Debates of Oct. 23rd, 2018

Ethics

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Durham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in late November 2015, the Privy Council Office launched an investigation into supposed leaks from the Liberal cabinet meeting that suspended the Davie Shipbuilding contract.

The PCO engaged the RCMP, largely based on the James Cudmore story. The Minister of Environment and Climate Change and the President of the Treasury Board were interviewed as part of the investigation.

If a federal investigation was under way based almost entirely on a CBC news story by James Cudmore, what would possibly have possessed the Liberals to make the decision to hire James Cudmore and place him in the centre of the investigation?

[Karen McCrimmon, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, once again, we believe in an independent judiciary.

The Conservatives are attempting to prosecute a trial on the floor of the House of Commons, or to gather evidence. We consider that to be inappropriate and will comment no further.

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Durham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would invite you to comment on whether these questions can be asked in here, because what we have today is a farce, a tri-service farce.

We have a retired air force colonel covering for a retired army colonel about ruining the career of a navy admiral. CBC reporter James Cudmore wrote stories that led to a PCO and RCMP investigation, but then he was immediately hired by that minister.

On what date, minister, did you or the Prime Minister offer James Cudmore a job?

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order, order. First of all, the hon. member for Durham is an experienced member and should know that he should direct his comments to the Chair. I think he will also know that question period is not when points of order are raised.

The hon. parliamentary secretary.

[Karen McCrimmon, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, the answer remains the same. We do believe in an independent judiciary. We do believe in following the sub judice principle. We will not be commenting on any matter that is before the courts.

Public Services and Procurement

[Karine Trudel, NDP, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, extraordinary as it may seem, I am yet again rising to ask questions about the Phoenix fiasco. One thing is for sure: if the Liberals had listened to employees, unions, IBM—in short, everyone—they could have avoided this situation. It is so utterly senseless.

Yesterday, the Auditor General reported that the number of victims of pay errors is actually still going up, for crying out loud.

Will the government adhere to the agreements and procedures it has put in place?

Are the Liberals capable of taking responsibility and fixing the problem?

[Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, the ongoing problems with the Phoenix pay system remain my number one priority. It is absolutely unacceptable that our public servants are not being paid, but progress is being made.

Since January 2018, pay pod departments have seen a 21% decrease in the number of transactions awaiting processing. We have increased capacity by 1,500 to the pay centre. The backlog has been steadily declining since January 2018, down 100,000 cases, while at the same time we have processed $1.5 billion in retroactive payments for employees.

I recognize that there is much more to do on this file. I can assure the House we are making progress.

Housing

[Georgina Jolibois, NDP, Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK]

Mr. Speaker, Northern Saskatchewan needs women's shelters and yet the Liberals refuse to release the funds they promised for a shelter run by the Athabasca Health Authority.

Indigenous and northern women are the most at risk to violence. Many have to travel hundreds of kilometres to get the help they need. This is unacceptable.

What are the Liberals waiting for to act on their promise to northern women and release the funds for the much-needed shelter in Black Lake?

[Adam Vaughan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member opposite for her dedication to making sure that the services that are needed in northern parts of this country are received by the residents and people who need those services.

The national housing strategy has a specific carve-out for housing for women and in particular, for women escaping violence. There are supports in other ministries as well for the shelters that have been described.

I would like to talk to the member after question period to get the specifics of the case involved so we can follow up.

There is no priority more important to this government than making sure women and girls are safe and housing is a critical component of that. That is why the national housing strategy addresses it.

Justice

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

Mr. Speaker, as we have seen for several days now, the Liberals are hiding crucial information that would guarantee Vice-Admiral Norman a fair trial. We also now know that James Cudmore, the person who revealed that the Davie shipyard was going to lose a contract because of Liberal backroom deals, was hired, oddly enough, by the Minister of National Defence at the same time.

My question is simple. As the member representing Lévis, I want to know whether the Liberals are trying to sink the Davie shipyard and the Quebec economy.

[Karen McCrimmon, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, the government will not comment or speculate on any matter that is currently before the courts. On this side of the House, we believe in an independent judiciary. I would remind members that the sub judice rule can be breached and violated by public statements that risk prejudicing matters or issues that are before the courts.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is a shame that the parliamentary secretary, herself a former officer in the Canadian Forces, has allowed herself to be used by the Prime Minister to shield the government from giving another officer, Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, the evidence that he needs to provide a fair trial. The government is covering it up.

When will the government stop that cover-up and release the evidence Mark Norman needs to receive a fair trial?

[Karen McCrimmon, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, he knows not of what he speaks.

I believe in an independent judiciary. I believe it is key. Therefore I do believe it would be inappropriate to discuss this on the floor of the House of Commons.

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

Mr. Speaker, what I speak of is the Liberal government withholding evidence that Mark Norman needs to get a fair trial.

Answering questions in the House of Commons will not impact the trial of Mark Norman but withholding the critical evidence he needs to mount a defence certainly will. The more the Liberals hide, the more this looks like a cover-up.

Who are they protecting? What are they trying to hide? Why do they not just release the evidence today?

[Karen McCrimmon, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, this is not a courtroom. This is the floor of the House of Commons. Attempts to indirectly prosecute a case on the floor of the House of Commons are inappropriate.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I have to remind members that the time to answer someone is not when a member is speaking but it is when he or she has their turn.

The Environment

[Geng Tan, Liberal, Don Valley North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, improving energy efficiency is one of the simplest and most cost-effective ways to address climate change. It is also good for the pocketbooks of hard-working Canadians.

Today, we celebrate the third annual Energy Star Day here in Canada. Could the Minister of Natural Resources please tell the House what this means for Canadian families?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Natural Resources, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Don Valley North for his hard work.

Energy efficiency is an important part of a plan to tackle climate change. That is why we are proud to partner with Energy Star to help Canadians save money on their utility bills, create good middle-class jobs and protect our environment. Energy Star Day encourages Canadians to make a simple change to be more energy efficient and save money while reducing their energy bills. This simple change will help make a big difference.

Employment

[Alupa Clarke, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, unlike the Liberal members from Quebec, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business believes that there is indeed a labour shortage in Quebec.

Ms. Hébert, vice-president of the CFIB, noted that some businesses have had to scale back their operations or even shut down temporarily.

In other words, in Quebec City and around the province, the labour shortage is definitely having an impact on the ground. A wide range of possible solutions are within the purview of the federal government.

Why, then, is the Liberal government not taking immediate concrete action to come up with a concrete solution to this serious problem?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great joy every time the member gets up and talks about how our economy is growing so quickly, how our unemployment rate is so low, how we have record numbers of people in the workforce and that we have a new challenge. I thank the member very much for the opportunity to talk about this.

As we work to make sure everyone has the skills they need and every Canadian has the opportunities to gain employment in whatever sector is experiencing shortages, we also know that having a strong immigration policy is an important part of our growth strategy here in Canada. I would encourage the member to talk to his colleagues about their attitude—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Port Moody—Coquitlam.

Fisheries and Oceans

[Fin Donnelly, NDP, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, more than four years ago, the Imperial Metals Mount Polley mine disaster sent 25 million cubic metres of water and toxic mine waste rushing through Hazeltine Creek into Quesnel Lake. Mine tailings containing arsenic, cadmium, mercury and selenium still sit at the bottom of the lake. Not only is this a major sockeye salmon rearing lake in the Fraser watershed, but it supplies drinking water to local communities. This was the largest environmental disaster in Canadian history.

When will the Liberals do their job, take action and lay charges?

[Sean Casey, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, the health of our oceans and lakes is a top priority of this government. We have faith in the enforcement mechanisms we have in place within the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to address measures such as this. We will continue to monitor this situation and take the steps that are necessary to keep our oceans and waterways safe, clean and healthy.

National Defence

[Julie Dzerowicz, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, our government is proud to be taking action to grow and strengthen our armed forces, and we know that diversity is an essential factor in mission success. Women have proudly been serving in Canada's military for a century, and today they play a pivotal role in defending Canada's safety and security.

Can the Minister of National Defence tell the House how we are continuing to increase female representation in the forces?