House of Commons Hansard #171 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was workers.

Topics

National DefenceOral Questions

11:15 a.m.

Conservative

Candice Bergen Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB

Madam Speaker, that is not very believable. In fact the defence minister cannot seem to tell the truth, even with the most basic of facts.

This week there was a fundraiser for veterans. The Minister of National Defence was supposed to be there, but he said all of a sudden he could not go. Why? Lo and behold, suddenly he had a speech he had to write. He had a speech he had to write the same night as this event which he had known about for months. No one is buying that.

He was not the architect of Operation Medusa, and he was not writing a speech on Tuesday night. He has lost all credibility. When will he step aside?

National DefenceOral Questions

11:20 a.m.

Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne Québec

Liberal

Sherry Romanado LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence

Madam Speaker, it was a pleasure for the Minister of Veteran Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence to participate at the party, Under the Stars, held this week on Tuesday. It was an opportunity to exchange with our veterans and our first responders, to provide them the support they need, and to ensure we honour them and recognize their sacrifices.

National DefenceOral Questions

11:20 a.m.

Conservative

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

Madam Speaker, the Minister of National Defence has lost all credibility by taking credit for someone else's achievements. We still do not know why he did that. He never said.

Since then, he has been trying to go about his business as though nothing happened, but something has changed. Our men and women in uniform are ashamed of the Minister of National Defence. He is also doing a dishonour to veterans.

The person responsible for our troops cannot alter the truth whenever he feels like it. Will he resign?

National DefenceOral Questions

11:20 a.m.

Saint-Jean Québec

Liberal

Jean Rioux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence

Madam Speaker, the Minister of National Defence is a former reservist. He will always honour the service of our Canadian Armed Forces members, the ones with whom he served on his missions and those who served under other commanders or at other times.

Today, the minister and the government are responsible for making sure that our Canadian Armed Forces have all the equipment they need to successfully carry out their missions and all the support they need to ensure their well-being.

We conducted an extremely thorough defence policy review in which all members of Parliament had an opportunity to take part.

National DefenceOral Questions

11:20 a.m.

Conservative

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

Madam Speaker, taking credit for the feats of other brave Canadians is the straw that broke the camel's back. The minister has lost the support of our men and women in uniform and our veterans. No one supports him.

It is sad to see the Minister of National Defence clinging on to his position like a drowning man clinging to a life preserver.

When you make a mistake, apologizing is not enough; the honourable thing to do is take appropriate action. Here, the only appropriate action is to step down. Will he step down, yes or no?

National DefenceOral Questions

11:20 a.m.

Saint-Jean Québec

Liberal

Jean Rioux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence

Madam Speaker, it is too bad that the member for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles did not attend last night's gala to commemorate the Battle of the Atlantic, because the minister received a very warm welcome. Even officer cadets wanted to meet him, have their picture taken with him, and hear what he had to say. The veterans and sailors who were there showed their support, and I saw this first-hand. The warm welcome he received demonstrates that his credibility remains intact with the Canadian Armed Forces.

FinanceOral Questions

11:20 a.m.

NDP

Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC

Madam Speaker, contrary to what it promised, the Liberal government crammed a whole bunch of other stuff into its budget bill, and that makes it an omnibus bill. Among other things, the government is attacking the parliamentary budget officer by limiting his independence and his ability to launch investigations while in office. The government is also preventing all MPs from calling for investigations and studies into issues that it finds inconvenient. Curiously, it is directing the PBO to submit a plan to the speakers of the House of Commons and the Senate.

I have one simple question: what happens if they say no?

FinanceOral Questions

11:20 a.m.

Waterloo Ontario

Liberal

Bardish Chagger LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism

Madam Speaker, our government is committed to making the parliamentary budget officer more independent, which is what the bill recently introduced in the House of Commons sets out to do.

As I pointed out yesterday, we made it very clear that we are open to amendments. We are eager to get this bill to committee so it can be examined in detail and so the committee can discuss the good ideas we put forward about changes affecting the parliamentary budget officer.

FinanceOral Questions

11:20 a.m.

