House of Commons Hansard #187 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was transportation.
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, when we came to power, we had to create a non-partisan process because the previous government had so politicized the appointments processes. One simply needs to remember the 49 last-minute partisan appointments that the Conservatives made in the dying days of their own government.
The fact is, we will not hold against any candidate who is qualified their past political affiliations. Canadians expect us to pick the very best people for the jobs. That is exactly what we always do.
Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC
Mr. Speaker, let me get this straight. The infrastructure privatization bank will charge user fees, there will not be a single member of the public sector on its board of directors, only the private sector, and the only projects that will be approved are ones that are profitable to the investors.
The government is borrowing money at very low rates and that is reflected on its balance sheet. However, when that loan is managed by investors over a period of 30 years, it costs much more and that is not reflected on the balance sheet.
Is this bank some sort of scheme to avoid increasing the deficit by making this money disappear from their balance sheet?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, the infrastructure bank will allow us to create new historic investments in infrastructure that go well beyond what we are putting on the table.
We know that Canadians need more public transit, more investment in roads, bridges, commercial infrastructure, and green infrastructure.
Indeed, the infrastructure bank will allow us to have the infrastructure that Canadians need now and in the future.
Daniel Blaikie NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB
Mr. Speaker, what he does not say is that those investments are going to come at a high cost to Canadians, who want to know why they cannot get Liberals in government to behave like the Liberals they vote for at election time. For instance, the Liberals have promised an infrastructure bank that would “provide loan guarantees and small capital contributions to provinces and municipalities”, not the BlackRock group. Nothing about user fees and tolls. Nothing about taxpayers taking on private risk. Liberals ran on a program that would have benefited communities, but, once elected, turned it into a $35-billion slush fund for their international corporate buddies. We want to know, where is their sense of shame?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, I was very pleased to attend the Federation of Canadian Municipalities meeting last week, where we were congratulated for being such extraordinary partners to municipalities across the country. We have demonstrated that we understand how important municipalities are as partners, how much the federal government needs to be there to both provide capital and unlock capital, so municipalities and provinces can achieve everything they want for their citizens. That is our focus. That is why we work so well with municipalities and provinces. That is what we will continue to do for Canadians.
Daniel Blaikie NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB
Mr. Speaker, I wonder how many of the small communities that are going to be left out of the infrastructure bank were clapping when that was said.
Every few days, new revelations come out about the Liberal pick for the official languages commissioner and her connection to the Liberal Party, to the PMO, and to the heritage minister's own office.
The partisanship in this appointment is so blatant that today a minority languages group out of New Brunswick will be seeking a legal injunction to stop it.
What is it going to take for the Prime Minister to admit that this time he has gone too far? When is he going to finally stop pretending that Madame Meilleur can be seen as an independent officer of Parliament?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, if we go back, I recommended that the member opposite actually look at our budget where he would see $2 billion for small communities, because we understand how important small communities are for the future of our country.
On the issue of merit-based appointments, we will not hold against any qualified candidate their background in politics. We know Canadians expect the very top qualified people to serve their country. That is what we look for. That is why we were proud to choose former Prime Minister Kim Campbell to help us choose our next—
Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC
Mr. Speaker, this is becoming a joke. Every day this Prime Minister prattles on about the middle class and those working hard to join it. I would like to challenge him on that, but I cannot do so because the Prime Minister is undermining the independence of officers of Parliament and the value of official languages in this country, to the point where an injunction has been filed against him.
Will the Prime Minister show a little respect and do the right thing for once, out of respect for our linguistic minorities, and refuse Ms. Meilleur's appointment?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, Canadians expect the very best people to be appointed in a merit-based process, and we will appoint the right people without any partisanship. We will not hold any past political affiliations against a qualified candidate. That is what Canadians expect. We will continue to stand up for our country's official languages and pick the very best people for the jobs available.
John Nater Conservative Perth—Wellington, ON
Mr. Speaker, we just learned that Société de l'Acadie du Nouveau-Brunswick has filed an injunction in Federal Court to block the appointment of a partisan nominee, Madeleine Meilleur, in the position for official languages commissioner.
We know that her appointment has lost the trust of key official languages communities, the people she will be entrusted to represent, yet they are filing court injunctions to block this partisan nomination.
Will the Prime Minister do the right thing, withdraw the nomination, go back to the drawing board, and appoint someone without key donations to the Liberal Party?
Mélanie Joly LiberalMinister of Canadian Heritage
Mr. Speaker, in the context of the appointment of the official languages commissioner, we were committed to finding the most qualified candidate. That is exactly what we have done by appointing Madeleine Meilleur as the next official languages commissioner, because she has the expertise and experience.
Therefore, I would also like to remind my colleagues that 95 leaders of the francophone community called upon the House to make sure to stop the political games and support Madeleine Meilleur, because she is a very good candidate.
John Nater Conservative Perth—Wellington, ON
Mr. Speaker, unfortunately the political games are being played by that party that is going to its donation lists to make partisan appointments as officers of this place.
Last week, the Minister of Canadian Heritage said that there was a firewall between her and the staff members in her office who worked directly with and for Madeleine Meilleur, but not a single ounce of evidence has been laid before the House of any proof that this firewall was in place before she was appointed as official languages commissioner. Therefore, I would ask the minister, what evidence can she share with the House that a firewall existed before the nomination took place?
