Debates of March 19th, 2018

The Budget

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

Mr. Speaker, we are always vigilant, working across government, to ensure the best value for tax dollars, while we make important investments in the interests of Canadians today and in the future.

The innovation review that we led, in fact working with ISED, actually resulted in a more responsive, focused, and targeted approach to innovation writ large across the Government of Canada.

What I will say is we will not do what the Conservatives did, for instance, when they cut 700 pay advisers to save $70 million on the eve of an election, destroying the pay system for the Canadian—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Carleton.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals claimed that their deficit spending would go to infrastructure, but now the Parliamentary Budget Officer has revealed that a quarter of that money has lapsed and just disappeared into the massive Liberal spending hole. Now there is this:

Budget 2018 provides an incomplete account of the changes to the Government’s $186.7 billion infrastructure spending plan. PBO requested the new plan but it does not exist.

How does the government spend $186 billion with no plan?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Liberal, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities]

Mr. Speaker, we are proud of the relationship we were able to build with the provinces, territories, and municipalities to deliver a historic infrastructure plan.

Under our plan, we have approved more than 4,100 projects with a combined investment of more than $35 billion. These investments are creating jobs for the middle class, helping us build a stronger economy, moving us to a green economy, as well as improving people's living conditions.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, let us review the fiscal promises. The Liberals said they would cut $3 billion in waste. Instead, they found billions of dollars in increased spending. They said that the deficit would be just $10 billion. It has been double that. They said that the budget would be balanced by 2019. Now they say that will not happen for another 25 years, during which time they will add, or some government will add, half a trillion dollars of deficit. They said the middle class would pay less. Instead, the Fraser Institute said that 80% are paying more.

With all of these broken promises, how can the Canadian people believe anything the Prime Minister says about their money?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the member that the first thing we did was we lowered taxes on the middle class and raised them on the wealthiest 1%. The other thing we have done is we have made the Canada child benefit a new and more progressive program to give more to those who need it the most. That has lifted 300,000 kids out of poverty.

What we said to Canadians is that we will succeed where the Conservative government failed. We have grown this economy more than they ever did in the decade that they were in power. We have the fastest growth in the G7, and we will continue on that path.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the government said that the deficit would be just $10 billion. It has been nearly $20 billion. This year the deficit will be three times the size that the Liberals committed to in their platform, and they are unable to find a single penny in savings necessary to eventually return us to a balanced budget.

Why does the member not just rise now and admit what the Parliamentary Budget Officer has already suggested, and what Canadians already know, which is that the Liberals will never balance Canada's budget?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we always take a very responsible fiscal approach, one that has been lauded by economists the world over. They all agree that in a slow economy, like the one we inherited from the previous Conservative government, the smart thing to do is to make investments where they are needed, in infrastructure, in our communities, to stimulate growth, to stimulate the economy. That is what we have done, and we are making sure that our debt-to-GDP ratio stays on a downward track.

Regional Economic Development

[Karine Trudel, NDP, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, aluminum is very important to some of our regions, including the Saguenay, and we are very proud of that fact. Despite President Trump's temporary exemption, workers in our regions are still worried and unsure about the future. Workers are entitled to strong representation and a hard-working government, which is what they are getting from the Government of Quebec.

Will this government implement an action plan immediately?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, our government worked hard to secure an exemption from steel and aluminum tariffs for Canada. We will keep working hard until the possibility of such tariffs is completely and permanently eliminated. Our priority is to get the best possible outcomes for Canadians and their families.

Pensions

[Scott Duvall, NDP, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is claiming to have made significant commitments to the budget to end pension theft, but this is just not true. There were no answers from the Prime Minister during his PR trip last week about changing the laws to protect workers' pensions. Workers have had enough talk. It is time for action. We can and we must end pension theft now.

When will the government outline a real plan for the protection of workers' pensions, like the one I have already presented in Bill C-384?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, as we have made clear, our heart goes out to those Sears workers. We are taking their advice. We are taking advice from all sides of the House to look into how we can better the situation of pensioners in this country. We made that promise. We will continue to work in that regard, and we will continue to examine any suggestion that comes with it.

