Debates of June 7th, 2017

Justice

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

Mr. Speaker, for the past few days, the Liberals have refused to clear the air about whether they plan to cancel a publicly accessible registry for high-risk sex offenders, cancelling a tool for parents to keep their kids safe.

Let me provided the Prime Minister with another opportunity to clear the air. Are the Liberals planning to cancel this registry for high-risk sex offenders, yes or no?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives tabled legislation for this initiative but did not actually put any money forward on this.

Canada already has a national sex offender registry, which helps ensure that offenders are properly registered and high-risk offenders are identified. No one in this House believes that we should do anything but keep our communities and our children totally safe.

This Conservative Party continues to play the worst kind of political games with it, which is part of why people are so cynical about their approach to politics.

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when I was the Conservative public safety minister, I stood my ground when there was pushback from officials on implementing a public registry of high-risk sex offenders.

Today, that registry is law. Today, those same officials want to gut it. Our Conservative government was able to stand up to them for the good of all Canadians.

My question is quite simple. Will the Prime Minister and his minister get serious and stand up for the victims, the families, and their children instead of kowtowing to officials?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the government will always be there to defend the interests and safety of Canadians. We will do everything we can to keep Canadians safe. We will do everything we can to give our police forces the tools they need.

Suggesting that a party of the House is not concerned about the safety of our children is simply irresponsible and crass politicking.

Air Transportation

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, first the Liberals took aim at the parliamentary budget officer, and now they have the Commissioner of Competition's powers in their sights. In 2011, the commissioner blocked a deal between Air Canada and United Airlines because it would have eliminated competition and raised the cost of flying. Under Bill C-49, the minister will have sole authority to approve such deals, and it just so happens that Air Canada and United Airlines are planning to resubmit the exact same proposal.

If the commissioner rejects the deal again, will the Prime Minister tell his minister to listen to the commissioner, or will he once again bend to Air Canada's will?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we were elected because we pledged to protect Canadians' interests and generate growth for the middle class and all those working hard to join it. We will always do what is in Canadians' interests and protect consumers' interests. That is what people expect, and that is what we will always do.

Telecommunications

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, thousands of Canadians have been receiving shakedown demands from Internet trolling companies using the notice and notice regime to make unsubstantiated allegations of Internet piracy. Canadians scared by the notice pay the demands without ever being found guilty.

The minister has already acknowledged that these scare tactics have no force of law, but he needs to take real action. When will the government fix this by changing the regulations and stopping the shakedowns? If the Prime Minister does not know the answer or does not understand it, will he please defer to someone who does, because I want action for Canadians. They need it now.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, keeping Canadians safe, both in reality and online, is something that is a priority for this government. We look forward to working with partners to ensure that we are defending the rights and the financial security of vulnerable Canadians.

We will continue to work hard on this file to make sure that Canadians are safe, both online and in their communities.

National Defence

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

Mr. Speaker, Liberal action, or I really should say Liberal inaction, speaks louder than Liberal words. The Prime Minister has yet again punted key spending for our brave men and women in uniform down the road until after the next election. Essentially, the Liberals are giving the Canadian Armed Forces an IOU, and of course, nobody trusts these Liberals.

When will the Prime Minister take real action on national defence and not punt spending down the road until after the next election, when the leader of the official opposition becomes our Prime Minister?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are incredibly proud of the extraordinary work that our Minister of National Defence did on the defence policy review, recognizing, first of all, that for 10 years, under the previous government the men and women of the Canadian Forces were used as political props but under-invested in. The previous government announced a lot of things but did not put the kind of money forward in stable, long-term, predictable ways, and that is exactly what we have done.

We have recognized that the men and women of the Canadian Forces deserve a government that truly supports them, in deeds as well as in words, and that is what today's historic announcement was all about.

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

Mr. Speaker, earlier today, the Minister of National Defence claimed to have the best interest of our military members at heart, but this is simply smoke and mirrors.

Most of the funding is promised for the coming decade. The crumbs promised by the Liberals for the next few years are smaller than the brutal cuts in the last two budgets. The Liberals are using creative accounting to make it look as though spending based on GDP is increasing.

Our men and women in uniform need more resources now.

Why is this Prime Minister unable to understand that?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, for 10 years our men and women in uniform have needed investment instead of the empty rhetoric of the previous government.

That is why we are now looking at exactly what the men and women in the armed forces need so that we can then provide for them, whether it is money for ships or for the fleet of 88 aircraft. We are now making the necessary investments that the previous government simply did not want to make.

