Debates of Feb. 28th, 2018

Prime Minister's Trip to India

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order, order. As I said earlier, members should have confidence in the public to make decisions and assessments about things that are said in this place, the questions and the answers, and the quality thereof. Members ought to understand that the Speaker is not empowered to comment on any of those things. Members should listen.

The hon. member for Carleton.

The Budget

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister wants to talk about the budget. In what year will it be balanced?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, in the last election, Canadians were given a choice between investment and austerity. Canadians chose investment, and it worked.

Over the last two years, the Canadian economy has created more than half a million jobs. Canada has the best debt-to-GDP ratio of all G7 countries, the highest growth of any of the G7 countries, and the lowest unemployment in 40 years.

As is usually the case, Canadians were right in their choice.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as is usual, the Prime Minister was wrong in the choice he presented them.

He said that the deficit this year would be $6 billion; instead, it is $18 billion, three times bigger. He said that next year the budget would be balanced, and now we learn that it will not be for another quarter of a century, during which time he will add, or some future government will add, a half a trillion dollars in debt, presuming there is no more spending.

Once again, when will the budget be balanced?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, under the Harper government, the Conservatives added $150 billion to our national debt and had no growth to show for it. The worst growth rates since the Great Depression were under Stephen Harper.

We chose investment. Canadians chose investment in them, in their communities, in their futures, and it is delivering with the highest growth rate in the G7. We have the best record on job creation in a long time, with over half a million jobs created in the past two years, and the lowest unemployment in 40 years.

Canadians made the right choice, not the Conservatives' choice.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there is no question the Prime Minister has inherited great fortune, a strong world economy, and a doubling of oil prices, our American customers south of the border driving up demand, and the government is blowing every penny of it. The deficit is three times what the Liberals promised. The deficit will continue for a quarter century, and amount to almost half a trillion dollars in new debt.

I will ask for a third time, and maybe this time the Prime Minister can answer the question. In what year will the budget be balanced?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, when Liberals presented a plan for investment instead of the austerity plan the Conservatives were presenting, Canadians supported us because they knew we would invest while maintaining fiscal discipline.

We have the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7, better than the U.S., better than the UK, better than Germany, and it is decreasing every single year. That is fiscal responsibility. At the same time, we are investing in Canadians, in their communities, in the future that Canadians need. That is the choice Canadians made two years ago, and that is what is delivering for Canadians.

Public Services and Procurement

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, two months into its mandate, the government got a Treasury Board memo warning of significant risks with the Phoenix pay system. Obviously the government did not pay attention.

In my riding, too many employees are among the many in the Phoenix ashes. One is still waiting for $40,000 in severance pay. It has been two years. Our workers do not deserve this financial and emotional stress. They deserve to get paid for work done. It is simple. When will the government pay its workers?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, this ongoing situation is unacceptable, and people doing work for the federal government, or anyone, deserve to get paid. We did not create this mess, but we will fix it. We are committed to doing whatever it takes to fix it.

In budget 2018, we announced an investment of over $430 million over six years to continue addressing existing pay challenges. We will increase the number of employees working on pay issues, and hire more HR advisers within departments to assist employees with payroll issues. We have a plan to stabilize the pay system that we will continue executing, while working with experts, unions—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Jonquière.

[Karine Trudel, NDP, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we hope that it will not take 10 years for the plan to be implemented. Two years ago, the Liberal government made the bad decision to implement the Phoenix pay system even though it knew about the extent of the problems it would create. The Liberals ignored the concerns of the Treasury Board and senior officials, and the example of Australia, which was well documented. The government's bad decision and poor management needlessly created thousands of victims.

Will the government compensate affected employees for all the harm they have suffered?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are determined to do what is necessary to fix the problem. We announced more than $430 million over six years to continue addressing existing pay problems. We will increase the number of employees working on pay issues and hire more HR advisers within departments. We have a plan to stabilize the pay system. We will also work with experts, unions, and technology providers in anticipation of a new pay system.

Prime Minister’s Trip to India

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister keeps contradicting himself, yet Canadians deserve a sincere response from him.