Canada-India Relations

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

Mr. Speaker, the plot surrounding the Atwal scandal continued to thicken even while the House was away, courtesy of Jaspal Atwal himself. He held a press conference where he directly refuted the Liberal government's claims about an Indian conspiracy. Mr. Atwal confirmed that he asked the MP for Surrey Centre for an invitation to the Prime Minister's event. Mr. Atwal confirmed that the Liberal government got him that invite and that he has never spoken to the Indian government.

When will the Prime Minister rise in this House and apologize to India for this diplomatic incident?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's national security agencies are impartial and non-partisan. They are highly professional and competent. We trust them always to promote, protect, and defend the national interests of Canada, and I am confident that they have done that at all times.

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

Mr. Speaker, the person at the centre of the Atwal scandal does not believe the Prime Minister's wild conspiracy claims. The Liberal MP for Surrey Centre does not believe the Prime Minister's claims, because he apologized and accepted responsibility. Even the foreign affairs minister does not believe the Prime Minister, because she admitted to apologizing to the Indian government, calling the Atwal invitation “an honest mistake”. It appears there are only two people who still believe in the Prime Minister's wild conspiracy theories: the Prime Minister and his national security adviser.

When will the Prime Minister allow the national security adviser to brief the House in the same way they briefed the press gallery?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, the issue with respect to the invitation has been clearly discussed and responded to. The invitation should never have been issued. When it was discovered, it was rescinded, as it should have been.

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

Mr. Speaker, a terrorist convicted of attempted assassination was invited to an official dinner with the Prime Minister. There are two possible explanations for this. A Liberal MP says he invited the felon, but the Prime Minister himself says it was an Indian conspiracy.

How can it be an Indian government plot against a Canadian trade mission if a Liberal MP says he is the one who invited that person, that terrorist?

If the Prime Minister has evidence, let him present it to the House and answer questions to bring transparency—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. Minister of Public Safety.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, I have two points very specifically.

First, the invitation should never have been issued. When it was discovered, it was rescinded.

Second, whenever senior government officials with long experience issue opinions, advice, and recommendations, they do so impartially and always acting in the best interests of Canada to defend the Canadian national interest. They have done that at all times.

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

Mr. Speaker, this is serious. The Prime Minister's national security adviser said there was a conspiracy theory, and the Prime Minister publicly supported the allegation. The Indian government categorically denied it. Now the Minister of Foreign Affairs is calling it a simple mistake. A simple mistake? Some 19 MPs and ministers take a trip to India, a terrorist gets an invitation, the PM does a half day's work in eight days in India, all on the taxpayers' dime, and this is being called a simple mistake.

Will the Prime Minister apologize to the Indian government and to all Canadians?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. gentleman overlooks the fact that during the course of that mission there were about one billion dollars' worth of trade and investment identified, about 6,000 Canadian jobs created, and a number of different initiatives that went forward, including an agreement resolving a fumigation dispute with respect to Canadian pulse crop exports to India.

At the end of the mission, the Prime Minister of India expressed his satisfaction with the success of what had been accomplished.

International Trade

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

Mr. Speaker, there are 300 workers at the Catalyst Paper mill in Powell River, who make the products that were recently slapped with a 22% punitive tariff by the U.S. government. Those tariffs directly threaten the mill, meaning that 300 good-paying Canadian jobs in a small community that needs the mill's payroll, taxes, and investment are at risk. These workers know that the government's words on the unfair tariffs are not worth the paper they are written on.

Where is the leadership, the real action that our workers need from the government to protect their jobs?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we are deeply disappointed with the unjustified preliminary rates announced by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Canada's forestry industry sustains good, middle-class jobs and provides economic opportunities for rural and indigenous communities across our country.

We will continue to work with all our partners across Canada to defend this vital sector against unfair and unwarranted U.S. trade measures and practices.

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Three hundred workers, Mr. Speaker, and those talking points help none of them.

The federal government has failed so far to come to the defence of workers in British Columbia whose jobs are at risk with U.S. tariffs on groundwood paper. These are good-paying, family-supporting jobs in my riding, and the industry also supports thousands of indirect jobs throughout British Columbia.

What is the government going to do to stand up to this unfair U.S. trade action? When will the Liberals finally show some strength in international trade talks and protect Canadian jobs?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the preliminary rates announced by the U.S. Department of Commerce are unjustified, and they are unacceptable to Canada. We stand with our forestry industry, and we are taking every possible action, including in international arenas, to support and defend our forestry industry.

We stand with Canadian workers. We are fighting for them, and we will succeed.