Debates of May 24th, 2018

Democratic Reform

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

Mr. Speaker, speaking of things that are broken, how about all the broken Liberal promises? Canadians clearly cannot trust the Prime Minister. If he will not keep the word of his own backbenchers, maybe he will listen to the Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government, who said:

The government, by once again relying on a time allocation motion to get its agenda passed, speaks of incompetence. It speaks of a genuine lack of respect for parliamentary procedure and ultimately for Canadians. It continues to try to prevent members of Parliament from being engaged and representing their constituents on the floor of the House of Commons.

I have a question for the Prime Minister: Why the hypocrisy?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, if the member opposite wants to talk about things broken, let us talk about broken rules. With Bill C-76, our government makes it easier for Canadians to vote and toughens the sanctions for those who break the rules. The defeated Harper Conservatives, on the other hand, made it tougher for Canadians to vote and broke the rules.

We will not be taking lessons from the Harper Conservatives, who paid a $250,000 fine for breaking the rules and used robocalls to send people to the wrong polls. The parliamentary secretary to the former prime minister went to jail.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when the Conservatives wanted to protect the integrity of our electoral system, they allowed for 84 hours of debate. I repeat, 84 hours of debate. When the Liberals introduced Bill C-76 to rig the election in their favour, they invoked closure to put the bill to vote yesterday, after just two hours of debate.

What are the Liberals afraid of? Are they afraid of losing the next election?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, I think my colleague opposite remembers the previous government's Bill C-23. With Bill C-76, we are making it easier for Canadians to vote, and we are cracking down on offenders who maliciously interfere with our electoral process. Compare that to the Conservatives, who, when they were in government, made it harder for Canadians to vote and who took part in malicious schemes, like the one involving Dean Del Mastro and his robocalls, to undermine the electoral process. We do not need any lectures on democracy from the Conservatives.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the voter information card is not a piece of ID. Many of them end up in recycling bins. Elections Canada admitted that in 2015 nearly 400,000 of them contained errors. In Quebec, voters are already used to having to present a health card, driver's licence, Canadian passport, Indian status card, or a Canadian forces ID card.

Can the Liberals tell me what class of citizens is excluded from this list?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, according to Statistics Canada, 150,000 Canadians were unable to vote during the last election as a result of the rules implemented by the previous Canadian government. The Conservatives are the only ones who are afraid of Canadian voters. We love that Canadians have the right to vote, and we will do everything we can to ensure that all eligible Canadians can vote.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when the Prime Minister said that there was something about basic dictatorships he liked, he was not kidding. Once again, he is proving that statement to be at the core of everything he is and everything he represents.

We now know that someone has ordered Elections Canada to implement this bill before Parliament has passed it. Our democratic system belongs to Canadians, Canadians who elect us to this place. They expect legislation to be debated before it is enacted. They expect due process.

Will the Prime Minister instruct Elections Canada to halt the implementation of this bill until Parliament passes the amended version?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, unlike the opposite, we are not afraid of Elections Canada. In fact, that is why in this bill we have given the commissioner of Elections Canada the power to compel testimony, something that may have come in handy when dealing with robocalls. We have also given the commissioner of Elections Canada the power to lay charges.

We also believe that working with Elections Canada is important, which is why we are implementing over 85% of the recommendations from the CEO of Elections Canada should this bill pass. I hope my colleagues on the other side would do this, because it is right for democracy.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it looks like Gerald Butts has found another ventriloquist act to perform with. Where are they now? Where are the great defenders of democracy from the Liberal side, and what do they say now? Nothing.

We now know the Prime Minister ordered Elections Canada to implement this bill before it passed Parliament. If that is not rigging our elections system in their favour, I do not know what is.

Again, will the Prime Minister instruct Elections Canada to halt the implementation of this bill until Parliament passes the amended version?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, as a woman in politics, I take umbrage with the fact that he is saying I am not speaking on behalf of myself and on behalf of the government. That is unbelievable.

Furthermore, it is not this side of the side that had robocalls. It is not this side of the House that had the parliamentary secretary to the prime minister go to jail. We on this side are doing what is necessary for democracy, which is why 85% of the recommendations from the CEO from 2015 are represented in this bill. Let us do what is right for democracy, all of us.

Natural Resources

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have offered to fully protect Kinder Morgan, while Canadians bear all the financial and environmental risks. Now we have learned that the infrastructure bank and the CPP Investment Board may offer up Canadian pension money to backstop this pipeline expansion.

Canadian taxpayers should not have to foot the bill for oil and gas subsidies. This is corporate welfare that the Liberals promised to end. The gig is up.

Will the Prime Minister just admit that he has completely abandoned his promise to end subsidies to big oil?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to reinforce our commitment to end subsidies to oil organizations of any sort by 2025. We are on track to do that.

