Debates of April 5th, 2017

Foreign Affairs

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the member for Kitchener South—Hespeler on the hard work he is doing on his files.

We are outraged by the reports of a chemical weapons attack against innocent civilians in Syria. The use of chemical weapons is a war crime. This is just the latest atrocity in a conflict that has been going on far too long.

Our government is acting. We are providing $840 million worth of assistance for the region, and are increasing accountability by supporting evidence gathering of these war crimes. Furthermore, the Minister of Foreign Affairs is participating in the Brussels conference on the future of Syria to support lasting resolution to the war and address the needs of the vulnerable.

Government Appointments

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the new appointments process is the perfect Liberal misdirection. Another one of Ms. Stebbing's qualifications for appointment to the Hamilton Port Authority is that she is also the Liberal Party's golden horseshoe regional president.

While the Minister of Transport waxes eloquent on openness and transparency, being a Liberal donor or failed candidate are the qualifications that win the day.

Will the Prime Minister direct the minister to go back to the job posting that is still on Transport Canada's website and nominate someone who is actually qualified for the position?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, one of the commitments we made and are keeping from our election campaign is to renew and modernize the appointments process, to allow Canadians to apply from all different backgrounds and all different walks of life and diversity, and to have appointments across the country that better reflect the full diversity of backgrounds, views and perspectives of Canadians on a merit-based system.

That is exactly what we have done, particularly necessary after too long of successive governments choosing favouritism over objective qualities. That is what we have done, and are continuing to do.

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK]

Mr. Speaker, let us see if the Prime Minister can try answering this question.

The minister's website states that the requirements for a successful nominee include “extensive experience related to...the operation of a port or to maritime trade”. Ms. Stebbing's own law firm's website states that she specializes in “estate planning, administration and accounting. She focuses on ensuring her clients wishes are respected after they pass away.”

Could the Prime Minister explain to the House what in Jennifer Stebbing's resume met the requirements of extensive experience in maritime trade?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for her concern about the quality of our appointments.

We are very much focused on the quality and diversity of the appointments we make. We know that the people we appoint into positions of authority should reflect the entire diversity of the country and have a range of experiences and qualifications.

That is exactly what we have been doing and why we are so proud that we have had more female appointments than male. We have had extraordinary diversity. We have had tremendous indigenous appointments across the country. We have renewed the appointments process and allowed Canadians from all backgrounds to apply.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order, please. I have no trouble hearing the questions, but I am having trouble hearing the answers. We need to hear both.

Ethics

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is quite a spectacle today. If only there were a Standing Order that could be concocted that would guarantee the quality of the Prime Minister's answers and not just the quantity of the Prime Minister's answers, we would actually get somewhere.

Speaking of the Prime Minister, unlike hard-working Canadians, the Prime Minister took a lavish billionaire boondoggle vacation at taxpayer expense over the holidays. Now we know the taxpayers also paid to his billionaire friend the money to accommodate the Prime Minister's staff on this lavish holiday.

When will the Prime Minister come down from his sandcastle in the sky and explain why the taxpayers are on the hook?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said a number of times, this was a personal family vacation. I am more than happy to continue to engage with the Ethics Commissioner and her office on any questions related to this travel.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's arrogance is killing me.

In Canada, like in other places around the world, the Prime Minister has no problem giving taxpayers' money to his billionaire friends, while simultaneously eliminating the public transit tax credit. Yesterday we learned that the Aga Khan was financially compensated by the state during the leader of the Liberal Party's personal vacation. Once again, Canadian taxpayers are paying for his arrogance and poor judgment.

When will the Prime Minister walk his talk and treat the middle class—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The right hon. Prime Minister.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to the tax credit for public transit, that measure was introduced to promote the use of public transit. That is what the minister said when she introduced the measure to Canadians.

Sadly, according to the numbers, the measure had no impact on the use of public transit. That is why we decided instead to invest billions of dollars more in new public transit projects, including the Réseau électrique métropolitain in Montreal and the Service rapide par bus in Quebec City. Similar projects exist across the country, and we are pleased to invest in them to help the middle class and those working hard to join it.

Standing Orders of the House of Commons

[David Christopherson, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the Prime Minister for taking so many questions today. I would also like to point out, again, that he managed to do this without changing a single rule. No need to unilaterally use the power to ram through the changes. He was able to do it within existing rules.

Will he now commit in this place that he will continue that spirit of co-operation? Will he agree that he will not use his unilateral majority to change the rules in this place and change how democracy works? Will he do that now, today?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the question I think we can all agree on in this place is—and I hear the energy, enthusiasm, and passion of the member opposite—what will that change look like? How do we change this place so it becomes better able to serve?

