Minister. Will he ask his justice minister why they are so determined to deny justice to the survivors of that brutal institution? It is a simple question.

Indigenous AffairsOral Questions

4:05 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, no relationship is more important to this government than the relationship with indigenous peoples. That is why we are working so hard to invest historic amounts of money, $8.4 billion in our first budget, billions more in the most recent budget, to begin the long work of creating opportunities and parity for indigenous peoples across this country.

I am extraordinarily proud of the work our justice minister is doing on this file and many other files. I stand by her in the great work she is doing.

Innovation, Science and Economic DevelopmentOral Questions

4:05 p.m.

Liberal

David Graham Liberal Laurentides—Labelle, QC

Mr. Speaker, access to reliable broadband Internet service is very important in today's economy. Rural and remote regions, like certain areas in my riding of Laurentides-Labelle, do not have the necessary infrastructure to support broadband services. I cannot wait for the “connect to innovate” program to be implemented to fix this problem.

Would the Prime Minister like to update the House on this, one of the most important issues to Canadians living in rural areas all across the country?

Innovation, Science and Economic DevelopmentOral Questions

4:05 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Laurentides—Labelle for his question and for his tireless work on rural issues.

For people who live in rural regions, high-speed Internet opens up a world of economic opportunity. With the “connect to innovate” program, we will invest up to $500 million between now and 2021 to bring broadband Internet access to 300 of Canada's rural and remote communities.

I know there are going to be Canadians all across the country getting onto their mobile phones, accessing their Internet, turning on their TVs, to watch the Stanley Cup playoffs, which start tonight, and I know that everyone across this country will join me in rooting for the Montreal Canadiens over the Maple Leafs, over the New York Rangers--

Innovation, Science and Economic DevelopmentOral Questions

4:05 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

Innovation, Science and Economic DevelopmentOral Questions

4:05 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

Now we are getting into dangerous territory.

Innovation, Science and Economic DevelopmentOral Questions

4:05 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

Innovation, Science and Economic DevelopmentOral Questions

4:05 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

Order. That is the kind of thing that creates disorder in the House. I know the Prime Minister should realize that.

The hon. member for Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup.

JusticeOral Questions

4:05 p.m.

Conservative

Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to judicial delays, the minister is trying to buy time by meeting with her provincial counterparts. In reality, all she has to do is read the newspaper, listen to the radio, and watch television. Everyone is laying the blame squarely on her shoulders, because the reality is this is in her wheelhouse.

The judicial appointments advisory committee for eastern Quebec has yet to be created. The seven seats have been empty for a year and a half now.

Can the Prime Minister explain how his minister is supposed to appoint judges when the committee has yet to be struck ?

JusticeOral Questions

4:05 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, we have set up a new judicial appointment process that made it possible to appoint women to 60% of the positions, since the beginning of our term, while the previous government made roughly 35% such appointments. We are very proud of our record on this.

In Quebec, there are 163 federal judicial appointments. There are six vacant positions that we will fill shortly. We are taking this very seriously. The federal government is doing its work.

Foreign AffairsOral Questions

4:05 p.m.

Green

Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

Mr. Speaker, we were all moved enormously and inspired by the words of Malala Yousafzai in this place just hours ago.

In her words, will the Prime Minister make girls' education the central theme of his upcoming G7 presidency? Will he use the influence of Canada to help fill the global education funding gap? Will Canada offer to host the upcoming replenishment of the Global Partnership for Education? Will Canada prioritize 12 years of school for every refugee child?

Foreign AffairsOral Questions

4:05 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, it was a tremendous honour today to welcome Malala Yousafzai in this House, and I agree with the member opposite that it was a historic moment. It challenges us all to do more and to be more.

I can assure all members of the House that next year, in our G7 presidency, there will be a strong emphasis on gender equality and opportunity for women and girls across the world and here at home, including an emphasis on education.

I look forward to working with the Global Partnership for Education to ensure that we are investing properly in education right around the world, specifically for girls. I know that ensuring K-12 education for all girls around the world is one of the paths forward to creating peace and prosperity around the world, opportunity for all, and economic growth for our country and for the developing world. That is what we will do.

National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians ActOral Questions

4:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

I wish to inform the House of an administrative error that occurred with regard to Bill C-22, an act to establish the national security and intelligence committee of parliamentarians and to make consequential amendments to certain acts.

Members may recall that the House studied a number of motions at report stage. On March 20, 2017, the House adopted some of those motions and rejected others. One of the rejected motions was Motion No. 7, moved by the hon. member for Victoria, which was intended to delete clause 31 of the bill.

The House concurred in the bill, as amended, at report stage with further amendments and eventually adopted the bill at third reading on April 4, 2017.

As is the usual practice following passage at third reading, House officials prepared a parchment version of the bill and transmitted this parchment to the Senate. Due to an administrative error, the version of the bill that was transmitted to the other place was prepared as if Motion No. 7 had been adopted and clause 31 had been deleted, with the renumbering of another clause in the bill as a result. Unfortunately, the mistake was not detected before the bill was sent to the other place.

I wish to reassure the House that this error was strictly administrative in nature and occurred after third reading was given to Bill C-22. The proceedings that took place in this House and the decisions made by the House with respect to Bill C-22 remain entirely valid. The records of the House relating to this bill are complete and accurate.

However, the documents relating to Bill C-22 that were sent to the other place were not an accurate reflection of the House’s decisions.

Speaker Milliken addressed a similar situation in a ruling given on November 22, 2001, found on page 7455 of Debates. My predecessor also dealt with a similar situation in a statement made on September 15, 2014, found on page 7239 of Debates. Guided by these precedents, similar steps have been undertaken in this case.

First, once this discrepancy was detected, House officials immediately communicated with their counterparts in the Senate to set about resolving it. Next, I have instructed the Acting Clerk and his officials to take the necessary steps to rectify this error and to ensure that the other place has a corrected copy of Bill C-22 that reflects the proceedings that occurred in this House. Thus, a revised version of the bill will be transmitted to the other place through the usual administrative procedures of Parliament. Finally, I have asked that the “as passed at third reading” version of the bill be reprinted.

The Senate will, of course, make its own determination about how it proceeds with Bill C-22 in light of this situation. I wish to reassure members that steps have been taken to ensure that similar errors, rare though they may be, do not reoccur.

I thank hon. members for their attention.

Message from the SenateOral Questions

4:15 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

I have the honour to inform the House that a message has been received from the Senate informing this House that the Senate has passed the following bills, to which the concurrence of the House is desired: Bill S-226, An Act to provide for the taking of restrictive measures in respect of foreign nationals responsible for gross violations of internationally recognized human rights and to make related amendments to the Special Economic Measures Act and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, Bill S-231, An Act to amend the Canada Evidence Act and the Criminal Code (protection of journalistic sources), and Bill S-233, An Act to amend the Customs Act and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (presentation and reporting requirements).

It being 4:15 p.m., pursuant to order made Monday, April 3, 2017, the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m,. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 4:15 p.m.)