House of Commons Hansard #172 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was national.

Topics

EthicsOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

Order. I am having difficulty hearing. The hon. member for Huron—Bruce will come to order. I need to hear the answer.

The hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs has the floor.

EthicsOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Liberal

Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON

Mr. Speaker, Come from Away celebrates the warmth, generosity, and cultural accomplishments of Canadians. The tickets were purchased at a significant discount, and our guests included the brave, inspiring volunteers from Newfoundland. We were proud, as Canadians, to showcase our national values and our cultural accomplishments at this—

EthicsOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

The hon. member for Red Deer—Lacombe.

EthicsOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Conservative

Blaine Calkins Conservative Red Deer—Lacombe, AB

Mr. Speaker, I guess that is why they invited a whole two people from Newfoundland to go to it.

Middle-class Canadians are having trouble making ends meet and trouble making sense of the Liberals' priorities. Heading to New York to see a Broadway play is not affordable for many Canadians, but the Prime Minister has no problem using taxpayers' dollars to buy tickets for lawyers and diplomats.

Could the Prime Minister explain how spending tax dollars on Broadway tickets for diplomats from Kiribati or Tuvalu benefits middle-class families?

EthicsOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

University—Rosedale Ontario

Liberal

Chrystia Freeland LiberalMinister of Foreign Affairs

Mr. Speaker, I am so proud of the response of the people of Newfoundland to the tragedy of 9/11. It was a heartwarming demonstration of Canadian values. I am equally proud of the great work of Canadian artists in showcasing those Canadian values. I was very proud to be there, seeing our values, our warmth on stage, and you should be proud that Canada was showcased that way too.

EthicsOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

I would be very proud. The hon. minister should remember to direct her comments to the chair.

InfrastructureOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Conservative

Dianne Lynn Watts Conservative South Surrey—White Rock, BC

Mr. Speaker, there is a blatant conflict of interest with the Liberals infrastructure bank. The Liberals gave private investors control over the development of the bank, costing taxpayers $35 billion. This bank will now give a significant benefit to the exact same investors. P3 Canada already leverages private sector infrastructure dollars. The Liberal bank will not be transparent, it will not be accountable.

Why are the Liberals designing a bank that gives 100% of the rewards to its friends and leaves 100% of the risk to taxpayers?

InfrastructureOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Edmonton Mill Woods Alberta

Liberal

Amarjeet Sohi LiberalMinister of Infrastructure and Communities

Mr. Speaker, we are proud of the historic investments we are making in infrastructure to grow our economy, to create jobs for the middle class, and opportunities for those Canadians who work hard each and every day to be a part of the middle class.

The hon. member is absolutely incorrect. The infrastructure bank will be accountable to Parliament. It will be accountable to Canadians through Parliament. The infrastructure that we help support is municipal and provincial infrastructure. We consulted with the FCM, provinces, territories, unions, and labour organizations that—

InfrastructureOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Conservative

Alain Rayes Conservative Richmond—Arthabaska, QC

Mr. Speaker, we just found out something rather alarming. Federal officials, at the behest of the Prime Minister himself, worked closely with foreign investment firm BlackRock in order to ensure that the Liberals' infrastructure bank is attractive to billionaires from Abu Dhabi, China, and Saudi Arabia. Talk about conflict of interest.

Why are the interests of foreigners and billionaires more important to the Liberals than those of all Canadians?

InfrastructureOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Edmonton Mill Woods Alberta

Liberal

Amarjeet Sohi LiberalMinister of Infrastructure and Communities

Mr. Speaker, unlike the previous government, our goal is to support our municipal and provincial entities, to support the infrastructure that they need. We have put forward an ambitious plan of more than $180 billion that we will invest. We also feel that we can do more for municipal and provincial sectors by engaging the private sector.

The hon. member may have something against private investments, but we do not. We feel that we can mobilize private capital to build more infrastructure that many Canadian communities need.

InfrastructureOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

NDP

Rachel Blaney NDP North Island—Powell River, BC

Mr. Speaker, after all their campaign promises, documents reveal that the Liberals spent months with corporations designing the so-called infrastructure bank. The priority of these corporations is not providing infrastructure, but rather it is profiting off infrastructure. Shocker. The Liberals secretly co-wrote the rules of this privatization bank with the multinationals. This is a clear conflict of interest.

Will the Liberal government deny that tolls and service fees will be placed on Canadians so that corporations can get their cut?

InfrastructureOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Edmonton Mill Woods Alberta

Liberal

Amarjeet Sohi LiberalMinister of Infrastructure and Communities

Mr. Speaker, our government understands that investing in infrastructure helps to grow the economy, create long-term growth, and jobs for Canadians from coast to coast to coast. That is why we have put forward a very ambitious agenda, including the mobilization of private capital to build more infrastructure. We understand that Canadian communities need infrastructure. They have been lacking that infrastructure. They have seen a decade of underinvestment by the previous government. We have a lot of catching up to do and that is exactly what we are doing.

InfrastructureOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

NDP

Matthew Dubé NDP Beloeil—Chambly, QC

Mr. Speaker, BlackRock is reviewing the talking points, but it has not made them any better, that is for sure.

