House of Commons Hansard #276 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was firearms.
Pierre Paul-Hus Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister confirmed today that the information Daniel Jean gave to the media was not confidential.
If that is the case, why does the Prime Minister refuse to allow Mr. Jean to give the same briefing to parliamentarians? Is there something in it that would embarrass him?
Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Mr. Speaker, what the Leader of the Opposition needs to have is all the facts. All the facts have been offered to the Leader of the Opposition. His response thus far is that he would rather have partial facts, incomplete facts, or inaccurate facts. If he wants the full story, he can have it. If he declines to get the full story, one can only conclude that he has a partisan reason for turning it down.
The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan
Order. There is far too much noise today. If members have not read the Standing Orders, I recommend them to the members, because they do include provisions about not interrupting, and they should take those seriously, because I am getting tired of it, and so is the public.
The hon. member for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles.
Pierre Paul-Hus Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
Mr. Speaker, the minister is evading our question. He is aiding and abetting the Prime Minister on this issue. It is now clear that a briefing was given to reporters, so it would be perfectly normal for the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security to get the same briefing from Daniel Jean.
Why does the minister insist on defending the Prime Minister's indefensible behaviour?
Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
What I am defending, Mr. Speaker, is the entire and complete description of the facts. What the opposition is declining, or refusing to do, is to accept a full briefing that would provide to the Leader of the Opposition all the facts and all the context so that he can make a full, informed judgment of what transpired. If he declines to be fully informed, if he prefers to operate on bits and tidbits of partial information, one has to be pretty suspicious of the motive.
Erin O'Toole Conservative Durham, ON
Mr. Speaker, here are the facts. On February 22, the Prime Minister's Office arranged a briefing with the media and the national security adviser. Today the Prime Minister confirmed that it was not classified.
Today you ruled that MPs are entitled to hear from Mr. Jean, but there has been no order of Parliament, because the Liberals are blocking the public safety committee.
When will the Prime Minister end this cover-up and allow Mr. Jean to testify?
Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Mr. Speaker, the first step in any process is for the Leader of the Opposition to fully inform himself of the facts. That opportunity is available to him. He has, so far, turned it down.
To fully inform the Leader of the Opposition of the full context of the Atwal situation, we have offered the Leader of the Opposition that classified briefing. He has turned it down so far. That amounts to wilful ignorance and irresponsibility. The Conservatives are setting themselves up to be pawns of other interests.
Erin O'Toole Conservative Durham, ON
Mr. Speaker, since the Liberals are continuing to block us from asking Mr. Jean, the national security adviser, questions, I will ask the Prime Minister. The CBC story that ran after Mr. Jean's briefing to journalists said that he told journalists to ask questions about whether the Indian government invited Jaspal Atwal to the Prime Minister's event in India.
Did the Prime Minister's Office ask the national security adviser to plant a story about the Indian government to deflect from the Liberals' terrible India trip?
Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Mr. Speaker, we all have the utmost respect and trust for Daniel Jean. He has served governments of all political stripes with honour and distinction for 35 years. For Stephen Harper, he was the deputy minister of foreign affairs. He spoke for the former prime minister at the United Nations. In all of his roles, Daniel Jean has always protected Canada's vital interests, including the proper management of classified information.
Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB
Mr. Speaker, this morning the environment commissioner released a historic report on the combined audits of the climate action of the federal, provincial, and territorial governments. She reported that more than half of all governments have no reduction targets. Only two are on track to meet targets. Most governments have failed to assess climate risks or deliver adaptation plans, including federal departments and agencies. She reported that Environment Canada has failed to provide leadership and is failing to measure, monitor, or report publicly.
When will the government provide real accountability and establish an independent commission to advise, audit, and report on progress?
Jonathan Wilkinson LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change
Mr. Speaker, the reports of the commissioner are very important to highlight the status of issues and to highlight issues that require attention. We welcome this report. However, let us be clear about what she said.
First, she said that most audits, including almost all of the federal audit, were done before the achievement of the pan-Canadian framework.
Second, she said that the pan-Canadian framework represented significant progress, and she looked forward to seeing its implementation.
Third, she commented that this was one of the best climate plans that Canada has ever had. We agree. We have a plan to achieve our commitments, and we are committed to doing so.
Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC
The member missed the point that the government will miss its targets.
