Debates of Jan. 31st, 2018

Ethics

[Mark Strahl, Conservative, Chilliwack—Hope, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Ethics Commissioner was very clear. The Prime Minister should have never gone on his fancy private island vacation. The trip was deemed to be illegal; therefore, the $200,000 bill he sent to Canadians to pay for it is invalid.

While the Prime Minister has a family fortune, many Canadian families are struggling to make ends meet, living paycheque to paycheque. Why does the wealthy Prime Minister think it is okay to send taxpayers the bill for his illegal vacation, and when will he do the right thing and pay them back?

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, as has been the case with past prime ministers, and as is the case for this Prime Minister, whenever and wherever the Prime Minister travels, there are costs related to security. We always accept the advice of our security agencies as to how to best ensure the safety of the Prime Minister.

As the Prime Minister has said, going forward he will engage with the commissioner's office to discuss personal and family vacations.

[Mark Strahl, Conservative, Chilliwack—Hope, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister may not want to answer questions in here, but he cannot hide from what the independent officer of Parliament concluded about his conduct. On the charge of improperly arranging his personal affairs: guilty. On the charge of accepting illegal gifts: guilty.

[Some hon. members]

Guilty.

[Mark Strahl, Conservative, Chilliwack—Hope, BC]

On the charge of illegally accepting a ride on a private aircraft: guilty.

[Some hon. members]

Guilty.

[Mark Strahl, Conservative, Chilliwack—Hope, BC]

On the charge that he engaged in illegal government—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. As I have heard Speakers and presiding officers say before in this place, we do not have chanting. We have one person asking a question and one person answering.

Let us have the rest of the question. The hon. member for Chilliwack—Hope.

[Mark Strahl, Conservative, Chilliwack—Hope, BC]

Mr. Speaker, on the charge that he engaged illegally in discussions about government business: guilty.

The Prime Minister is guilty of breaking the law on four separate occasions. Why does he not do the right thing for once and pay back Canadian taxpayers?

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has answered these questions repeatedly, and since the new year, the Prime Minister has answered a number of questions from Canadians across the country in open and public town halls, including tonight when he will be present in Winnipeg answering questions from Canadians directly.

Canadians continue to be concerned about jobs for the middle class and those working hard to join it. With our plan, Canadians created 422,000 jobs in 2017, the best single number since 2002. Also, the unemployment rate is at its lowest since 1976. We understand the opposition not wanting to talk about the economy, because the opposition knows that the economy is doing well with our plan.

Public Transportation

[Sheri Benson, NDP, Saskatoon West, SK]

Mr. Speaker, since the shutdown of STC, people living in Saskatchewan are risking their lives hitchhiking just to get around. In November, mental health counsellors went public with fears for northern Saskatchewan residents that the situation would lead to a new Highway of Tears. The cancellation of STC made it difficult for families to testify at the only missing and murdered indigenous women and girls hearing in the province.

Will the government allow the situation to worsen or will it step up to prevent a new Highway of Tears?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, this is a very important issue. As the member knows full well, this is an issue that we are working on. We will work with her office to make sure we take the appropriate steps that are required and needed to address the issue in a meaningful way.

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB]

Mr. Speaker, Tina Fontaine, the Highway of Tears, the list of symbols representing the tragedy of missing and murdered indigenous women is long. There is not one indigenous community in this country that has not been touched by this epidemic. While we have to deal with the ongoing impacts of colonization, indigenous communities deserve action now, in real terms, including through safe transportation.

Will the government move from words to action and at least start by funding, in part, safe transportation along the Highway of Tears?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Liberal, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities]

Mr. Speaker, we have been working with the Province of Saskatchewan on a number of projects, including improving public transit systems in many of the communities through investments we have made in budget 2016. We will continue to work with the province to make sure that every person that needs public transportation has access to public transportation.

The decision was made by the provincial government to cancel that regional transportation system. That is its decision and its responsibility.

