House of Commons Hansard #180 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was families.

Topics

The EnvironmentOral Questions

2:45 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

I would ask the member for Foothills, and a few others as well, not to heckle throughout the answer.

The hon. member for Sherbrooke.

Canada Revenue AgencyOral Questions

May 18th, 2017 / 2:45 p.m.

NDP

Pierre-Luc Dusseault NDP Sherbrooke, QC

Mr. Speaker, we learned more news about the KPMG affair. Now it appears that the Canada Revenue Agency is involved in a cover-up. Indeed, we have learned that some correspondence between KPMG and the CRA has completely disappeared. Poof, like magic, all the KPMG files are gone. Come on. This is disgusting and utterly indefensible.

Instead of rehashing the same old talking points, will the minister tell us what happened to that correspondence? If she cannot find the right cue card, then will the Minister of Justice tell us what happened to the incriminating correspondence?

Canada Revenue AgencyOral Questions

2:45 p.m.

Gaspésie—Les-Îles-de-la-Madeleine Québec

Liberal

Diane Lebouthillier LiberalMinister of National Revenue

Mr. Speaker, as the CRA has already confirmed, a diligent search for records was conducted and all records management guidelines were followed.

The Canada Revenue Agency is the client department represented by the Department of Justice in this case, and given the different roles, the CRA retains different records.

The independent third-party review I ordered last year included an examination of thousands of records and many days of interviews. It is shameful to suggest that the examiner drew conclusions without sufficient evidence. It is not consistent with her decades of experience or her seniority—

Canada Revenue AgencyOral Questions

2:45 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

The hon. member for Edmonton Strathcona.

The EnvironmentOral Questions

2:45 p.m.

NDP

Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB

Mr. Speaker, speaking of missing files, despite commitments made by the government at the G20 to eliminate the billion dollars' worth of perverse subsidies for the fossil fuel sector, the Auditor General reports he has found little evidence of action, let alone any clear credible plan. Worse, the Auditor General reports he was denied access by both the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Environment and Climate Change to the very information necessary to conduct his audit.

Eliminating these perverse subsidies was part of the Liberals' election plan. When will Canadians finally see action, or is it just another broken promise?

The EnvironmentOral Questions

2:45 p.m.

Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe New Brunswick

Liberal

Ginette Petitpas Taylor LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance

Mr. Speaker, we thank the Office of the Auditor General for its hard work, and we expect its recommendation.

Our government has a strong plan to invest in clean growth that will help create middle-class jobs and get the country on the path of a low-carbon economy. We have made a commitment with our partners in the G20 to phase out the inefficient fossil fuel subsidies by the year 2025, and we are on track to meeting that target. Going forward, the government will provide budget preparation information and all documents to the Auditor General.

National DefenceOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Liberal

Darrell Samson Liberal Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS

Mr. Speaker, the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces and their families make huge sacrifices to serve Canadians. As the member for Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, which is home to many soldiers and veterans, I can personally say that being sent abroad definitely makes things more difficult for our troops and veterans.

Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence tell us a little bit about what the government is doing to help our soldiers?

National DefenceOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Saint-Jean Québec

Liberal

Jean Rioux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. In recognition of the critical and dangerous work that Canadian soldiers do around the world, all members of the military who are deployed overseas as part of a recognized operation will have their salaries exempted from federal income tax. This exemption will apply to salaries up to the pay level of lieutenant-colonel and will be retroactive to January 1, 2017. What is more, it will not have any impact on the assessment and awarding of hardship and risk allowances.

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Conservative

Mark Strahl Conservative Chilliwack—Hope, BC

Mr. Speaker, no matter the final result, the provincial election in B.C. has put the Trans Mountain expansion project at risk, with avowed pipeline opponents now making up about half of the legislature.

The Prime Minister approved this pipeline project last year, but since then has done nothing to champion it in B.C. Press conferences in Ottawa and speeches in Calgary and Houston will not help get this job-creating project built in British Columbia.

When will the Prime Minister ignore the fears of his B.C. caucus and come and sell the project in B.C. to ensure that the pipeline he approved actually gets built in B.C.?

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Winnipeg South Centre Manitoba

Liberal

Jim Carr LiberalMinister of Natural Resources

Mr. Speaker, we approved the pipeline. This is a federally approved pipeline that went through the most rigorous of all possible assessments.

The approval of the National Energy Board and then the subsequent approval of the Government of Canada comes with 157 conditions. I should also say for members opposite that these decisions were made on time, loyal to what the Government of Canada had said to the people of Canada.

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Conservative

Mark Strahl Conservative Chilliwack—Hope, BC

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is in B.C. today, but he is not there to champion the pipeline that he approved.

It is clear that the Liberal B.C. caucus wants this project to fail, and it does not want the Prime Minister to sell the pipeline to British Columbians. If the Prime Minister does not personally intervene to promote the Trans Mountain pipeline project, a project he personally approved, it will not get built.

When will the Prime Minister stop putting the jobs of B.C. Liberal MPs ahead of the jobs of tens of thousands of energy workers? When will he finally start to champion this project in British Columbia?

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Winnipeg South Centre Manitoba

Liberal

Jim Carr LiberalMinister of Natural Resources

Mr. Speaker, the approval of the Trans Mountain expansion project is only one of many decisions that the government has taken to acknowledge the leadership of the Province of Alberta in the energy sphere and the number of jobs that will be created by it.

Even just today, the Premier of Alberta announced $225 million in loans for the rehabilitation of abandoned oil wells, because of a $30 million grant from the Government of Canada. Again, we acknowledge the importance of the Alberta energy industry, even if members opposite cannot seem—

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

Order, order. The hon. member for Calgary Midnapore.