Infrastructure

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Division 18 of the government's budget bill empowers the Minister of Finance to approve loan guarantees to infrastructure megaprojects through the new $35 billion infrastructure bank. I asked him eight times at committee who would pay for the losses in the event that such a project or its builder went under. He could not answer and did not know.

Could the Prime Minister tell the House who will pay for the losses in the event that a loan guarantee-backed project goes under?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I can understand the difficulty that the members opposite have with the concept of an infrastructure bank. For 10 years, the Conservatives did not look at investments in infrastructure. They did not look at innovative ways to actually deliver for Canadians the public transit, the social infrastructure, the green infrastructure that Canadians needed. Our historic investments are going to be—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order, please.

I know that the hon. member for Lac-Saint-Jean wants to hear the answers and that everyone in the House of Commons wants to hear the questions and answers.

The right hon. Prime Minister.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, our historic infrastructure investments will create good jobs now for the middle class and long-term growth.

We know that we need to invest in our communities and in our future. This is exactly what Canadians asked us to do and this is what we are doing.

Foreign Affairs

[Anita Vandenbeld, Liberal, Ottawa West—Nepean, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in her speech yesterday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs outlined Canada's recommitment to the international forums that had provided peace and stability for the past 70 years. Canada is a proud member of many international institutions, and next year we will have the G7 presidency.

Could the Prime Minister please tell the House how the objectives outlined yesterday, including Canada's commitment to multilateral forums, will strengthen our position in the world and provide an opportunity to promote the Canadian values of diversity, inclusion, and openness?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as Canadians, we believe in diversity, openness, and inclusion. We will work toward a better world, because that is what Canadians do.

Multilateralism and collaboration are key to the challenges we face. With our allies, we will seek to bring peace, stability, and prosperity to all corners of the globe.

We believe in a progressive trade agenda. We believe in fighting climate change. We believe in putting gender equality at the forefront of all our efforts, particularly in development. We will always promote and defend Canadian values on the world stage.

Persons with Disabilities

[Mike Lake, Conservative, Edmonton—Wetaskiwin, AB]

Mr. Speaker, in his rambling justification of his vote against the Canadian autism partnership, the Liberal House leader's parliamentary secretary said:

I disagree with members who say that it is 10¢ a day for this, or it is only $19 million. I can assure you that every one of the constituents I represent would argue that a million dollars is a lot of money.

He will get no argument from this side on that last point. However, as the Liberal Prime Minister racks up a deficit over 25,000 times that $1 million, how is it possible that Canadians living with autism were left behind?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I recognize the member's strength and passion on this issue. I recognize that autism spectrum disorder has a significant and lifelong impact on individuals and their families.

Federal investments in research, data improvements, surveillance, and training skills are supporting those with autism and their families. There is an extraordinary network of stakeholders across the country raising awareness and providing services to families. Our government will continue to support those efforts through our programs.

The Environment

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, volunteers in my riding are in the middle of a massive community-led cleanup of Clayoquot Sound. Without any government support, Clayoquot CleanUp has raised $75,000 to tackle 600 tonnes of marine debris along the west coast of Vancouver Island.

Yesterday, at the United Nations conference on oceans, we were warned that the amount of plastic in our oceans could soon outweigh fish.

On the eve of World Oceans Day, where is the government's plan to cleanup marine debris along our coasts, and will the Prime Minister provide immediate support for the cleanup on Vancouver Island?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, last year we put forward historic investments in our oceans with our oceans protection plan. It is recognition that Canada must have world-leading response and protection for our coasts.

We have the longest coastline in the world. It is high time a Canadian government took seriously the responsibility of protecting and supporting it. That is what this government is doing, after too many years of inaction, particularly by the previous government. We are moving forward to protect our coasts and the people who make a living along them.

National Defence

[Yves Robillard, Liberal, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today our government unveiled our new defence policy.

It is our duty to support the men and women at the heart of the Canadian Armed Forces so that, in return, they can continue to bravely serve Canada.

Can the Prime Minister tell the House about the details of this new defence policy, particularly measures to support families?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, military families are the backbone of the Canadian Armed Forces and are crucial to the success of our military.

That is why our government made a commitment to improving the support we provide to military families and ensuring that they have access to adequate resources.

We will allocate an additional $6 million a year to modernize military family support programs, including military family resource centres, to offer better solutions to families when soldiers are away on missions or otherwise absent.

It is important to remember that behind every uniform, there is a family—