NDP

Rachel Blaney NDP North Island—Powell River, BC

Madam Speaker, Liberals pretend they want to ban omnibus bills but refuse to break up their omnibus budget bill. That is called hypocrisy. The Liberal omnibus budget bill would change almost 30 different laws, including restricting the PBO's mandate that Liberals once said needed to be a truly independent watchdog.

Either the Liberals only pretended to care about transparency to get elected or they abandoned their principles once they did. Which is it?

FinanceOral Questions

11:20 a.m.

Waterloo Ontario

Liberal

Bardish Chagger LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to rise in this House to respond to that question directly, because when it comes to omnibus legislation, we are the ones proposing the Speaker be able to separate omnibus legislation if there are concerns.

When it comes to all measures in the budget implementation act, they are directly from the budget 2017 presented in the past in this place. When it comes to the independence of the parliamentary budget officer, we support independence. That is why we are saying, let us get the bill passed at second reading and send it to committee so it can do the work.

InfrastructureOral Questions

11:25 a.m.

NDP

Rachel Blaney NDP North Island—Powell River, BC

Madam Speaker, there was no answer.

Another Trojan Horse in the Liberal omnibus budget is the infrastructure bank which aims to privatize infrastructure and services. Internal documents reveal that representatives from private corporations helped the Liberals set up this billion-dollar privatization bank. Liberals spent months working with private sector advisers preparing for a closed-door meeting at Toronto's Shangri-La Hotel, of course.

Can the Liberal minister define “conflict of interest”?

InfrastructureOral Questions

11:25 a.m.

Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs Québec

Liberal

Marc Miller LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities

Madam Speaker, the bank is designed to help attract private capital, where it makes sense, to new projects so that we can build more transformational infrastructure across Canada.

The infrastructure bank, let us be clear, is only $15 billion out of more than a $180-billion transformational plan. The infrastructure bank would be an optional tool for our partners to use, should they wish to do so. No municipality, province, or territory would be forced to use the bank, nor would they be punished for not doing so.

This government takes counsel; it does not take orders.

InfrastructureOral Questions

11:25 a.m.

NDP

Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC

Madam Speaker, it is funny to hear the parliamentary secretary say “only $15 billion”.

In their omnibus budget bill, the Liberals are creating the infrastructure bank and today we learn who is pulling the strings of this huge taxpayer trap.

BlackRock is the biggest investor in the world. BlackRock helped the Liberal government create the infrastructure bank. BlackRock assisted the Liberal government with its public relations. BlackRock will be a client of the infrastructure bank and will make huge profits from it.

Is the bank being established for the sake of our communities or for the people with club privilege? Who is running this government, BlackRock?

InfrastructureOral Questions

11:25 a.m.

Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs Québec

Liberal

Marc Miller LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities

Madam Speaker, the bank is designed to help attract private capital to new projects so that we can build more transformational infrastructure across Canada.

The infrastructure bank, it bears repeating, is only $15 billion out of more than a $180-billion transformational plan. The infrastructure bank will be yet another tool for our partners to use, should they wish to do so.

No municipality, province, or territory will be forced to use the bank. It is one of the tools in our toolkit to create good jobs for the 21st century.

National DefenceOral Questions

11:25 a.m.

Conservative

Karen Vecchio Conservative Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON

Madam Speaker, last night the Prime Minister kicked his cash for access fundraising scheme back into high gear. However, just three nights ago, the Minister of National Defence bailed at the last minute, and for no good reason, on a high-profile fundraiser for Afghanistan vets.

The Liberals are showing where their priorities are, and it is not with our military or our veterans. Why does the Liberal government make time for people with big cheques for the Liberal Party but cannot find time to attend fundraisers for our vets and troops?

National DefenceOral Questions

11:25 a.m.

Burlington Ontario

Liberal

Karina Gould LiberalMinister of Democratic Institutions

Madam Speaker, improving this country's democracy means ensuring that political parties raise funds from the public in a more open and transparent manner. That is why we are taking action. Canadians have a right to know even more than they do now. Political parties and leadership campaigns will be required to promptly and publicly disclose fundraising event information.

We will continue to take action to make government and all aspects of our democracy more open and transparent. I encourage all parties in this place to do what they can for openness and transparency.

National DefenceOral Questions

11:25 a.m.

