Debates of June 19th, 2017

Canada Revenue Agency

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, because that answer was so gosh darn convincing, I have another one for the minister.

Her Liberal government is refusing to reveal to Canadians important information about tax cheats, even after the minister's promise to reveal important information about tax cheats. The minister's office now says that it is not its responsibility to release this information. Really? It is not the responsibility of the minister's office to tackle tax evasion and keep the minister's own promises?

If the minister is not running her department, could she tell us who the heck is? If she will not do her job, will she at least find somebody who can?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, with respect to offshore-related files, the CRA is currently conducting audits on over 820 taxpayers and criminally investigating over 20 cases of tax evasion. Information shared under tax information sharing agreements and tax treaties is yielding results. I want to make it very clear that we will ensure our tax system is fair by ferreting out tax cheats and making them pay.

Foreign Investment

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

Mr. Speaker, it is becoming clear that the Prime Minister's approval to sell Canadian senior care facilities to Anbang Insurance of China has placed our seniors at risk.

Questions went unanswered when the deal was first inked, but the Liberals said everything would be just fine. Now Anbang's chairman, Mr. Wu, has been arrested by Chinese officials on corruption charges. Anbang's assets, including the B.C. retirement homes, are now at risk of being taken over by the Chinese government.

With so many warning signs, why did the Prime Minister not do any due diligence before he approved this deal?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, our government is open to investments that create jobs, growth, and long-term prosperity for Canadians. While the official opposition continues with its scare tactics and fearmongering, let us talk about the facts.

The day-to-day operations of the residences will continue to be managed by Retirement Concepts, the same management that was there before. Rules are not changing. The residents will continue to be subject to the same robust provincial health regulations that have always applied to them. The residents and health care workers will continue to be protected by the same legislation.

We did our homework on this transaction. We assured what we had to make certain, and we have done it.

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

Mr. Speaker, the innovation minister assured the House that the government had done its homework and there was no reason for Canadians to be concerned. He passed the buck to B.C. to regulate these homes.

Anbang is a company with murky ownership built on risky investments. U.S. and Chinese regulators have raised serious concerns over its dealings. When the wolves of Wall Street will not touch Anbang, how could the Liberals use vulnerable seniors as pawns for the Prime Minister's insatiable appetite to cozy up to China?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, the application by Cedar Tree to acquire Retirement Concepts has been approved under the Investment Canada Act. The acquisition will result in a net economic benefit to Canada. As a result of that review, Cedar Tree has agreed to maintain the current level of full-time and part-time employees, maintain a current Canadian operator, Retirement Concepts, to continue to manage the business, not close or repurpose any of the existing residences, and to financially support the expansion of business. This will remain in place for a significant period of time.

We reviewed the transaction under the Investment Canada Act. The Government of British Columbia is doing its part—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Niagara Falls.

Justice

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals keep telling us that they take judicial appointments seriously, yet to date there are still judicial vacancies right across the country. Under our Conservative government, we appointed more than 500 judicial appointments. If the Liberals are incapable of doing their job, the opposition would be more than happy to do it for them.

These delays in the criminal justice system must end and criminals must be prosecuted. When are the Liberals going to start taking this job seriously and fill all the judicial vacancies without excuses?

[Jody Wilson-Raybould, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I take my responsibility to appoint superior court justices in the country incredibly seriously. I am very pleased to have introduced a new appointments process that is open and transparent. I am very happy to have appointed 77 justices across the country to the superior courts. I will continue to appoint justices to the superior courts to fill the vacancies.

We will continue to work collaboratively with the provinces and territories to ensure we have substantive solutions to address the realities of the delays that exist in the criminal justice system across the country.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Justice likes to say that she is proud of her record. Is the minister proud of the near-historic number of judicial vacancies? Is the minister proud of the fact that nearly half of the judicial advisory committees remain vacant? Is the minister proud of the dozens of serious criminal cases that have been thrown out of court due to her inaction, with thousands more at risk?

How can the minister say she is proud of that record with a straight face?

[Jody Wilson-Raybould, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I am incredibly proud of the 77 meritorious, diverse—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order, please. Members soon will be undoubtedly leaving Ottawa and will have the chance to do lots of yelling if they want, perhaps in their own ridings outside of Ottawa. However, I ask members to try to restrain themselves at least for the next few days. Maybe they will have a chance, on occasion, even to yell “fore” one of these days.

