Debates of May 30th, 2017

Infrastructure

[Kellie Leitch, Conservative, Simcoe—Grey, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals continue to plow ahead with Gomery 2.0. The Liberal infrastructure bank boondoggle has the potential to be the biggest scandal yet for the Liberal Party, and that is saying something.

Smaller municipalities are scared they will be left behind. The bank has no focus, no clear mandate and, most important, as has already been said, is wide open to political interference.

Why is the government so focused on making sure its Liberal elite friends get a giant slush fund as opposed to taking care of Canadians?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Liberal, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities]

Mr. Speaker, it is the first time in the history of our country that we have put forward $2 billion in dedicated funding for rural northern communities so we can focus on building infrastructure that those communities need. This is on top of the other funding available to our communities.

We want to ensure we build the necessary infrastructure for everyone to enjoy the quality of life they deserve, regardless in which city or community they live. Our plan will help build infrastructure from coast to coast to coast for every community of all sizes.

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the former president of the BDC fears that there is political interference in the infrastructure bank.

The proposed structure gives the minister and the Prime Minister full authority to select the CEO, as well as full authority to fire him if he does not respect the wishes of this Liberal government; so we take $35 billion from taxpayers, create a new bank to please the Prime Minister, and then give him full authority. We are headed straight for a new sponsorship scandal.

Is there anyone on the other side of this room that understands that?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Liberal, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities]

Mr. Speaker, as I assured members earlier, the bank will be accountable to Parliament in a number of ways. It will be required to submit an annual corporate plan and annual report. Further to that, it will have the highest standard of having its books audited by the Auditor General of Canada, as well as private sector auditors.

We want to build infrastructure. Our focus is to go grow the economy and create jobs. The Conservatives may have something against the private sector; we do not. We believe we can mobilize private capital to build more infrastructure.

Natural Resources

[Deepak Obhrai, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Mr. Speaker, unemployed Canadians want to get back to work and support their families. The natural resources of Alberta have to get to the international market. Canadians are very concerned that British Columbia politics may hinder the Trans Mountain project. We know the Prime Minister has said the facts and evidence are there, but facts and evidence are also there that the Liberal government has broken so many promises.

Will this be another promise the Liberal government will break? Can we trust the Prime Minister on this?

[Jim Carr, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, the government approved the pipeline because it determined that moving crude from Alberta to British Columbia and then to export markets was in the national interest. As members know, 99% of the export of Canadian oil and gas goes to the United States.

Therefore, we concluded that it was in the interests of Alberta, British Columbia, and all of Canada to approve this pipeline. It employs thousands of people not only in British Columbia and Alberta but all across the country. We stand by that approval.

[Deepak Obhrai, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Mr. Speaker, we have been in this Parliament, hearing from the Liberals about helping the national economy. We know they give good words, but on jobs and taxes it remains that you have broken so many promises. Our concern and the concern of Canadians is whether you will keep this promise and ensure that oil gets to tidewater so people can be employed in Canada.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

I would remind hon. members to direct their questions through the Chair.

The hon. Minister of Natural Resources.

[Jim Carr, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for giving our answer for us. It is important to create jobs in the oil and gas sector. In fact, just last week, the $30 million that we had granted to Alberta is resulting in $250 million of investment to reclaim oil wells. This will create 1,650 jobs in Alberta because of an investment from the Government of Canada.

We have confidence in the people of Alberta. We wish the Conservatives had as much.

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

Mr. Speaker, in B.C., the forces of no are uniting to try to scuttle the Trans Mountain pipeline, a project the Prime Minister has personally approved.

While the Prime Minister has no trouble bragging about approving the pipeline when he is in Calgary or Houston, he hides from his decision in B.C. because his Liberal MPs there continue to oppose it.

Will the Prime Minister finally tell his Liberal MPs from B.C. to stop opposing this job-creating pipeline, go back to B.C., and sell this project that he has personally approved, so it actually gets built?

[Jim Carr, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. friend's question gives me another opportunity to say that this government believes that pipeline should be built and it should be built because we want to take the crude from Alberta and move it to an export market. We want to create the 15,000 jobs for Albertans and British Columbians, just as we have created jobs in the approval of other pipelines, just as we continue to have confidence in the innovation and the entrepreneurship of Albertans.

We on this side of the House have confidence in Alberta.

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

Mr. Speaker, we have no confidence that the Prime Minister will actually stand up to his Liberal MPs and push for this project.

He claims that he approved the pipeline based on science and would not be swayed by political arguments, yet there is a big political argument coming his way because the forces of no uniting in B.C. They are trying to derail the project. Even his own Liberal MPs hope it fails.