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Conservative

Stephanie Kusie Conservative Calgary Midnapore, AB

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government continues to attack Calgary and Canada's economy.

After so-called consultations, the Prime Minister's panel recommended the National Energy Board be moved from Calgary to Ottawa. With no solid evidence supporting the recommendations, the Liberal government decided that politicians and lobbyists would make better decisions than scientists and industry experts.

Does the Prime Minister really believe that career politicians in Ottawa can make better evidence-based decisions than experts who live on-site in Calgary?

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Winnipeg South Centre Manitoba

Liberal

Jim Carr LiberalMinister of Natural Resources

Mr. Speaker, just last week I had the pleasure of visiting Calgary to announce multi-million dollar investments with the Government of Alberta and the private sector, which was way beyond the kind of investments that we saw in Alberta.

That is the confidence we have in Alberta. We know that Alberta is the centre of the energy industry in Canada. It has been that way for a long time. I am sure it will be that way for decades in the future.

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Conservative

Bob Benzen Conservative Calgary Heritage, AB

Mr. Speaker, even Alberta Premier Rachel Notley has described the Liberals' decision to move the NEB from Calgary to Ottawa as “dumb”, a sentiment I wholeheartedly agree with.

The additional red tape and the extended timelines will kill our struggling energy industry at a time when Canadians, and especially Albertans, need jobs and economic opportunity.

Will the Minister of Natural Resources reject these dumb changes that are designed to hobble our energy industry?

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Winnipeg South Centre Manitoba

Liberal

Jim Carr LiberalMinister of Natural Resources

Mr. Speaker, the expert panel of five individuals, including one from Alberta, have spent months consulting Canadians on what a world-class regulator would look like.

There are 26 recommendations. The Government of Canada will now carefully assess these recommendations. As I said a moment ago, Alberta has been a leader in the energy sector for Canada for decades, and I see that it will not only maintain the status quo but it will grow.

We have confidence in the energy environment in Alberta.

HealthOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

NDP

Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC

Mr. Speaker, the government convened a panel to revise Canada's guidelines on opioid prescription. This is an important step to address the overdose crisis.

However, now we learn that one of the members of that panel was a paid adviser for pharmaceutical companies, including Purdue, a major opioid producer.

Given the record of misrepresentation by the drug industry that fed this crisis, how did the government allow an individual with a clear conflict of interest to help draft new prescription guidelines?

HealthOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Markham—Stouffville Ontario

Liberal

Jane Philpott LiberalMinister of Health

Mr. Speaker, I indeed was concerned when I heard these allegations of potential conflict of interest. As a result, I want to make sure that the guidelines will have the confidence of physicians and other prescribers who expect to use them. I have asked the associated university to do a thorough investigation of what took place and to report back to me. I have also asked the Canadian Institute for Health Information to convene a meeting to have experts advise as to the acceptability of the guidelines and whether they indeed will have the confidence of those for whom they have been written. I will report back further to the public, as necessary.

Veterans AffairsOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

NDP

Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON

Mr. Speaker, just as in 2016, the Liberals introduced a bill with substantial changes to veterans benefits, then immediately crammed those changes into an omnibus budget bill. This effectively mutes debate and evaluation of veterans benefits. The Liberals denied the veterans affairs committee any time to even discuss the bill. There are serious issues regarding benefits for our veterans and how they are being administered.

Why are the minister and the Liberal government afraid of basic review of the changes that they are rushing through?

Veterans AffairsOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Calgary Centre Alberta

Liberal

Kent Hehr LiberalMinister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence

Mr. Speaker, we are committed to veterans and their families in delivering the services they need where and when they need them. We have been showing that commitment since day one of our election by improving financial benefits and by improving access to services. In fact, we followed up on that commitment in budget 2017.

I am very proud of the fact that we will be opening a centre of excellence on PTSD and mental health issues to better support veterans and their families. We are moving forward in a positive direction. We will continue doing this throughout the rest of our mandate.

Foreign AffairsOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Conservative

James Bezan Conservative Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB

Mr. Speaker, evidently our foreign minister and her predecessor hold opposing philosophies. Stéphane Dion was guided by a philosophy of responsible convictions.

Dion rejected Magnitsky-style legislation that would make corrupt foreign officials accountable because he was afraid of antagonizing Vladimir Putin.

Yesterday, the foreign minister announced her support for Bill S-226, the Sergei Magnitsky law.

With her support now, would the minister confirm that Mr. Dion's philosophy of responsible convictions and Russian appeasement are no longer guiding Canada's foreign policy?

Foreign AffairsOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

University—Rosedale Ontario

Liberal

Chrystia Freeland LiberalMinister of Foreign Affairs

Mr. Speaker, what I can confirm is that I have the highest regard for Stéphane Dion. He is a legendary Canadian public servant. He is one of the Canadians who deserves credit for keeping our country together at a moment of great peril, and all Canadians owe him a tremendous debt for that.

As our foreign minister, Stéphane Dion was a leader of bringing Canada back, of elevating our voice on the world stage. I am proud that Stéphane Dion has agreed to serve as our ambassador.

Foreign AffairsOral Questions

3 p.m.

Conservative

Peter Kent Conservative Thornhill, ON

Mr. Speaker, after 18 months of Liberal foot-dragging on Magnitsky sanctions, in the face of unanimous foreign affairs committee advice and the arrival in the House of strong private member's legislation, the government has finally signalled it will support Senator Andreychuk's bill.

However, there are 12 other recommendations in the committee report aimed at fixing Canada's dysfunctional sanctions enforcement, to increase capacity, coordination, and commitment between departments and agencies.

Will the government take this advice, as well, and act?