Conservative

Glen Motz Conservative Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB

Madam Speaker, my riding of Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner is home to CFB Suffield. I was elected to stand up for all constituents, including those military personnel and civilian staff who bravely serve our country.

The Minister of National Defence made a choice to embellish his service record, and he continually chooses to mislead Canadians. He has lost the respect, trust, and confidence not only of our military but also of Canadians.

Without talking points, will the minister do the honourable thing and please step aside?

National DefenceOral Questions

11:25 a.m.

Saint-Jean Québec

Liberal

Jean Rioux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence

Mr. Speaker, last weekend, the minister admitted that he made a mistake in describing his role. He set the record straight in the House earlier this week and apologized.

In no way were the minister's comments meant to take away from the role of former senior officers and fellow soldiers. He gave them a heartfelt apology. The minister is proud to have served his country as part of an extraordinary team of Canadian, American, and Afghan soldiers who successfully carried out Operation Medusa.

National DefenceOral Questions

11:30 a.m.

Conservative

Ziad Aboultaif Conservative Edmonton Manning, AB

Madam Speaker, as a former police officer and a soldier, the Minister of National Defence served Canada in an exemplary fashion. Now as a Liberal minister, he has been caught misrepresenting his service to impress an audience.

Can the minister tell Canadians why he felt it was so necessary to abandon the truth about his role in Afghanistan?

National DefenceOral Questions

11:30 a.m.

Saint-Jean Québec

Liberal

Jean Rioux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence

Madam Speaker, the first responsibility of the Minister of National Defence and our government is to look after our troops and ensure that they have the support, training, and equipment to carry out the missions they are assigned.

That has been the minister's objective for the past year and a half and that is what he strives to do every day. One of the key elements of his mandate is to put together a new defence policy. We will ensure that this policy is adequately funded.

National DefenceOral Questions

11:30 a.m.

Conservative

Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC

Madam Speaker, I would like to ask the member for Saint-Jean to listen to the question.

As a father, I teach my children to respect others and to never take credit for others' achievements. Engaging in such immoral and unacceptable behaviour would mean losing all trust and credibility.

The minister chose to misrepresent the facts on several occasions. He continues to mislead Canadians. How can he have any credibility with members of the Canadian Armed Forces? How can he continue to oversee the Department of Defence after losing the respect of every member of the armed forces?

Why does he not resign?

National DefenceOral Questions

11:30 a.m.

Saint-Jean Québec

Liberal

Jean Rioux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence

Mr. Speaker, over the past year, the minister has been in consultation with experts, Canadians, and all MPs in order to develop a defence policy that will provide the military with the tools, training, and equipment it needs to defend Canada and North America and to secure peace around the world.

National DefenceOral Questions

11:30 a.m.

Conservative

John Brassard Conservative Barrie—Innisfil, ON

Madam Speaker, what the defence minister has not done yet is explain why he rewrote history. It was not a mistake; it was deliberate. His own spokesperson confirmed that the minister had personally inserted the word “architect” into that speech in India. The Prime Minister's mandate letter to the minister mentioned the word “honesty” eight times. Clearly, he has not been honest, and his eagerness to take credit from others to pat himself on the back is an affront to our troops.

When will the minister do the right thing? When will he step aside and put our troops ahead of himself?

National DefenceOral Questions

11:30 a.m.

Saint-Jean Québec

Liberal

Jean Rioux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence

Madam Speaker, the minister has the confidence of the Prime Minister and the entire caucus. All day yesterday, I heard about how credible the minister is. He established the process for a new defence policy that will help make sure that the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces have all the tools they need to successfully complete their missions.

National DefenceOral Questions

11:30 a.m.

Conservative

John Brassard Conservative Barrie—Innisfil, ON

Madam Speaker, the Prime Minister cannot keep his head in the sand, pretending that Canadians still have confidence in the defence minister. Every time the minister enters a base, every time he rides on a plane, every time he steps on a ship, and every time he addresses our troops, it will haunt him. It will haunt him, because in those multiple moments he chose to embellish, he immediately lost respect, credibility, and the trust of our men and women in uniform and our veterans. The truth is that the minister knows it.

For those reasons, will he do the honourable thing and step down?