That is why I look forward very much to hearing the suggestions and contributions from the members opposite on how we can better serve Canadians. That is what Canadians—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. I ask the hon. member for Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier and other members to restrain themselves. I know that members are very interested in the debate, but there need to be questions and comments and I need to be able to hear them.

The right hon. Prime Minister has nine seconds.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am always happy to hear suggestions from the members opposite; even when they are yelled out, their suggestions are acceptable. I want to work with the members in order to improve the situation.

[Matthew Dubé, NDP, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after the way the Prime Minister treated electoral reform, his treatment of parliamentary democracy has about as much credibility as a Pepsi commercial.

I know that the Prime Minister is looking forward to having this discussion. He wants to hear passionate speeches and get our suggestions, but the problem is the process. All it would take to launch the discussion that he so badly wants is to assure us that the changes will not be made unilaterally.

I will give the Prime Minister another chance to give us those assurances today, right now. Will he promise not to make any changes unilaterally, yes or no?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians made a choice in the last election. They chose a party that was committed to modernizing Parliament.

I am very pleased to suggest various ways in which hon. members may contribute to the process and to developing our approach to modernization. People expect us to work together in a respectful manner, as we are today, to determine the best way to improve the House of Commons. It is perfectly reasonable to want to work with hon. members and I hope that we can work together.

National Defence

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, that is what we would call all hat, no horse.

A government email confirms that the Iraqi government asked Canada to continue its bombing mission against ISIS on multiple occasions. Our Kurdish and Iraqi partners in the fight against ISIS describe our air strikes as effective and life-saving and as destroying the enemy.

Our allies repeatedly asked Canada to keep our CF-18s in the fight, but the minister ignored them and told Canadians that our partners and allies were okay with the Liberals' decision.

Canadians cannot trust the Minister of National Defence when he continues to mislead us. Will the Prime Minister make the Minister of National Defence apologize?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, like all Canadians I applaud the Minister of National Defence for his extraordinary service to this country and respect the extraordinary work that he has done as Minister of National Defence.

Our allies were rightly interested in how Canada was going to continue to participate in the coalition against Daesh, how we were going to continue to demonstrate that Canada is a valuable partner that contributes in the war against Daesh, and that is exactly what we did.

We demonstrated that we knew that Canadians could help on the ground through training and support for the peshmerga as they advanced toward Mosul, and that is exactly what our allies have most appreciated about us over the past year and a half.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as a veteran, I would like to thank the Minister of National Defence for his service. That said, he is now the Minister of National Defence, and no longer a soldier.

For the good of Canada, we should not allow the Minister of National Defence to distort the facts. To say that the Iraqis and the Kurds were pleased with the new mission in Iraq is completely false and to state that the Royal Canadian Air Force has a capability gap is completely false. In addition, the minister is further damaging the reputation of the Canadian Forces by postponing major procurement projects for 20 years.

Can the Prime Minister ask the Minister of National Defence to show some backbone and tell Canadians the truth?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, this government is very proud of what it is doing to give our armed forces the equipment and support needed to carry out the mandate entrusted to them by Canadians and this government.

We know that Canada cannot do everything, but we will carry out our responsibilities properly with the help of all possible assets. For that reason we chose a mission that supports and trains the Kurds, a mission that has a significant impact in the fight against Daesh.

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister continues to double down on the alternative facts. The defence minister said that there were no qualms about pulling our jets out of the fight against ISIS, yet emails from Global Affairs say there were. The minister said there is a capability gap, but the commander of the air force said there is not. The defence minister also claimed Conservatives sent our troops to fight ISIS without tax relief, yet a document with the defence minister's signature on it says the exact opposite.

Canadians need a strong, principled, and trustworthy leader, not another patsy to the Prime Minister. How can anyone trust the Prime Minister and the defence minister? Will they apologize?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we recognize that Canadians chose a different approach when they elected us as government. We choose to make decisions based on how Canada can best help in the world. We make decisions based on facts, based on evidence, and based on the best way to move forward. That is the approach we have always taken and will always take, particularly in regard to the brave men and women serving in the Canadian Forces.

Public Safety

[Doug Eyolfson, Liberal, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB]

Mr. Speaker, in recent days, residents of southern and central Manitoba have been impacted by rising water levels and flooding, which has resulted in local states of emergency, road closures, and evacuations in several first nations communities. Our hearts go out to the evacuees in their time of need and to others in the communities dealing with encroaching flood waters.

I know all members join me in expressing our concern, as well as our appreciation for first responders. Can the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness tell us how the government is supporting Manitobans as this year's flood season begins?