Debates of Sept. 26th, 2018

Veterans Affairs

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Christopher Garnier is a criminal. He is a convicted killer who has been receiving benefits from Veterans Affairs Canada when he did not serve in the Canadian Armed Forces for a single minute. Since the Liberals took office, they have been in the habit of compensating criminals. The Minister of Veterans Affairs has failed miserably at doing the right thing and has lost Canadians' confidence.

The Prime Minister is responsible for his ministers' decisions. What is he waiting for? When will he put an end to these histrionics and finally do what needs to be done?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, every member of the House is grieving with Constable Campbell's family.

This is a tragic situation, and the minister has taken steps to address the policy to ensure that this does not occur moving forward. This ensures that we will continue to support veterans and their families who need our help, while maintaining the integrity of the system.

[Cathay Wagantall, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Prime Minister and every Liberal on that side of the floor rose to defend providing veteran services to a convicted cop killer.

The Prime Minister knows in his heart that this is wrong and is an insult to our Canadian Forces members, veterans and their families.

I taught my children that no matter how deep a hole they may dug themselves into it was always all right to turn around and do the right thing.

Will the Prime Minister finally show our troops the respect they deserve, look into that camera, do not act—

[The Speaker, Geoff Regan]

The right hon. Prime Minister.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, every member in the House is grieving with Constable Campbell's family. This is a tragic situation, and the minister has taken steps to address the policy to ensure this does not occur moving forward.

The minister has increased the level of scrutiny and the department is addressing its existing policy in relation to treatment of family members under extenuating circumstances, such as conviction of a serious crime. This ensures that we will continue to support veterans and their families that need our help, while maintaining the integrity of our system.

[Phil McColeman, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

Mr. Speaker, let me say what is shameful. It is shameful that it took 29 days for the minister and the Prime Minister to get back to the House. It is shameful that every Liberal in the House stood yesterday to defend the benefits going to Chris Garnier, a convicted murderer sitting in a penitentiary absorbing veterans benefits.

Would the Prime Minister tell the House why he thinks convicted murderer Chris Garnier is entitled to benefits meant for veterans?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, this is obviously a tragic situation and the minister has taken steps to address the policy to ensure this does not occur moving forward. This ensures we will continue to support veterans and their families that need our help, while maintaining the integrity of the system.

[Christine Moore, NDP, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the ombudsman's latest report clearly shows that women veterans are waiting longer than men to get the financial assistance they are entitled to. They wait eight weeks longer, on average. As if that were not insulting enough, we learned that francophone women wait even longer than everyone else. In the military, there are no men, no women. There are just soldiers. All soldiers wear the same uniform.

Why do we see differences on the basis of gender or language in the services offered?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for her question. I completely agree that this is a big problem that we must fix. We are committed to seeing what we can do to restore the balance and make sure that everyone is treated equally. This is unacceptable. I completely agree.

Status of Women

[Karine Trudel, NDP, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this is 2018. October is right around the corner, but Canada still trails the pack on pay equity, according to the OECD. On average, women earn less than men for equal work. Less pay means lower maternity benefits and less money in retirement. Women who lose their job also collect less employment insurance.

Will the government keep its promise to introduce a bill by the end of this year?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, yes, we will be introducing a bill. We know that pay equity is essential. It is the right thing to do. We will do the right thing the right way. We will create economic growth and economic opportunity. We will ensure that all men and women have equal opportunities to succeed and receive fair pay for the work they do. That is so very important to us. That is why we will be moving forward with the bill soon.

Natural Resources

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

Mr. Speaker, the Trans Mountain project represents 5,000 jobs and $7 billion in investments and is currently on hold. When the court rendered its decision, the Prime Minister should have appealed it, but instead welcomed yet another delay. That comes as no surprise. Let us not forget that the Prime Minister said he wants to phase out Alberta oil, and for him that cannot happen soon enough. This week, our Conservative leader presented a realistic and responsible plan for moving forward in a tangible way.

What is the Prime Minister's plan to finally get us moving forward with Trans Mountain?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the funny thing is that the Conservatives' plan for Trans Mountain smacks of Stephen Harper's way of doing things: utter contempt for the courts, utter contempt for the environment, utter contempt for consulting with indigenous peoples. When the Conservatives came to power in 2006, 99% of Albertan oil was sold to the United States. Today, a decade later, 99% of Albertan oil is still being sold to the United States. They failed to diversify. We will—

[The Speaker, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Lakeland.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, four major pipelines were built under the Conservatives. The Conservatives have a plan to rescue the Trans Mountain expansion.