What I can tell members is that we are working hard. We are in discussions with Kinder Morgan, the proponent from the Trans Mountain expansion pipeline. We know this project is in the best interests of Canada, in the best interests of Canadians from a standpoint of jobs and our overall economy. We will work to do this in a way that is commercially appropriate and in a way that does not create any subsidies.

[Matthew Dubé, NDP, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, that is a Liberal’s word: an election promise in 2015 and maybe we will get there in 10 years. More than two-thirds of Canadians want these oil and gas subsidies abolished. The Liberals solemnly promised to do just , as we have heard many times in this place. However, there is no plan to do that. They talk about something perhaps 10 years from now. If only they get re-elected a couple of times, maybe they will manage to get there. It is even worse, considering that they now want to compensate this same industry by giving money to Kinder Morgan.

What is their plan to finally end subsidies?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the truth is that we have committed to phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies by the year 2025. In our first budget we announced the expiration of the accelerated capital cost allowance for certain LNG facilities.

In the 2017 budget, we announced the elimination of certain tax credits for oil and gas exploration expenses. We are committed to figuring out a solution for the future, because it is very important, but at the same time, we want to find a solution for our economy.

Government Appointments

[Alupa Clarke, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the International Organisation of La Francophonie is funded with Canadian taxpayers' money.

Over the past year, the QMI Agency has reported some troubling facts about the management of this organization under the leadership of Michaëlle Jean. She has refused to publicly explain the frivolous expenses reported by the QMI Agency. She has not been transparent at all and other scandals abound.

How can this government still have the nerve to support the upcoming re-election of the president of the organization in October?

[Marie-Claude Bibeau, Liberal, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie]

Mr. Speaker, we are proud to support a Canadian woman at the head of the International Organisation of La Francophonie. Madame Jean does excellent work as far as the Organisation's mission is concerned. She promotes values that are important to Canadians such as defending human rights, defending women's rights, and supporting women entrepreneurs and young entrepreneurs.

The International Organisation of La Francophonie needs to modernize its financial practices and we will help it to do just that.

[Alupa Clarke, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is not about pride or flag-waving, it is about pride when it comes to taxpayers’ dollars.

The Liberal government has a nonchalant attitude about taxpayers' money. I am not at all surprised that it is inclined to support Michaëlle Jean, since she manages her finances the same way they do, that is to say abysmally.

Can the Liberals at least show us anything at all to reassure us about Michaëlle Jean’s candidacy?

Can they at least ask her today for a public explanation?

[Marie-Claude Bibeau, Liberal, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie]

Mr. Speaker, I can assure the House that we closely watch every dollar invested by our government, particularly in international aid. Much of the funding invested through the International Organisation of La Francophonie goes to help the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly in African countries and in Haiti, to encourage women and young entrepreneurs. We should be proud of this organization.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it seems that only the Liberals are proud of what Michaëlle Jean is doing.

Michaëlle Jean has become an embarrassment to Canada. She has been irresponsible in her management of the organization, doing exactly what the Liberal government is doing now: spending recklessly. Her attitude is completely irresponsible. However, things have just gotten serious, as France has withdrawn its support for Michaëlle Jean.

How is it that only the Liberal government is defending the indefensible?

[Marie-Claude Bibeau, Liberal, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie]

Mr. Speaker, once again, I have had the chance to travel to many francophone countries, meet with my counterparts and attend ministerial meetings. I can assure the House that there is a great deal of support for the secretary general, a Canadian who is doing a good job managing the organization.

We would agree that this organization’s management and financial rules could be improved, and that is what we are helping Madame Jean and the organization to do.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister says that she is proud of Michaëlle Jean, but journalist Alexandre Robillard just broke the story of a four-day stay at the Waldorf Astoria for $50,000. Are you proud of that?

Half a million dollars to renovate her apartment, including a grand piano, for double the estimated costs—are you proud of that?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. I must remind the hon. member to direct his comments to the chair. When we say “you” here, we refer to the Speaker, and I do not believe that he meant to address the Speaker.

The hon. member for Louis-Saint-Laurent.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, thank you, because I know you are a man that takes pride in responsibility, not like that government over there.

Madame Jean rented a limousine to go half a kilometre. Is the government proud of that? She spent $2 million on travel, 40% over budget. Is the government proud of that?

[Marie-Claude Bibeau, Liberal, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie]

Mr. Speaker, this organization operates under long-established rules. It is worth reviewing these rules based on what is acceptable today. I can assure the House that we are working closely with the administration and the secretary general to modernize these rules that, based on today’s standards, are no longer acceptable. The secretary general followed the rules, based on the information I have, and I am proud to support her renewed candidacy.

Foreign Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, Canada and the United States are renegotiating the Columbia River Treaty, a 54-year-old agreement that has had tremendous impact on communities in the Columbia River basin, including three first nations. Last week, the government told those first nations they would be excluded from the talks, despite the massive effects that treaty has had on their territories.

Why has the government excluded the first nations from the talks, and what happened to the government's commitment to a new nation-to-nation relationship?