Debates of May 10th, 2017

Canada Revenue Agency

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his question and for the work that he does in Pontiac.

First of all, I would like to offer my sincere condolences to the family of Mike Gagnon, who was swept away by flood waters in the Gaspé. Our hearts go out them.

Families and their homes are always the top priority in these types of situations. All those who are affected by the flooding and who will not be able to file their tax return or pay their taxes on time are encouraged to submit a request for taxpayer relief to the Canada Revenue Agency, which will be very open to all these requests.

On behalf of our government, I applaud the first responders and volunteers who continue to assist flood victims.

Justice

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Edmonton, AB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Liberals voted to defeat Wynn's law at committee thereby refusing to close a loophole that cost Constable Wynn his life.

Can the Prime Minister tell Shelly MacInnis-Wynn, the widow of Constable David Wynn, why he thinks it is okay for prosecutors to withhold the criminal history of bail applicants like the career criminal who murdered Constable David Wynn?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we take very seriously the responsibility of keeping communities safe, keeping Canadians safe, and keeping safe the front-line officers who put their lives on the line every day to keep Canadians and their communities safe. That is why we take so seriously the importance of making decisions based on evidence and proper consultations, and in ways that we can actually improve the justice system that will protect Canadians. That continues to be our focus, and I look forward to seeing what the committee has determined on this particular bill.

Ethics

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Mr. Speaker, not only did the Liberals really miss their deficit targets by a whole lot, their revenue-neutral tax cut was off by $2 billion. I know there are some issues in terms of calculation, so I will try a different angle. Was it zero times the Prime Minister met with the Ethics Commissioner, was it one to five, or was it six to 10?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to work with the Ethics Commissioner on any questions that she might have.

The fact is, on this side of the House, we are focused on making investments that will make a difference in the lives of Canadians. Whether it is investing in infrastructure to the tune of $180 billion over the coming years, whether it is investing in child care spaces to help families, whether it is delivering the Canada child benefit that will help nine families out of 10 across this country, or whether it was raising taxes for the wealthiest 1% so we could lower them for the middle class, this government is focused on the priorities of Canadians, and we are delivering.

[David Sweet, Conservative, Flamborough—Glanbrook, ON]

Mr. Speaker, “a new day”, “sunny ways”, “a new respect for Parliament”, “answering every question of every member”, “we are going to respect Parliament more”: these are all things the Prime Minister said when he was campaigning. Today, as you said, Mr. Speaker, Canadians will be able to judge the veracity of those words.

Could you please tell the House how many times you have met with the Ethics Commissioner?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I would remind the hon. member for Flamborough—Glanbrook, who is an experienced member, that he is to direct his questions to the Chair, of course.

The right hon. Prime Minister.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to work with the Ethics Commissioner to answer any questions she may have.

We continue to be focused on the things that matter to Canadians, such as restoring the federal government's engagement in housing. For 10 long years, the federal government withdrew its support for national housing and national housing strategies. That is why we are pleased that low-income housing, that affordable housing for Canadians, has once again become a priority for the Canadian government.

We are happy to work with mayors, the provinces, and community groups to deliver on the kinds of housing needs that so many Canadians are facing after 10 years of lower-than-necessary growth under the previous government.

[David Anderson, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister broke the law. He accepted gifts worth thousands of dollars on billionaire island. He is under investigation by the Ethics Commissioner. His obligation is to be honest with Canadians. What is he covering up here? How many times has he communicated with the Ethics Commissioner?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to work with the Ethics Commissioner to answer any questions that she might have.

Furthermore, our priorities on this side of the House continue to be making a difference in the lives of Canadians, particularly in terms of our seniors, where not only have we strengthened the CPP for a generation and ensured that future retirees have stable retirements, we have increased the guaranteed income supplement by 10% for our most low-income, vulnerable seniors.

We continue to look at ways to invest more in affordable housing for our seniors, because we know that after 10 years of that government, there were underinvestments in housing. These are the kinds of things we need to do.

Marijuana

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

Mr. Speaker, Canada is party to three international treaties that outlaw the legalization of marijuana. In order to withdraw from these treaties, Canada must provide one year's notice to the other signatories. If the government plans to legalize marijuana by July 1, 2018, then we need to withdraw from these treaties by July 1 of this year, or risk not being able to legalize until 2019 at the earliest.

Will the Prime Minister commit to withdrawing from these treaties before the July 1 deadline?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are choosing to legalize marijuana because the current system is failing Canadians. We are not protecting our children adequately, because they have easier access to marijuana than they do to nicotine cigarettes. We are continuing to funnel billions of dollars into the pockets of criminal organizations and street gangs.

Everywhere around the world people are grappling with a failed war on drugs. People are very interested with the leadership that Canada is showing in terms of figuring out how to better protect our kids and pull away the profits from criminals and organized crime.