If anyone still has any doubt about the fact that this privatization bank is serving the interests of Liberal friends, they need only to look at the location that was announced this morning: Bay Street.

Studies and experts continue to question the government's approach and lack of transparency. The bank is not even up and running yet and the conflicts of interest keep piling up.

Can the minister tell us why he was in such a rush to announce the location of the bank before the bill to create it was even studied in committee?

InfrastructureOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Edmonton Mill Woods Alberta

Liberal

Amarjeet Sohi LiberalMinister of Infrastructure and Communities

Mr. Speaker, we see that every Canadian municipality has the potential to benefit from the bank, regardless of where the bank is located. We will support projects that are priorities of local communities, whether it is Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Montreal, or whichever city needs to build infrastructure.

Furthermore, by engaging private capital, we will free up federal government resources to build more affordable housing, to build more child care facilities, and to build more recreational facilities, as well as supporting our rural and northern communities with $2 billion in funding that has—

InfrastructureOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

The hon. member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman.

National DefenceOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Conservative

James Bezan Conservative Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB

Mr. Speaker, even the Prime Minister does not trust the defence minister to speak honestly anymore and rolled out other Liberal MPs to talk to the media instead. According to the National Defence code of ethics, “being a person of integrity calls for honesty [and] the avoidance of deception..”. It requires “the pursuit of truth regardless of personal consequences..”. Even the Prime Minister's own code states, “Ministers... must act with honesty..”. Based on these standards, can the defence minister honestly explain whether he has any integrity left?

National DefenceOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Saint-Jean Québec

Liberal

Jean Rioux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence

Mr. 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 needed 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 for Canada.

National DefenceOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Conservative

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

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Defence violated section 5.3 of the Department of National Defence and Canadian Forces Code of Values and Ethics regarding integrity.

On that topic, the code states that, to demonstrate integrity, individuals must be honest, avoid deception, and adhere to the highest ethical standards. Integrity requires honesty and candour in one's words and actions. It is especially important that leaders and commanders demonstrate integrity, because their example makes a particularly strong impression on their peers and subordinates.

The minister no longer has any integrity.

What does the minister have to say to that? Will he step down?

National DefenceOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Saint-Jean Québec

Liberal

Jean Rioux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Defence admitted last week that he made a mistake in describing his role. He retracted that statement and apologized earlier this week in the House.

In no way were the minister's comments meant to diminish the role of his former senior officers and comrades in arms. 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

2:40 p.m.

Conservative

Alupa Clarke Conservative Beauport—Limoilou, QC

Mr. Speaker, I would like the minister to answer my question.

Ministerial responsibility is a longstanding political convention in our political system. Ministers are honour-bound to uphold such conventions, or else resign.

From the outset, the Liberal government has repeatedly said that all that is required to end the crisis of confidence is an apology. This political approach is not in keeping with the convention we have in the House.

Why is the minister hanging on to his position, when it is obvious to all Canadians that he should resign immediately?

National DefenceOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Saint-Jean Québec

Liberal

Jean Rioux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence

Mr. Speaker, the government is proud of the Minister of National Defence's service as an anti-gang officer in Vancouver, a reservist in Afghanistan and Bosnia, and especially as an innovative minister who has created a new defence policy, the first one in 20 years with such extensive consultations. It will ensure Canada's security and sovereignty, the defence of North America, and peace around the world.

National DefenceOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Conservative

John Brassard Conservative Barrie—Innisfil, ON

Mr. Speaker, over the weekend, Canadians saw the transport minister giving political cover for the minister of defence in an interview about defence policy and spending, and that is exactly the problem. The Prime Minister may say that he has complete confidence in the minister, but the minister has lost the trust of our troops, and shielding him will not make this go away. It will not go away because every time that the minister steps on a base and faces our CAF members, every time he is on a ship, and every time he addresses them, this will follow him. Will the minister stand up in this House, do the right thing, and resign?

National DefenceOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Saint-Jean Québec

Liberal

Jean Rioux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Defence is a former reservist. He will always hold in high regard the service of Canadian Armed Forces members, both those he served with during his missions and those who served under other commanders or at other times.

Today, it is the minister's responsibility to ensure that the members of the Canadian Armed Forces have all the equipment, training, and care they need to carry out their missions, abroad and in Canada.

Government AccountabilityOral Questions

2:45 p.m.

NDP

Murray Rankin NDP Victoria, BC

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals want to severely restrict the ability of the parliamentary budget officer to initiate studies by requiring him to have a work plan approved by the Speakers of this House and of the Senate.

They also want to prevent members of this House from requesting cost estimates of government projects. That means previous reports on old age security, F-35 fighter jets, and crime legislation would simply not have been possible.

Is this what an independent parliamentary budget officer looks like to the government?

Government AccountabilityOral Questions

2:45 p.m.

Waterloo Ontario

Liberal

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

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to providing greater independence to the parliamentary budget officer, and this is the overriding intent of the legislation recently introduced.

As we have clearly said, we are open to amendments and we look forward to the bill being sent to committee for a detailed study, where we can discuss the good ideas that have been put forward about changes to the office of the parliamentary budget officer.

Let us advance this bill. Let us pass it at second reading so that the committee can do the important work to advance the government's intent for an independent parliamentary budget officer.