Debates of Dec. 5th, 2018

Ethics

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, let me remind folks that we put in place the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, comprised of members from all parties in the House and the Senate, so it could exactly look in and weigh in on these important and delicate matters.

When it comes to the matter of national security in the country, we should have an oversight committee that can do that. That is why we went and created it. We have tremendous respect for the work that it has done and we very much support the important work it does. I just wish more people respected it.

The Economy

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

Mr. Speaker, as of January 2019, families will be paying $411 more per year than they did in 2018 for the same basket of groceries.

Why? Because the Liberals failed to protect our supply management system in trade agreements and failed to come up with an ambitious plan to fight climate change. As a result, food will cost more, and people will once again have to pay for the Liberals' lack of leadership.

When will this government understand that its failure to take action is costing Canadians a lot of money?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we introduced a historic plan to fight poverty in Canada and help Canadian families. The Canada child benefit, which the NDP voted against, is delivering more money to nine out of 10 families throughout the country and has lifted 300,000 children out of poverty. By increasing the guaranteed income supplement for seniors and making historic investments in affordable housing across Canada, we are helping families. Still, we know a lot of work remains to be done, and that is what we are doing.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister truly does not seem to care about the impact of his policies. The reality is that the price of food in Canada will go up 3.5% next year, with the annual food costs of the average family going up by $411. If people are on a fixed income or working for minimum wage, good luck in getting any type of healthy diet, and this at a time when Canadian families are struggling with the worst debt loads in the industrialized world.

When will the government stop giving big tax breaks to the richest corporations and bring in progressive policies that truly help all Canadians?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to see the NDP members preoccupied with this, but if they really wanted to fight against poverty in this country, they should have voted for the Canada child benefit that is delivering more money every month to nine out of 10 Canadian families and lifting hundreds of thousands of kids out of poverty. They should be supporting our plan to invest in infrastructure, including housing to make sure that Canadians have opportunities to afford their homes and to live in safety. They should be supporting our plan, our national housing strategy, that will reduce poverty right across the country. It is unfortunate they stick to the rhetoric instead of siding with us on—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d'Orléans—Charlevoix.

Social Development

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d’Orléans—Charlevoix, QC]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the Prime Minister has been called out for his disparaging remarks. He said that the mass arrival of male workers in Canada's rural areas would have a negative social impact. For several years now, seasonal workers have been travelling to regional areas every year; they keep the economy going and no one complains. Instead of asking how to adjust and adapt, the Prime Minister should be happy that Canada has such a skilled workforce.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we will always stand up for our workers. We will be there to stimulate economic growth. We had the strongest economic growth in the G7 last year. Our unemployment rate is at a 40-year low. We recognize that the decisions a government makes can have different impacts on different communities and groups. This is something we understand very well. Unfortunately, the Conservatives do not seem to understand the impact of the decisions they made as a government or what governments do—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. The hon. member for Lethbridge.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister likes to talk about the social impact of male workers, so let us start by looking at him. Let us talk about the social impact he has had by his inaction on the energy file. Let us talk about the massive job losses and the growing rate of suicides in the province of Alberta. Let us talk about parents who cannot afford to cover their mortgage or pay for their children's school supplies.

Now let us talk about the social impact of hard-working construction men. Let us talk about the fact that these men work hard to provide for their families, that they pay taxes and that they support the local community.

My question is simple. Why is the Prime Minister insisting on launching a visceral attack against these hard-working men—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The right hon. Prime Minister.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, for 10 years, the Conservatives failed our country, failed our construction workers, failed the oil patch workers by not being able to create economic growth, by not being able to create the kinds of jobs that were needed and by not being able to get our resources to new markets other than the United States. We are turning that around. We are moving forward on getting resources to markets, done in the right way. We are investing in projects that are growing our economy. We are delivering the lowest unemployment rates in 40 years. That is the work we are—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. opposition House leader.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is unbelievable to watch the Prime Minister refuse to acknowledge that his arrogant and self-righteous comments are an insult to tens of thousands of Canadians who work in construction in our communities across the country. He sits on his high horse and with innuendo and stereotypes throws stones at these good men and women.