Correctional Service of Canada

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

Mr. Speaker, marijuana is not the only issue where the Prime Minister says one thing and does another, because despite a firm commitment to limit the use of solitary confinement in federal prisons, there is still nothing to be seen of the promised reforms.

Solitary confinement is a practice of last resort because it has serious consequences on the physical and mental health of inmates.

Can the Prime Minister tell us exactly when we will see these much-needed reforms?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we want to ensure that federal penitentiaries provide a safe and secure environment, one that is conducive to inmate rehabilitation, staff safety, and public protection.

That is why we are trying to reduce the use of administrative segregation in the federal correctional system, especially for women, indigenous peoples, and those suffering from mental illness.

We will continue to work towards implementing the recommendations of the coroner's inquest into the death of Ashley Smith. There are investments in budget 2017 that will increase the capacity to provide mental health services to all inmates in federal penitentiaries.

Ethics

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I was going to ask about powerful new evidence that Canada's sanctions monitoring, compliance, and enforcement of criminal financial activity is dysfunctional, and the Liberals foot-dragging in accepting the foreign affairs committee's unanimous Magnitsky recommendations to get tough on corruption, but I think more relevant is the Prime Minister's dysfunctional performance in question period.

Just how many times has he met the Ethics Commissioner?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to work with the Ethics Commissioner to answer any questions she might have.

We continue as a government to focus on the priorities of Canadians, whether it is making sure we are lowering taxes for the middle class and raising them on wealthiest 1%, or whether it is delivering a Canada child benefit that gives more money to 9 out of 10 Canadian families by not sending child benefit cheques to millionaires, like was done by the previous Conservative government.

We are focused on the things that matter to Canadians. We will continue to work hard to protect and defend the middle class, and those working hard to join it.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, a well-known French writer once said, “Man is not what he thinks he is, he is what he hides.” Will the Prime Minister stop hiding the truth, show Canadians what he is actually made of, and tell Canadians how many times he has met with the Ethics Commissioner?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to work with the Ethics Commissioner to answer any questions she may have.

We are going to continue to work on the things that matter to Canadians. We are going to continue to invest historic amounts in infrastructure that is going to help families get to and from work in a reasonable amount of time, back in time for their kids' soccer games.

We are going to make the kinds of investments that make a difference, so that small businesses are able to get their goods to market. We are going to continue to engage constructively on the world stage to open up new markets for Canadian products, and better options for Canadian consumers.

These are the priorities of this government. We are going to continue working on those.

Foreign Affairs

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, honorary Canadian citizenship should mean something, but Aung San Suu Kyi is refusing to allow UN investigators into Rakhine to study the ongoing ethnic cleansing. Canadians feel betrayed by this refusal.

This question needs an answer. Given the particular Canadian connection, will the Prime Minister commit to personally contacting Aung San Suu Kyi and pushing her to step up, allow access to Rakhine, and stop the ongoing slaughter of Muslim Rohingya?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, this government is extremely concerned with the human rights abuses in the news coming out of Myanmar. We know we have a tremendous amount of work to do around the world to promote values Canadians stand for so strongly. Making use of the connections we have with Canadians around the world is going to be an effective way of continuing to impress upon the world the values Canada stands for. The values of openness, respect, tolerance, and defence of human rights remain a priority for all of us.

International Development

[Ramez Ayoub, Liberal, Thérèse-De Blainville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on May 5, our government made an important announcement about innovation in international development. We announced the creation of Canada's development finance institute, which will be headquartered in Montreal.

Can the Prime Minister tell the House about this new institute, which will not only enable partnerships with small and medium enterprises from the private sector, but also help people in need around the world?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, before I answer my colleague from Thérèse-De Blainville, I want to thank him for being here despite the flooding in his riding. I know it has been a very tough time for him.

For Canada to continue responding effectively to growing development needs around the world, we have to innovate. That is why our government is allocating $300 million to the development finance institute. This initiative will fund projects that are relevant to our priorities, promote green development, and improve women's socio-economic status.

Ethics

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

Mr. Speaker, it is clear the Liberals are all show and no action. Perhaps another six months with their deliverology guru will allow the Prime Minister to work on his ability to deliver answers.

How many times has the Prime Minister met with the Ethics Commissioner?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to work with the Ethics Commissioner and to answer any questions that she may have. We continue to understand how important it is to work with Canadians to deliver on their priorities, such as extra help with the cost of raising kids, which the CCB is, helping nine out of 10 Canadian families and reducing child poverty by 40%. We are putting forward concrete measures to improve the lives of Canadians. We are strengthening the Canada pension plan for generations for the future. These are the kinds of things that make a significant difference in the lives of Canadians. We are going to continue to put Canadians' priorities first.

Foreign Affairs

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, media reports have revealed that money stolen from Bill Browder by a Russian crime syndicate has ended up in 30 Canadian bank accounts. We are talking about $2 million associated with a massive tax fraud making its way into Canada, with the government apparently being unaware that this money-laundering scheme is happening. What will the government do to put an end to this flow of illicit money?