Mélanie Joly LiberalMinister of Canadian Heritage
Mr. Speaker, I have had the opportunity in the House to explain the process many times. There were 72 candidates that participated in the process. An independent firm went through all the CVs. Afterwards, there were 12 candidates that passed the interviews, and 10 of them went through testing. There were reference checks done. Ultimately, there was a small list of candidates that I had the chance to interview. In the end, because of the great expertise and experience of Madeline Meilleur, she was clearly the best-qualified candidate to become the official languages commissioner.
Sylvie Boucher Conservative Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île dOrléans—Charlevoix, QC
Mr. Speaker, breach of trust, partisanship, loose ethics, and the list goes on. The Liberal Party opposite is taking us back 15 years to the time of the sponsorship scandal, when the doors were thrown wide open to welcome friends who contributed to the party.
Today, the Liberals are appointing party donors and tough luck for everyone else. Ms. Meilleur is the perfect example.
When will the Minister of Canadian Heritage stop making up stories, tell members the truth, and redo the selection process?
Mélanie Joly LiberalMinister of Canadian Heritage
Mr. Speaker, when searching for a new official languages commissioner, we wanted to use a rigorous, merit-based process. We wanted to find the best person for the job, and that is exactly what we did.
After multiple rounds of interviews and a selection process, Madeleine Meilleur clearly emerged as the candidate with the most experience and expertise.
I would also like to remind my colleagues that 95 leaders of the francophone community signed a letter asking members of the House to stop playing political games and support Madeleine Meilleur's appointment.
Sylvie Boucher Conservative Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île dOrléans—Charlevoix, QC
Mr. Speaker, the beginning of yet another week sees us still waiting for answers.
Just imagine if I had given $5,000 to the Conservative Party and $500 to Mr. Harper's leadership campaign and soon afterward been selected to serve as official languages commissioner.
Just imagine the Liberal Party's reaction. The Liberals would have been up in arms. It is about time they realized they are not above the law.
Do we need to call for a public inquiry into this process?
Mélanie Joly LiberalMinister of Canadian Heritage
Mr. Speaker, I can assure my colleague that, had she been a candidate, she could have gone through the process, but it would have been up to her to demonstrate her qualifications.
As the Prime Minister has said a number of times, we respect public services. The fact that Madeleine Meilleur had a political career is something we considered to be part of her qualifications.
John Brassard Conservative Barrie—Innisfil, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have managed to do the impossible. They have turned the selection of a non-partisan appointment into one of the most divisive issues in years among Acadian and francophone communities.
Michel Doucet of the University of Moncton, one of 10 other candidates for the position of official languages commissioner, says that the Liberals have made the selection process too political. He is also on record as saying that the Liberals have lost all credibility over the Meilleur nomination.
Why is the Prime Minister not listening to those who want the partisan games to stop and want the process of appointing this officer of Parliament to be redone?
Mélanie Joly LiberalMinister of Canadian Heritage
Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my colleague of the expertise and experience of Madeleine Meilleur.
For 30 years, she has been a very strong advocate in favour of the promotion and protection of official languages in the country. She was there at a time when there needed to be an intervention to protect the hospital for the francophone community in Ottawa. She was there at the first battle to make sure that ultimately official languages rights would be set in place. Therefore, that has been her battle throughout.
John Brassard Conservative Barrie—Innisfil, ON
Mr. Speaker, this sham of a process is anything but open and transparent. Madeleine Meilleur is a major Liberal donor and her key former staff now work for the Minister of Canadian Heritage in the exact same capacity.
If we are expected to believe this is a coincidence, then my chances of being hit by lightning while holding the winning Lotto 649 ticket and being a guest on Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest are pretty good.
Everyone knows the fix is in. Will the Prime Minister do the right thing and start a new and fair search for Canada's next official languages commissioner?
Mélanie Joly LiberalMinister of Canadian Heritage
Mr. Speaker, the experience, the expertise and the integrity of Mrs. Meilleur has been recognized by many on both sides of the House. I would like to remind my colleague about all her experience.
The fact that she has been involved in the protection of the Montfort Hospital, her access to health care in both official language, especially the francophone community, and also the fact that she was a champion for the creation of the French language services commissioner in the Ontario government certainly makes her a very strong candidate to become the next official languages commissioner.
Anne Minh-Thu Quach NDP Salaberry—Suroît, QC
Mr. Speaker, since the Liberals promised to legalize marijuana, 15,000 people, including 7,000 individuals under the age of 25, have been arrested for possession.
The government keeps repeating that current laws still apply and that it cannot help young people who wind up with criminal records, all for doing something that the Prime Minister himself admits to having committed. Talk about a double standard.
Will the Minister of Youth stand up in the House and explain to these young people how he plans to ensure they are not stuck with a criminal record for the rest of their lives?
Jody Wilson-Raybould LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, as we have stated many times, our government is committed to legalizing, strictly regulating, and restricting access to cannabis.
The process in place right now simply is not working. That is why we engaged a task force that provided substantive recommendations: health experts, justice experts, public safety experts. We have introduced legislation.
I hope all members in the House move this legislation forward so we have a system in place and we have a comprehensive regime that we have built with provinces and territories.