Yesterday, he fired the MP for Surrey Centre as the B.C. caucus chair. Today he said that the person was personally responsible for inviting Mr. Atwal. Yesterday he also said that he supported his national security adviser's contention that the Indian government was responsible for the Atwal scandal.

Both things cannot be true, Mr. Prime Minister. Which one is true?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I remind the hon. member for Durham to direct his comments to the Chair.

The right hon. Prime Minister.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I have already answered those questions.

What the opposition does not understand is that it should be focusing on Canadians. That is what Liberal MPs did when they told us we needed to help workers in seasonal industries. We listened, and we are delivering.

For those working in seasonal industries, we announced $10 million in immediate income support, and over $200 million over the next two years through federal-provincial labour market development agreements.

This is what we can accomplish when we focus on the middle class and people working hard to join it.

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

Mr. Speaker, it disrespects Canadians for the Prime Minister to not even answer questions on the India trip, so I will ask for a specific aspect of that trip.

On February 22, the national security adviser and his counterpart in India signed a co-operation agreement on countering violent extremism. The next day the Prime Minister's Office forced that adviser to blame the Indian government for Canadian extremism.

My question on the trip is this. How is that co-operation agreement with India going?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it is troubling to hear how much the members opposite do not trust or believe in the professionality and non-partisan nature of our public service. Our professional public servants, particularly in the security and information areas, work very hard to keep Canadians safe. To hear members opposite trying to score cheap political points by politicizing them is really disappointing.

We take the responsibility of working with partners around the world very seriously to keep Canadians safe, and that is what we will continue to do.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is sullying the reputation of one of those fine public servants

. I will use an example from 2010, when CSIS suggested foreign agents were at play in Canada. The MP for Ajax, now the parliamentary secretary for public safety, said at the time that it was wrong for a cloud to be hanging over the head of an entire community. Well, now the Prime Minister's actions and those of his office are hanging a cloud over one of the biggest countries in the world and our friends in India.

Will the Prime Minister finally table one shred of truth to this crazy India conspiracy theory?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Canada and India have a long tradition of bilateral relations, built on the traditions of democracy, pluralism, and strong people-to-people ties. Indo Canadians, including those of the Sikh faith, have made immense contributions to Canada.

We believe that freedom of speech and expression are at the core of democracy, both at home in Canada and around the world. These rights are universal. We will work and collaborate with people all around the world to advance those rights.

On this side of the House we take that very seriously.

Status of Women

[Pierre Breton, Liberal, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Speaker, achieving gender equality is the smart thing to do to grow the economy. Over the past 40 years, the rising number of women participating in the workforce has accounted for about a third of Canada’s economic growth. However, there are still barriers that prevent women from achieving their full potential. Our government has committed to making gender equality the focus of its decisions.

Can the Prime Minister tell the House how budget 2018 will meet that commitment and enable more women to take advantage of the opportunities they deserve?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Shefford for his question. We know that the middle class cannot grow without the full involvement of women in the labour market. We announced an apprenticeship incentive grant for women. This five-year pilot project will provide a maximum of $6,000 over two years to women who choose a male-dominated Red Seal trade. Through measures like this, we will continue to move forward, help women, and grow our economy.

Prime Minister’s Trip to India

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as we know it, here are the facts.

Daniel Jean, on his own, called together the members of the press gallery travelling with the Prime Minister in India to tell them that it was factions within the Indian government that were sabotaging the Prime Minister's trip. The Prime Minister has told us that he believes Daniel Jean.

We heard today that the India high commissioner has communicated publicly that the Indian government refutes this, and also says that these accusations are baseless and not appropriate.

The question is this. It seems that the ball is in Canada's court. What is Canada's diplomatic response to this?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to stand and defend the integrity of our public servants who accomplish incredible work. Canadians rejected the Conservatives' approach of disrespecting and bashing the hard-working men and women of our non-partisan public service.

Since the member opposite has used the name of Daniel Jean, it is important to remind them all that Daniel is a distinguished public servant who has served governments, regardless of their political stripe, for over 35 years. In fact, I remind the member opposite that the previous Conservative government so valued Mr. Jean's service that it chose him to represent Canada when he addressed the UN General Assembly—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie.