Debates of June 21st, 2017

Taxation

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canada Day is just around the corner, and many middle-class Canadians will be celebrating with a great craft beer or a nice glass of wine.

However, the Liberal plan is to crash Canada's party with a never-ending, always-escalating tax increase on beer, wine, and spirits.

What it comes down to is middle-class Canadians cannot afford another Liberal tax hike. Will the Prime Minister agree that Canadians already pay their fair share and that increasing taxes on middle-class Canadians is a bad idea? Will he cork this tax?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the highlighting of Canada Day coming up. I know that I and my family, like many Canadians, will spend much of the summer visiting our national parks, which are completely free for everyone during Canada's 150th birthday.

Furthermore, families will be able to do that with a little more money in their pockets, because we have lowered taxes on the middle class, raised them on the wealthiest one per cent, and delivered a Canada child benefit that puts more money, tax free, every month in the pockets of middle-class Canadians by stopping funding for the previous government's child benefit cheques to millionaires.

Indigenous Affairs

[Romeo Saganash, NDP, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

[Member spoke in aboriginal language]

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for his words and wish I had the capacity to understand the strong culture and language that he shared with us today.

This National Indigenous Peoples Day is a day to reflect on reconciliation, on the work we have begun, and on the amount of work that remains to be done on the path forward, which we need to recognize and build on.

I thank the member for his question and look forward to working with him on the path to true reconciliation.

[Sheila Malcolmson, NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I wish this House could translate Canada's original languages.

As this government blocks removing gender discrimination from Canada's Indian Act, we see examples of violence against women everywhere. Despite a national inquiry into the tragedy of murdered and missing indigenous women and girls, the reality on the ground for women has not changed.

The government will build just five new on-reserve violence shelters in five years. That is deeply inadequate. When will the Prime Minister put real money into his most important relationship and end violence against indigenous women?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we invested in our very first budget $8.4 billion toward indigenous peoples, but we know there is much more to do, which we followed up with in budget 2017.

In terms of violence against indigenous women, we launched a national public inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women and girls, which continues its work. We always look at better ways to respect and protect women, particularly indigenous women, from the violence they unfortunately continue to face all too often.

We will work together in partnership, in respect, with indigenous people.

The Budget

[Ron Liepert, Conservative, Calgary Signal Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, in the 2015 election campaign, the Prime Minister made a number of promises just so he could get elected. He promised electoral reform. That promise has been broken. He promised a revenue neutral middle-class tax cut, and we all know what happened. That promise has been broken. He promised small $10-billion deficits. That promise has been broken.

I have a simple question for the Prime Minister. When is he going to balance the budget?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, in our election campaign, we campaigned on real change and growth for the middle class, and that is exactly what we are delivering. We actually delivered that middle-class tax cut by raising taxes on the wealthiest one per cent. Unfortunately, that member and his entire party voted against it.

We continue to understand that what Canadians need is growth and investment in our future. We are beginning to see the real results of our investments in the record number of jobs being created, in opportunities for young people, and in infrastructure projects that are historic in their scope and nature. This is—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Lévis—Lotbinière.

Finance

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in a media interview, the Prime Minister admitted that he had no idea when Canada’s astronomical deficit would be eliminated. This is completely unacceptable to all of us and to future generations.

It is very clear: like father, like son. We are entitled to know in which year Canada will return to a balanced budget.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are taking a reasonable approach, rooted in the knowledge that we need to create economic growth for the middle class, something the party opposite was unable to do for 10 years.

Our infrastructure investments will help families get to work and come home more efficiently. We have made investments in social housing. There will be more money in the pockets of the middle class. We have cut taxes and have implemented the Canada child benefit, which helps 9 out of ten families and lifts hundreds of thousands of young people out of poverty.

We are implementing this ambitious plan to help the middle class and those working hard to join it.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Well, Mr. Speaker, that was another non-answer.

I am extremely worried for Canada's young people. The Liberals should be focused on creating an environment of economic prosperity and making sure the next generation is set up for success. However, instead, the government is racking up debt with no plan whatsoever to balance the budget. In fact, the Liberals are about to set a record as the most expensive government in history outside of a war or recession. This is a huge bill being piled up for the next generation to pay off.

My question is simple, and they say that the third time is the charm. In what year will the Prime Minister balance the budget?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the belated focus that the members opposite finally have on Canadian young people.

The fact is, we know that what young people want in this country are investments in our future that both build the economy and protect us from climate change, investments in innovation that are going to create good jobs for the next generation, help for young people to not have to pay back their student loans until they are making $25,000 in income, and more help in up-front grants for our students. These are the kinds of things we are doing for young people, which will build on a strong future for us all—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. The hon. member for Foothills and others are consistently heckling. I would ask them not to.

Order.

The hon. member for Sarnia—Lambton.

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is no wonder the Liberal government is having such a difficult time in getting its budget bill passed. Everyone can see the Liberals' wasteful spending, their sneaky tax increases on those in the middle class and those too poor to join them, and their out-of-touch priorities. The Liberals spend billions for Chinese investors and Liberal friends, but only $20 million a year to reduce violence against women in Canada, and not even $4 million a year for the Canadian Autism Partnership.

With all of this out-of-control spending, in what year will the Prime Minister balance the budget?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am kind of disappointed that the member opposite thinks our approach on taxes is secret, so I will repeat it. We lowered taxes on the middle class and raised them on the wealthiest one per cent. Has she not heard?

Unfortunately, the members opposite voted against our proposal that lowers taxes on the middle class, because for 10 years they focused on giving tax breaks and advantages to the wealthiest Canadians. That is not what Canadians want. That is not what Canadians voted for. This is why we are moving forward in the ways that Canadians expect us to.

Official Languages

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have so mismanaged the process of selecting a new Commissioner of Official Languages that the office currently lacks the ability to do anything. Without a commissioner, the office falls into a legal state known as “functus”, which sounds appropriate. The office cannot sign papers, deliver reports, or begin investigations.

When they could have easily extended the interim commissioner's term, why have the Liberals chosen to leave the office completely functus?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, our two official languages are at the heart of this party's identity and of the identity of Canadians. Our government promised Canadians a rigorous, open, transparent, merit-based process for public appointments. This will result in the recommendations of high-quality candidates, while also achieving gender parity and truly reflecting Canada's diversity.

We remain committed to finding the best candidate for the official languages position. Work at the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages is ongoing. An announcement will be made shortly.

[François Choquette, NDP, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we thought that the debacle with Ms. Meilleur’s appointment had been a lesson to the minister of heritage, but no, she continues to outdo herself. Today makes four days without a commissioner.

Even former commissioner Graham Fraser is furious. This is what he said:

I think that this is an example of a bungled appointment process. I can only think that it reflects a lack of attention, lack of concern for the issue...for the question of official languages.

What are the Liberals going to do to apologize for this whole mess?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we take very seriously our responsibility to defend our two official languages in this country, we are the party of official bilingualism, and we will continue to look for the best possible candidates for all our appointed positions, particularly the Commissioner of Official Languages.

I can assure the member across the way that work is proceeding as it should at the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages and that we will be making an announcement shortly.

Indigenous Affairs

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has been very clear that no relationship is more important to him and to this government than the relationship with first nations, with the Métis Nation, and with the Inuit people.

Today, on what will now be known as National Indigenous Peoples Day, could the Prime Minister give the House an update on the government's plan for the former U.S. embassy across from Parliament Hill, as well as Langevin Block?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Saint Boniface—Saint Vital for his strong advocacy on this issue.

The residential school era is a dark chapter in our history. The association between Langevin and the Prime Minister's office is inconsistent with a strong partnership with indigenous peoples. Therefore, we will be removing that name.

Moreover, the former U.S. embassy will be converted to a space dedicated to and for first nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples for them to decide how best to use it. This is a powerful symbol of reconciliation right here on the Hill, where we all pass by it every single day.

Foreign Investment in Canada

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Haldimand—Norfolk, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the number one job of a government is to protect the safety and security of the people. Let us look at the facts. Norsat creates advanced technology that is used by our military to protect the security of Canadians, while Hytera Communications is a Chinese company with a bad track record. To buy Norsat is a risky decision. This deal, by definition, is a security risk.

When will the Prime Minister wake up, smell the coffee, and cancel this deal?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said repeatedly, every single transaction that falls under the Investment Canada Act is carefully assessed by all national security agencies. In this particular case, our agencies also consulted with key allies, including the United States. Our national security experts assessed the deal and the technology, and concluded there were no national security concerns.

I can reassure all members in the House and all Canadians that we take defending our national security extremely seriously.