I want to invite the Prime Minister to apologize. Will he stand in his place, do the right thing and apologize to construction workers across the country?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the divisive rhetoric and attacks from the Conservatives serve to undermine the important work that is being done in communities right across this country.

Strengthening our resilience and to support everyone and make sure that everyone has safe work environments and a positive path to walk on and to live, these are the kinds of things we are going to continue working on. We will continue to recognize the hard work that we need to do to make sure that every Canadian can contribute to building a stronger economy.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's statement was a clear attack on some of the hardest working and most dedicated Canadians. For the Prime Minister to directly attack these men and insinuate they are dangerous to women in rural communities is unconscionable and diminishes the high office he holds, not to mention the fact that people in broken glass houses should not throw stones.

Again, will the Prime Minister stand and apologize for what he said to construction workers?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we take very seriously the responsibility of creating safe workplaces and supporting all people in communities to ensure that they have opportunities to contribute, to find good jobs, and to grow their communities in safety and security. That is something we are going to continue to focus on.

I will take no lessons from the Conservative Party on how to build safer and more inclusive communities.

Ethics

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to issues of ethics and security, the Prime Minister keeps playing a busted flush, like his bizarre claim that nobody in the PMO knew anything about the fact that the member for Brampton West was being followed by the RCMP here in Parliament, and being mentioned in a wiretap on terrorism financing and money laundering. Here is the the thing. The Ethics Commissioner has confirmed that he is willing to look into whether the MP misused his position on the finance committee to ask leading questions about how to evade a money laundering investigation.

Let us try this one more time. Is the Prime Minister sticking with his story that there were no adults around who could pay attention to these ethical and security debacles?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I can confirm that there were never any allegations made against any member from Brampton West.

Small Business

[Richard Cannings, NDP, South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the fall economic update showered big business with tax breaks while doing little for small business.

I am proud to represent one of Canada's major wine and spirit producing areas. Small craft distillers are proposing a reduction in excise tax for producers of less than 100,000 litres. A similar move in the U.S. dramatically boosted its industry, with each new distillery creating 20 to 100 new jobs.

Can we count on the government support small business by supporting this proposal?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, over the next two days, I will be sitting down with the premiers in a first ministers meeting. Indeed, it is the third or fourth first ministers meeting. We are doing one every single year, because I believe in pulling together with first ministers so that we can talk about a broad range of issues they want to talk about. However, as a reminder, the previous government did not like first ministers meetings and tended not to hold them at all.

We are going to be talking about a broad range of things, including lowering barriers so that our beer and wine producers across this country can do better.

Fisheries and Oceans

[Dan Ruimy, Liberal, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I represent the watershed community of Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge. It is important to those in my riding that we are able to protect wild salmon stocks and restore their habitats. While some species are slowly returning, we are currently lacking the tools and resources to make the changes needed.

Can the Prime Minister tell us what measures this government will take, including through the British Columbia salmon restoration and innovation fund, to help communities such as my own see revitalized salmon populations?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge for his hard work towards protecting wildlife on the west coast.

We continue to take real action when it comes to the sustainability of wild Pacific salmon. As we announced in our fall economic statement, we will invest $105 million to create a British Columbia salmon restoration and innovation fund, which includes a contribution to the Pacific salmon endowment fund of $5 million. These investments will support projects focused on salmon stock protection and the habitat restoration of this iconic species.

Telecommunications

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Mr. Speaker, our allies have spoken and security experts have spoken. Now, the head of CSIS has spoken. As one of our country's top security officials, he said publicly that hostile states are targeting our 5G network. Communist Chinese laws are clear. Companies in China must “support, co-operate with and collaborate in national intelligence work.” Huawei will be forced to spy on Canada.

Will the Prime Minister commit to ensuring that our next generation network is secure, and ban Huawei?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, this government takes very seriously the safety and protection of Canadians, including in cybersecurity and all related matters. That is why we work with the extraordinary professionals in our security and intelligence services to determine the best way to move forward in growing the Canadian economy, creating new technological innovations and keeping our country and its infrastructures safe from foreign interference. That is a task that our security and intelligence agencies do extraordinarily well and we always support them and accept their recommendations.