If the Prime Minister cannot even get the social licence in his own party for this project, how will he get it in British Columbia? Will he finally put the jobs of energy workers ahead of the jobs of Liberal MPs, stand up for this project, and fight for it in British Columbia?

[Jim Carr, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister said this morning, the decision we took on the Trans Mountain pipeline was based on fact and evidence and what was in the best interests of Canadians.

Regardless of the change in government in British Columbia, or anywhere, the facts and the evidence do not change. neither does the approval, neither does the commitment of this government to support the pipeline so we can move Alberta oil not only to the United States but to export markets as well.

Democratic Reform

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, after promising more times than we can count to get rid of our unfair voting system, the Prime Minister abandoned that promise. He would not let members of the House decide whether to move forward. Instead he said it was his choice alone. Well, he is wrong and tomorrow every MP will get to make that choice for themselves.

Will the Prime Minister get out of the way and promise not to punish Liberals who, unlike him, choose to keep their promise?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, once again, I would like to thank the members of the committee on electoral reform for their excellent work and for the excellent recommendations they put forward.

I was pleased to table the response of the government, which was in agreement with the majority of those responses. However, I am also looking forward to working with members in this place to move forward on political financing, on cybersecurity, and on the many ways we can improve, strengthen, and protect our democracy.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals promised in 2015 that that would be the last election under the current voting system. Once elected, the Prime Minister said it again. He put it in the throne speech. He put it in the minister’s first mandate letter, and he made it part of the committee’s mandate.

Then something incredible happened: people actually believed him. They thought that change was coming. Never in our history had so many people taken part in a public consultation. A huge consensus was reached.

Will the Prime Minister, who does not want to live up to his word or his promise, let his Liberal members vote for the committee report?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge the excellent work of the members of the House who worked on the report of the Special Committee on Electoral Reform. I would also like to thank the thousands of Canadians who took part in the discussions.

We listened to them, and I am proud of the government’s decision to improve, protect, and strengthen our democracy here in Canada.

Government Appointments

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

“Always scheming,” Mr. Speaker. That is the new slogan of the Liberal Party across the way.

Schemes are what led to the appointment of the new Commissioner of Official Languages. We do not even have to dig anymore. The Liberals went way beyond decency in a process that is supposed to be non-partisan. There is no transparency. Even the Minister of Canadian Heritage decided she would take a seat at this partisan table. She clearly should have kept walking.

In these circumstances, will the minister take responsibility and rescind Madeleine Meilleur’s appointment?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I have risen several times in the House to point out that we were committed to finding the best candidate for the position of Commissioner of Official Languages.

This is exactly what we were able to do. How were we able to do it? We were able to do it through a merit-based process. In these circumstances, 72 applications were received, and a selection committee conducted several rounds of interviews and tests. In short, Madeleine Meilleur was the best candidate.

As well, her experience and expertise have been recognized on both sides of the House. This is why, as a government, we are extremely proud of Ms. Meilleur’s candidacy.

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

She was certainly the best, Mr. Speaker, as she gave $5,000 to the Liberal Party. Madeleine Meilleur’s appointment as Commissioner of Official Languages is a disgrace when it comes to ethics in the selection process.

The Minister of Canadian Heritage keeps defending the indefensible, when she knows full well that it was unethical of her to interfere in the process.

When will she finally take her job seriously, reconsider her unacceptable decision to appoint Madeleine Meilleur and finally acknowledge the non-partisan nature of the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I am surprised by my colleague’s reaction, because she herself acknowledged Madeleine Meilleur’s experience and expertise. Why? Because Ms. Meilleur is a language rights pioneer.

I would like to go over her career. For 30 years she has fought for francophone rights and services. She was involved in protecting the Montfort Hospital, Ottawa’s francophone hospital, and in establishing the position of French-language services commissioner, which until then did not exist in the Ontario government.

That is why we were satisfied that she is an excellent candidate and will be able to serve impartially as Commissioner of Official Languages.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Mr. Speaker, that is nonsense. We learned last week that a well-respected Acadian lawyer specializing in linguistic rights, Michel Doucet, applied to become the official languages commissioner, yet despite the promise of an open nomination process, a Liberal member of Parliament told Mr. Doucet that if he was serious, he had to talk to leaders of the Liberal Party or Liberal insiders. Gee, I wonder who that might be.

It is clear that if an individual is not a connected Liberal, they should not bother applying. Did the minister approve the appointment of this Liberal insider even before the appointment process began?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, we have committed ourselves to find the best candidates to make sure that there would be a strong official languages commissioner, and that is exactly what we have done. How did we find that person? We found that person through a round of interviews, 70 candidates—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

Order, please. There is too much noise in the chamber. Members and ministers take 35 seconds to pose their questions and respond. It is important that members have the opportunity to hear the response.

The hon. Minister of Canadian Heritage.