From day one, for nearly two years, the Prime Minister failed to act to get construction started. It has been 27 days since the court ruled he failed. All the Liberals have done is kick the can down the road for another six months, and he still has no plan for indigenous consultation or to stop other legal threats.

In April, he himself promised a law to build Trans Mountain but he failed to deliver. Therefore, would he commit to retroactive emergency legislation today to get the Trans Mountain expansion built?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, here are the facts: When the Conservatives came into office in 2006, 99% of our oil exports went to the United States. After 10 years of inaction, 99% of Alberta's oil was still sold to the United States because their approach to get to new markets failed. They are doubling down on that approach and showing a disregard for the courts, disregard for the environment and disregard for the consultation with indigenous peoples.

That is not how to move forward in a responsible, concrete way on getting our resources—

[The Speaker, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Lakeland.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, not a single shovel has been put in the ground to start the Trans Mountain expansion. The court ruled that Kinder Morgan consulted properly. Forty-three indigenous communities want the Trans Mountain expansion. Kinder Morgan only wanted certainty and clarity, not tax dollars, but the Prime Minister failed to deliver all of that. He gave 4.5 billion Canadian tax dollars to build pipelines in the U.S.

What is worse is he is bringing in the job-killing anti-pipeline act, Bill C-69. It would stop all future private sector pipelines and kill Canadian resource development.

Will the Prime Minister stop attacking the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of Canadians and kill the anti-pipeline act, Bill C-69?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, what the Conservatives continue to not understand is that their approach failed. We cannot get big projects built by marginalizing indigenous peoples and completely disregarding environmental science and communities.

We know that moving forward to provide clarity to proponents and investors while giving a path on consultations and environmental science is the way we will continue to get big things built in this country.

Canadians expect us to build an economy and an environment that go together. That is exactly what we are doing on this side of the House.

Social Development

[Ramez Ayoub, Liberal, Thérèse-De Blainville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, families in Thérèse-De Blainville and across Canada got a pleasant surprise this summer when they received the Canada child benefit and got a little more tax-free money in their pockets.

This government indexed the Canada child benefit two years ahead of schedule. That means families are getting more money right now, instead of having to wait until 2020.

Could the Prime Minister tell the House how the Canada child benefit continues to help families?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Thérèse-De Blainville for highlighting the incredible impact of the Canada child benefit.

Every time the kids head back to school, we hear families across Canada tell us how important this benefit is. It means new clothes, hot meals and new books. The reason why we can do this is that we put an end to the Conservative practice of sending cheques to millionaire families. We are proud to be investing in Canadian families, because it means investing in our communities and, above all, in Canada's future.

Justice

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Edmonton, AB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, 9/11 widow Maureen Basnicki appeared before the justice committee where she criticized the government's $10.5-million payout to al Qaeda terrorist Omar Khadr. Instead of showing respect toward Ms. Basnicki, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice scolded her. This is beyond shameful.

Will the Prime Minister apologize for his parliamentary secretary's disrespect toward a 9/11 widow?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we recognize that Canadians are frustrated with the out-of-court settlement that was made. I agree. We should all be frustrated with that, because no government going forward should ever think it is okay to violate the fundamental rights of anyone, regardless of how heinous his or her crime was. That is a principle Canadians can understand and hopefully governments today and in the future will heed this lesson carefully.

Child Care

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, as a mother I want to know that my children are safe when I am at work. Quality, accessible and affordable child care is a must for every working mom, yet in 2018 with a so-called feminist Prime Minister, we still do not have a national child care program. UBC's Dr. Paul Kershaw said work-life conflicts of parents raising young children cost Canadian businesses an estimated $4 billion.

If we can dump $4.5 billion into a leaky pipeline, why can we not have a national affordable child care program for all?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we agree on the need for child care. That is why we are moving forward with a $7-billion investment in child care right across the country. We recognize provincial jurisdiction in this area, but we also know that the federal government has a role to play, and that is one we are happy to play.

On top of that, we moved forward with the Canada child benefit that is putting more money in the pockets of nine out of 10 Canadian families and lifting hundreds of thousands of kids out of poverty.

This is something we will continue to work on because we recognize how investing in children's future now makes life better for families and for communities.