Ethics

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, just this once, I would like to give a Liberal government minister credit where credit is due. A year and a half ago, the Minister of Indigenous Services made the mistake of using a limo for personal reasons and billing taxpayers for it. Caught red-handed, the minister decided of her own free will to pay back over $3,700 to taxpayers. That is as it should be. The Prime Minister, however, deserves no such credit. He was also caught red-handed and found guilty of violating ethics rules four times but is refusing to reimburse Canadians.

Since today is Wednesday, the Prime Minister's day, will he rise and do exactly—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. Leader of the Government in the House of Commons.

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, immediately after the commissioner's report was tabled, the Prime Minister took responsibility and accepted the findings. He committed to clearing all future personal and family vacation plans with the commissioner. For weeks and months, the opposition demanded the report, and now that the report has been tabled, the opposition is refusing to accept the findings. We, in contrast, are grateful to the commissioner, we accept her findings, and we will follow all her recommendations.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, with all due respect to the government House leader, rather than reading her cue cards written by someone else, she should read the report form the Ethics Commissioner, who concluded that the Prime Minister broke the ethics rules four times. As the minister well knows, when the Minister of Indigenous Services was caught and had to reimburse taxpayers, she said at the time, “This does not live up to the standard that Canadians expect.”

Does the Prime Minister think that not paying back the $200,000 for his illegal vacation is the responsible thing to do and, more importantly, does that live up to the standard that Canadians expect? Canadians want an answer.

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, as was the case for the previous prime minister and is the case for the current Prime Minister, wherever and whenever the prime minister travels, there are costs related to security. The hon. member knows I have a great deal of respect for him, too. However, we must accept the commissioner's conclusions and respect her work, and that is exactly what we did.

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, “This situation was a reminder for all of us to be extremely careful about our expenses and about the public trust that we wield.” Those are not my words; those were the high-minded-sounding words of the Prime Minister as he stood in front of his cabinet a couple of years ago, referring to the then health minister and thousands of dollars of inappropriate travel expenses. That minister did the right thing: She repaid Canadians. Why will the Prime Minister not do the right thing, attempt to regain public trust, and repay Canadians?

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, the security agencies make determinations on what is needed to protect the Prime Minister, as they have done for previous prime ministers, and we will follow their recommendations. The former commissioner has acknowledged that these costs are incurred as part of the role of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister will continue to work with the commissioner's office to clear future family vacations.

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when his minister misspent thousands of dollars in improper travel expenses, she apologized and repaid those misspent expenses, and the Prime Minister preached about recognizing “public trust”. Now, in another flagrant display of double standards, he not only refuses to do the right thing, but he demeans his House leader by forcing her to recite his empty lines. When will the Prime Minister do the right thing and repay Canadians?

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, I have answered this question numerous times.

There is a really tough conversation taking place across our country and around the world. This person, the member of Parliament for the riding of Waterloo, the Minister of Small Business and Tourism, and the government House leader, is not forced to do anything. I am proud of the work of this Prime Minister. I am proud of the work of this government. No individual will tell me to do something. I respect the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. I know that I have rights and freedoms, and I will do my best to represent my constituents and my stakeholders.

When it comes to this report, the Prime Minister has accepted responsibility. He will continue to work with the office.

Pensions

[Brigitte Sansoucy, NDP, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have broken their promise to make the guaranteed income supplement available to all seniors. The Fédération de l'âge d'or du Québec, a Quebec seniors' association, reports that nearly 450,000 seniors who are eligible for the guaranteed income supplement are not registered to receive it. That is unacceptable. Furthermore, most vulnerable seniors are single women.

When will the Liberals, who call themselves feminists, honour their promise to automatically register all seniors for the guaranteed income supplement?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, every member of the House knows how important it is for Canadians, especially the most vulnerable Canadians, to receive the benefits they are entitled to. Over the past few years, we have made changes and improvements to the guaranteed income supplement. In recent weeks, we have also put mechanisms in place to ensure that the most vulnerable seniors, including women, get the benefits they are entitled to faster and more easily. We are going to keep working very hard to that end.