Tell me, what is the point of having greenhouse gas reduction targets when they are not taken seriously? The report released by the environment commissioner this morning is damning. It gives the Liberal government a failing grade. The few measures put in place to fulfill our objectives fail to meet our international commitments, and the Liberals are on track to miss even the weak targets set by Stephen Harper's Conservatives.
What is it going to take for the Liberal government to swing into action, meet our commitments, and fight climate change?
The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan
I want to remind the hon. member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie that he is to address his comments to the Chair. I think he is well aware of this. I trust he will not fail to do so again.
Jonathan Wilkinson LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change
Mr. Speaker, we have been actively implementing the pan-Canadian framework on clean growth and climate change, and we are starting to see results, putting Canada on a path to meet its emissions reduction targets under the Paris agreement. As was published in December 2017 in Canada's third biennial report to the United Nations, Canada's greenhouse gas emissions are projected to be 232 megatonnes lower than was expected in early 2016. This decline relates directly to the achievement of the pan-Canadian framework. It is the biggest improvement in Canada's emissions outlook since the reporting began. It is widespread across all sectors. It reflects the breadth, depth, and success of the pan-Canadian framework.
Alain Rayes Conservative Richmond—Arthabaska, QC
Mr. Speaker, during the Prime Minister's catastrophic trip to India, the director of national security, Daniel Jean, organized a briefing for journalists on what has now become known as the Atwal affair. Oddly enough, yesterday, the Minister of Public Safety indicated that this information had magically been classified as confidential.
Why is the Prime Minister refusing to give MPs and Canadians the same information that he gave journalists on Parliament Hill? What is he trying to hide?
Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Mr. Speaker, what has been offered to the Leader of the Opposition is a complete briefing, including classified information that would put this entire situation in full context. The Leader of the Opposition is so far declining that offer, but he needs that full context in order to be totally informed. If he would prefer not to be totally informed, then one can only assume that he wants to play politics with this information.
Alain Rayes Conservative Richmond—Arthabaska, QC
Mr. Speaker, what constitutes a confidential document for the Government of Canada? A confidential document is one that contains information that, if compromised, could cause injury to the national interest, defence and maintenance of the social, political, and economic stability of Canada.
I would therefore like to repeat my question to the Prime Minister. Why did the Prime Minister give journalists information that was classified as confidential and that started a diplomatic conflict with India, and why is he refusing to give that same information to MPs and Canadians? What is he trying to hide?
Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Mr. Speaker, I know of no classified information revealed by the national security adviser, but to fully inform the Leader of the Opposition about the full context of the Atwal situation, we have offered him a classified briefing with all the essential details. So far he has declined to receive that information, and that amounts to wilful ignorance and irresponsibility. The Conservatives are risking putting themselves as pawns of other interests.
Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB
Mr. Speaker, if what the public safety minister said was right, the media got no classified information, but they could not report the story, because they did not have the full context. Without the full context, they would be spreading misinformation and bits and snippets of false information.
Would he not say that without giving Parliament this full context, in fact it is the public safety minister who is spreading misinformation and playing partisan games?
Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Mr. Speaker, in case the opposition missed it, the media have already reported all of that information very extensively, and there was no classified information included.
I would point out, as senior Conservative bloggers have done in the last short while, that the key issue is the broader and classified context around the Atwal matter. We have offered the Leader of the Opposition that full classified briefing, but so far, he has declined. The essential question is why the Conservative opposition is choosing to remain deliberately ignorant.
Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB
Mr. Speaker, given what the public safety minister just said, how is the media supposed to know what was classified information and what was not?
They sent out the national security adviser, who has some of the most confidential information in our country, to the media. They did not say what was right. If they could not distinguish that, how could the media put forward a true story at all? The only person here who is admitting to anything is that the PMO put out the public safety adviser of our country to spin for the Prime Minister.
This person needs to come to committee. He needs to come clear, or how is Canada supposed—
Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Mr. Speaker, let me make it abundantly clear that we have the utmost respect and trust for Daniel Jean. He has served governments in this country with distinction and honour for over 35 years, and there is no question about his integrity or his dedication to Canada.
The hon. member seems to be bewildered, and I think the problem is that she does not have the facts. We are offering to give her leader the entire classified briefing so that she can have the facts and end her stunning bewilderment.
The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan
Order. I encourage all members, including ministers, to be restrained in their use of language. I encourage members to listen to both sides, whether they like it or not.
The hon. member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot.