Debates of Feb. 28th, 2018

Prime Minister's Trip to India

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, will the Prime Minister identify who it was who briefed the media? Will the Prime Minister identify, so that we can have confidence in what was said, who in his office orchestrated the media briefing? Will the Prime Minister provide a modicum of proof for these assertions that it was the Indian government that was behind his embarrassing fiasco? I doubt that he will.

Last year, he met with someone who is the vice-president of a listed terrorist organization. In December, he met with Joshua Boyle, who, days later, was charged with sexual assault and unlawful confinement.

Why is it always that the Prime Minister seems to be identified with these kinds of people?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the member opposite is not being clear. He has not come forward to say whether or not he actually believes—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. We need some order so that we can hear both the questions and the answers. I think a little respect for the House means that we are going to hear both sides, and each side has a chance to respond in due course. Each side should have confidence in the ability of Canadians to judge the quality of both the questions and the answers.

Order. The right hon. Prime Minister has the floor.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, if the members opposite do not trust or believe our national security agencies, they should simply come forward and say so.

On this side of the House, we have faith in our professional public servants, particularly in the intelligence and security areas, who do extraordinary work every day to keep Canadians safe, and the members opposite should stop disrespecting them.

Status of Women

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

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals say they are a feminist government but will not put their money where their mouth is. This was evident in yesterday's budget. Pay equity was promised by the Liberals over 40 years ago, and again in 2016, but now? The Liberals put no money for pay equity in yesterday's budget, making women wait yet again.

Immediate funding is needed now to bridge the funding gap for women in Canada. How much longer will the government make women wait to have equal pay for work of equal value?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, over the past two years we have taken many different actions to help address the wage gap and support women's labour market participation, including $7 billion to address early learning and child care needs, increasing parental and maternity benefits, and implementing flexible work arrangements for federally regulated employees, and yesterday we announced that we would introduce pay equity legislation as part of the budget implementation act.

We know there is much more work to do, and we intend to get it done.

[Anne Minh-Thu Quach, NDP, Salaberry—Suroît, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals talk non-stop about being a feminist government but will not put their money where their mouth is.

Once again there is a proposal in the budget for a legislative framework to ensure pay equity, but there is no money to back it up. None. For years, women's groups have been calling for a universal child care system, affordable housing, and shelters for women who are victims of violence. It takes money to implement all these measures.

When will the government put words into action?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have been putting words into action for the past two years.

We announced $7 billion to address early learning and child care needs. We announced a total of $40 billion for a national housing strategy, with 25% going directly to women and families.

We increased parental and maternity benefits, implemented flexible work arrangements for federally regulated employees, and more. We invested in emergency housing for women in crisis. We will continue to make investments.

Prime Minister's Trip to India

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

Mr. Speaker, here are the facts. On the one hand, a Liberal MP apologized for inviting a terrorist to attend an event with the Prime Minister in India. On the other, the Prime Minister is insinuating that the Indian government tried to sabotage the trip by inviting the terrorist to India with him.

As anyone would expect, the Indian government reacted strongly to those insinuations by the Prime Minister and his chief adviser.

If the Prime Minister has nothing to hide, he should table his evidence in the House.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as I have often said, those of us on this side of the House have faith in our security and information services. We have already answered all these questions, but as everyone knows, the opposition would rather talk about anything but budget 2018, which is full of great initiatives for the middle class and those working hard to join it.

One of those initiatives is the Canada workers benefit, which we are enhancing by making it available to another 300,000 low-income workers. The opposition is focused on us, but we are focused on providing the best possible support to Canadians.

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

Mr. Speaker, indeed, we will continue to focus on the Prime Minister, because his performance has been a diplomatic disaster.

While his national security adviser was suggesting that the Indian government wanted to sabotage the Prime Minister's visit because he was not happy with the media coverage he was getting of his family trip to India, the Prime Minister made some serious accusations. The Indian government has denied all the allegations, calling them baseless and unacceptable. This is all very serious.

If the Prime Minister has nothing to hide, he needs to produce the evidence to support his allegations.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, I have answered these questions, but while the opposition chooses to focus on me, we remain focused on Canadians.

We want to do more, across government, to support women. The opposition voted against the idea of making the Minister of Status of Women a full minister, but with budget 2018, we are going even further to ensure that Canada can always view its actions through the lens of gender equality and diversity. We are going to make Status of Women Canada an official department.

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

Mr. Speaker, once again, the spectacle continues. The Leader of the Opposition asked the question 11 times, and the member for Richmond—Arthabaska asked it twice. I will start over with the time I have left.

First of all, the Prime Minister of Canada confirmed yesterday here in the House that the Indian government was complicit in sending the invitation to Jaspal Atwal. At the same time, the member for Surrey Centre is being thrown under the bus because he is being blamed for issuing the invitation. Which is it?

If the Prime Minister stands behind what he said yesterday, he needs to bring us the evidence.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have already answered those questions. What the opposition fails to understand is that it should be focusing on Canadians. That is what Liberal MPs did when Canadians told us that we should do more to help workers in seasonal industries.

We announced the immediate payment of $10 million in income support for workers, as well as more than $200 million over the next two years through labour market development agreements. We listened to seasonal workers and we are working to deliver on our promises.

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

Mr. Speaker, that is just great. Canadians watching today can see that this Prime Minister does not take anything seriously in Canada.

Yesterday, the theory put forward by the national security advisor was that the Indian government was involved in inviting Jaspal Atwal. However, today, the Indian government, through a foreign affairs press release, confirmed that that was absolutely false and that there was no truth to the claim.

If the Prime Minister is maintaining his position, he should give us the evidence now.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have already answered those questions. What we are focusing on is ensuring a better future for Canadians on the labour market. It is unacceptable that a wage gap still exists in 2018. We therefore announced that we are going to introduce new proactive pay equity legislation. By promoting greater equality for women, we could inject $150 billion into the national economy by 2026. This shows that it is not only the right thing to do, but also the smart thing to do.

Housing

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

Mr. Speaker, the budget delivered yesterday literally leaves Canadians out in the cold and we see the homeless crisis every day in British Columbia. Tens of thousands of Canadians are sleeping out in the parks and main streets of our country and the Prime Minister says wait until the next election, wait for a few more years, wait until Liberals are good and ready to put adequate funds into housing.

Homeless Canadians have waited two and a half years while the government is focused on loopholes for the super-rich. Why does he not take action? Why do the homeless always finish behind the super-rich for the Prime Minister?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, over the past two years we have made significant investments in helping the most vulnerable in our country.

We brought forward the Canada child benefit that is lifting hundreds of thousands of kids out of poverty and reducing child poverty by 40%. In this budget we are moving forward with a Canada workers benefit that is going to lift tens of thousands of low-income workers out of poverty. On top of that, we are moving forward with a national housing strategy of $40 billion overall that is going to go to homelessness, is going to help affordable housing, and help with housing affordability.

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister should know that the homeless cannot wait for years and years until the Liberals get around to funding housing in this country. It is the same with pharmacare. Liberals tried a big build-up around the budget, but what it turned out to be was yet another Liberal study. For 21 years, all they do is study. If he wants to steal NDP ideas, steal them, but put them into practice. Do not just stare at them; that is weird. After 21 years, the evidence is clear, why does the Prime Minister continue to refuse to implement pharmacare now in Canada?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it is disappointing to hear the member opposite disparage a national housing strategy because in addition to housing investment from budget 2016, it represents a 12-year commitment to housing and 30% of that 12-year investment will be spent in the first four years of our mandate. Investment then increases gradually over time because unlike previous governments, we believe the community housing sector should grow, not sink. That is why we are moving forward on things that matter to Canadians in concrete, tangible ways and delivering on all our promises.

Indigenous Affairs

[Vance Badawey, Liberal, Niagara Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday's budget was a monumental step toward building an equal, competitive, sustainable, and fair Canada where all Canadians can thrive. It was an immense step forward, a specific chapter dedicated to indigenous peoples in the budget. However, on the path of reconciliation, the Métis Nation has long been forgotten by Canadian governments.

May I ask if the right hon. Prime Minister would please update the House as to our government's commitment to reconciliation and inclusion of the Métis Nation and Canada's growth and prosperity?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, reflecting commitments in the Canada-Métis Nation Accord, budget 2018 proposes to invest $516 million over 10 years for housing, post-secondary education, and health strategies. President Chartrand of the Manitoba Métis Federation said, “Since Confederation, the Métis Nation has been left out in the cold. With this announcement, we can begin to see the change.” We have brought the Métis Nation back into Canada. These investments in Métis Nation priorities will support their vision of self-determination.

Prime Minister's Trip to India

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when it was revealed that the Prime Minister had brought a convicted terrorist along on his trip, he claimed that it was a backbench MP who had arranged it. Now he claims that it was the Indian government that did it through a conspiracy. Is he alleging that his own backbench MP is part of a conspiracy orchestrated by the Indian government?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I have already answered that question.

However, I understand that the opposition members want to keep to this line of questioning because they prefer talking about anything other than budget 2018, which includes so many positive initiatives for the middle class and those working hard to join it. One of these is the Canada workers benefit, which we are not only strengthening but are also making accessible to an additional 300,000 low-income workers.

The opposition will stay focused on us, but we will continue to focus on Canadians.