The hon. Minister of Justice has the floor.

[Jody Wilson-Raybould, Liberal, Vancouver Granville, BC]

Mr. Speaker, as I was saying, I am incredibly proud of the 77 substantive, meritorious Superior Court justices who I have been able to appoint thus far. More appointments are going to be coming.

The appointees represent the diversity that is our great country. I am going to continue to make these appointments. Likewise, I am going to continue to substantively work with my counterparts in the provinces and territories to address the call of the Supreme Court of Canada to ensure that there is a culture change among all actors in the criminal justice system. There is no one solution to this. We are working—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Drummond.

Government Appointments

[François Choquette, NDP, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals' approach to official languages is a joke.

The Minister of Canadian Heritage forgot to extend the interim commissioner's mandate. As of Saturday, we no longer have an official languages watchdog. Before that, the Liberals announced the partisan appointment of Madeleine Meilleur with absolutely no regard for the law or Parliament. This is all the doing of a minister who tells us every day that official languages are a priority for the government. Really?

When will the government get serious and respect the Official Languages Act?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I would remind my colleague that official languages are important to our government and that the official languages commissioner is, too.

We will have an official languages commissioner. The Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages is fully operational and I will be making some announcements soon.

Consular Affairs

[Pierre-Luc Dusseault, NDP, Sherbrooke, QC]

Mr. Speaker, while millions of Canadian children were celebrating Father's Day yesterday, Raif Badawi's children Najwa, Myriyam and Doudi lamented their father's absence, which is going on five years now. Last week, Raif Badawi's three children appealed directly to the Prime Minister when they said, quote, “Mr. [Prime Minister], pick up the phone, call the king of Saudi Arabia, so our father comes back." In 2015, before his election of course, the hon. member for Papineau urged Mr. Harper to intervene personally in this case.

What does the Prime Minister have to say today to the children of Raif Badawi?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Consular Affairs)]

Mr. Speaker, our government has raised the case of Mr. Badawi at the highest levels of the Saudi government.

We continue to ask for clemency, so he can be reunited with his family. I have had the opportunity and the privilege of meeting with his wife on multiple occasions. I have reassured her that our government, our Prime Minister, and our Minister of Foreign Affairs are engaged on this case. We will continue to appeal for clemency for Mr. Badawi.

Justice

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Don Valley West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, for decades the Canadian government actively discriminated against gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, and queer Canadians. Thousands of public servants and military personnel were fired for their sexual orientation, forced to live double lives or risk loss of employment or even criminal conviction.

I am proud of our government's efforts to build stronger ties with my community, working for rights at home and abroad. However, still more remains to be done. Could the Minister of Justice update us on steps the government is taking to heal the wounds in the LGBTQ2 community?

[Jody Wilson-Raybould, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I am incredibly proud of the work our government is doing.

In Canada we embrace diversity and inclusion. We have to ensure that everybody has the freedom to be who they are. That is why I am incredibly proud that the Senate passed Bill C-16 last week. I look forward to it receiving royal assent and adding to the Canadian Human Rights Code a prohibition against gender identity and gender expression.

We are doing more. We are looking at historic records and the expungement of them for unjust laws. In this month of pride, I want to celebrate and applaud the—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman.

National Defence

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals' mismanagement of the fighter jet replacement has gone from a national scandal to an international embarrassment.

Over the weekend, officials were instructed to meet with aerospace companies in Paris, then they were told to cancel those meetings, and then they were told to reschedule them. The Minister of National Defence has made a complete mess of this file.

Is there anyone on the Liberal benches, anyone at all, who can fix this comedy of errors and actually hold an open competition to replace our aging fighter jets now?

[Jean Rioux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada is committed to conducting an open and transparent competition for the permanent replacement of the fleet of fighter jets. This competitive process will help ensure that the members of the Canadian Armed Forces have the best aircraft for the long term, while getting the best value for money and generating the most economic benefits for Canadians. We have begun to develop the bid solicitation process. The initial consultations with the industry will begin in 2017.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal plan to replace Canada's fighter jets has become a real farce, and the farce has even spread to the international stage. That side of the House cannot even organize a simple meeting with representatives from the aerospace industry. On top of that, most stakeholders have lost all confidence in the Minister of National Defence, so this file has become a massive boondoggle.

Does the Prime Minister understand the magnitude of the problem? Will he bring his minister into line and immediately launch an open and transparent process?