Debates of Jan. 31st, 2018

Ethics

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

Mr. Speaker, as I have said many times, immediately after the commissioner's report was tabled, the Prime Minister took responsibility, accepted the findings, and committed to working with the office of the commissioner on future personal and family vacations.

When it comes to the Prime Minister and this government, we are committed to working hard on behalf of Canadians . When the Prime Minister apologizes in his capacity as prime minister, as he did yesterday to a group of individuals who had been waiting a very long time, it means something to Canadians. We will continue engaging with them. We take this work seriously and will continue to do so.

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would suspect that the House leader has not quite read the document that the Ethics Commissioner put forward. If she did, she would know that there are actually no recommendations from the Ethics Commissioner. There are findings of fact. There is a determination of guilt. That is all that is in there. She should stop hiding behind the Ethics Commissioner.

To that point, what I would like to know is this. Will the Prime Minister do the right thing, accept responsibility, and pay back that illegal gift?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I have said, immediately following the tabling of the report, the Prime Minister accepted responsibility and he accepted her recommendations. The commissioner has made recommendations on how to best manage the Prime Minister's family friendships moving forward and he will follow the commissioner's advice. We will continue to work with the commissioner.

As it pertains to the Prime Minister's family and personal vacations, he will ensure that they are all cleared with the office of the commissioner.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I appreciate the efforts of the hon. member for Milton to encourage colleagues to listen to the answers to make sure she can hear and the rest of us can hear.

The hon. member for Milton.

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the only advice the Ethics Commissioner gave was to stop breaking the law. That is it. That report was delivered to two people: the Prime Minister, in his capacity as the prime minister; and the person who had the allegations against him, again, the Prime Minister. Why does it go to the Prime Minister? It is because that person decides the appropriate punishment for the public office-holder. What did he do in this case? He forgave himself.

On this side, we do not forgive him for this and we want him to pay back the taxpayers. When will he do it?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I have also said on numerous occasions, on this side of the House, we appreciate the work of officers of Parliament.

The previous commissioner, both in her report and in her testimony in committee, answered many questions related to her report. We accepted her findings, and we respect her work. At committee, she also suggested and made recommendations, and that is why the Prime Minister has put a screen in place.

On this side, we respect the work of all officers of Parliament. Unlike the opposition, for us, when officers of Parliament make recommendations, we take them seriously, and we work with them to ensure that we follow them.

Democratic Institutions

[Ruth Ellen Brosseau, NDP, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is becoming crystal clear that we are at a turning point in the fight for women's equality. We will not let these moments pass us by. We simply cannot.

We owe it not only to the generations of amazing women who have fought hard to get us where we are today, but more importantly, to the young women and girls who will step up and finish the job, the fight for women's equality.

Time is up for words and platitudes. It is time for action now. What is the concrete plan of the Liberals to make sure that we elect more women in the House in 2019?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, I applaud my colleague's efforts to make this place better and safer for more women. Just like her and I am sure so many in this House, I want to see more women running for office, getting elected, and being successful when they are here. Therefore, it is incumbent upon all of us to do what we can to make this somewhere where women can be successful, where they can thrive, and where they can feel safe.

[Ruth Ellen Brosseau, NDP, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

I am sorry, Mr. Speaker, but this is a moment when we need bold actions, not just platitudes.

The Prime Minister said that he would guarantee that all incumbents could keep their seats. Doing the math, that means he will have to find 116 female candidates for the remaining 155 ridings if he wants to reach parity. I would love to see that. The parties have been making efforts for 151 years, but today we need concrete action.

Can the government tell us what it plans to do to ensure that more women are elected in 2019?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for her question.

I am thrilled to see so many strong women here in the House, working hard for Canadians. I think everyone in the House needs to encourage more women to run for office.

When they are successful in being elected to the House, we must ensure that they are able to thrive and to do well here. All of us in this House can do more to reach out to women, to encourage them to run, and to make sure that they are successful and elected here in the future.

Status of Women

[Karine Trudel, NDP, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, 31 days ago, Iceland made it illegal to pay men more than women. It is the first country to legislate equal pay.

In Canada, we have a Prime Minister who calls himself a feminist. That is great, but real change has to be more than just an election slogan. It has to be a reality. Real change shows up on the paycheques of women who see their male coworkers making more money for doing the same job.

When is the government going to make equal pay a reality?

[Scott Brison, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, of course they expect to be full participants in our economy, and they deserve equal pay for work of equal value.

Our government is working with the public sector unions. We are working with public servants. We will achieve exactly that.

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

Mr. Speaker, two years ago this week, Parliament voted for the New Democrats' motion on equal pay for women, but we still have not seen any legislation to protect equal pay in law.

Liberals promised pay equity, but shelved it until 2018. It is 2018. Time is up. Words are not enough. Women want concrete action. We have waited far too long already.

Can the Prime Minister explain to women in Canada why they should have to wait another day to be paid the same as men?

[Scott Brison, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, we are working in consultation with the unions, the public sector unions, and the CLC and Unifor. We are working broadly in Canada.

First of all, our government has restored a culture of respect with our labour movement in Canada. We have also made it very clear that our government, as a feminist government, is committed to pay equity, a proactive pay equity system. I can assure the hon. member we are moving forward with exactly that.

Ethics

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, for the first time in the history of Canada, the Prime Minister has been found guilty of violating the Conflict of Interest Act. He travelled illegally, charging taxpayers more than $200,000. He told us that he takes responsibility. Can he, or his House leader, if he cannot do so himself, tell us why the Prime Minister would not reimburse Canadian taxpayers?

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

Mr. Speaker, the previous commissioner, both in her long report and in her testimony at committee, answered many questions related to her report. We accept her findings and we respect her work. On this side of the House, we respect the work of all officers of Parliament. Unlike the opposition, we take the recommendations of senior officials seriously and we work with them to ensure that we follow their recommendations. Furthermore, the Prime Minister has committed to submit all future vacation plans to the commissioner—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. The hon. member for Richmond—Arthabaska.

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I just do not understand the answer that the leader keeps repeating. The Prime Minister took a vacation, an illegal vacation, on the taxpayers' dime. He was found to be in violation of the law not once, but four times. All members of this House must obey the law. The ministers who were found guilty had to repay the monies, as did government employees. It seems that there are two laws: one for the Prime Minister and another for all the other MPs and Canadians.

Could he simply pay back the money taken out of taxpayers' pockets?

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

Mr. Speaker, if the opposition asks the same question, it will hear the same answer. For weeks and months on end, the opposition asked that the report be tabled. Now that the report has been tabled, the opposition refuses to accept its findings. For our part, we would like to thank the commissioner, we accept her findings, and we will follow all her recommendations.

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, by not paying back these expenses, the Prime Minister is basically telling all of us as members of Parliament that it is okay, go ahead, take a really expensive trip as a gift, do not report it to the Ethics Commissioner, mislead everyone about the details for years, deny, deny, deny for a year, and then when we get caught, just say, “Oh, I'm sorry.” Wow. What a sweet deal.

When will the Prime Minister see how arrogant and entitled he is being by not paying back these illegal expenses?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I have said time and time again, we on this side of the chamber respect the work of officers of Parliament. Immediately after the commissioner's report was tabled, the Prime Minister took responsibility and accepted her recommendations.

The opposition members for weeks and months have been asking these questions, demanding the report, and now that the report has been tabled, they refuse to accept the conclusion. On our side, we thank the commissioner. We accept the findings, and we will follow every recommendation.

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the conclusion is that he is guilty, which is what we have been asking about for the last year, and he has been denying. When he took this illegal trip, he forced the RCMP to be complicit in these illegal expenses. He is now forcing taxpayers to be complicit. Those are the facts.

When will the Prime Minister own up to the wrong that he has done, be a leader for once, take responsibility for what he has done, and pay back these—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. The hon. government House leader.

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

Mr. Speaker, the previous commissioner, both in her report and in her testimony in committee, answered many questions related to her report. We accept her findings and we respect her work. On this side we respect the work of all officers of Parliament.

What is clear is that the previous Conservative government's way was to undermine officers of Parliament. That is not our approach. We respect the work that they do. We accept the findings and we will take her recommendations. Moving forward, the Prime Minister will clear all family and personal vacations with the officer.