Debates of Jan. 31st, 2019

Intergovernmental Affairs

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, the Harper Conservatives had 10 years to help Canadians and Quebeckers when it comes to filing their tax returns. What did they do? They cut services and staff without evaluating the consequences. Chop, chop, chop.

We on this side will continue to invest in services in order to really improve the lives of all Quebeckers and Canadians.

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

Mr. Speaker, when one is truly committed to the welfare of families, one does not make an announcement saying “chop, chop, chop”. Instead of making excuses, fearmongering and grandstanding in the House, the Liberals should be trying to come up with solutions.

The consensus on a single tax return is clear. Quebeckers, the Premier of Quebec and the National Assembly all want a single tax return. The only ones who disagree are the Liberal members, who are laughing at Quebeckers right now. That is what is happening here.

Why do they oppose a single tax return?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, it is ironic that the Conservatives, who claim to be great champions of spending cuts, are also saying that they are prepared to pay more for work that the CRA is already doing. Quebec and Canada do not have the same definition of revenue.

What is the Conservatives' real plan? Are they asking Quebeckers to harmonize with the rest of Canada, or are they asking the rest of Canada and the provinces to adopt Quebec's definition?

I wonder if they will say the same thing in Toronto and Calgary. On this side of the House, we will continue to invest in Canadians and Quebeckers.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government is so used to seeing Quebeckers as a threat that they refuse to even talk about it. What we are saying, we will say here, in Winnipeg, and in Calgary. We are prepared to defend our position wherever we go. We are prepared to tell the Government of Quebec to have an administrative agreement to ensure that it processes the entirety of tax returns so that there need not be two. It is simple. It is an administrative agreement. That is how the GST was handled and it works quite well.

On this side, we have confidence in Quebec and Quebeckers.

Why do the Liberals not have confidence in Quebec and Quebeckers when it comes to the single tax return?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, the Harper Conservatives or today's Conservatives, it is all the same. In the next few months, the Conservatives will be making two sets of promises: one for Quebec and one for the rest of Canada

Divide and conquer. That is the same tactic they used in 2015. With respect to the single tax return, I would invite my Conservative colleagues to follow the NDP's lead and do their homework—

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

Order. The hon. member for Humber River—Black Creek.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, Humber River—Black Creek, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is an important part of Canada's national identity, with 145 years of history and indispensable service. We know that every day members of the RCMP put their safety at risk to protect and help all Canadians, but they also deserve to feel safe and respected at work.

Could the Minister of Public Safety update the House on the work he is doing to advance cultural change within this organization?

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

Mr. Speaker, the RCMP and its employees deserve to feel safe and respected at work. To that end, we are implementing all 13 recommendations from the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission and from Sheila Fraser, including immediate steps to establish a management advisory board to provide Commissioner Lucki with expert advice and support in leading the force through a vital period of transformation and cultural change. Maintaining a modern, healthy, inclusive workplace is not a single event. It is a process that must be relentlessly pursued and we are.

National Defence

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday we learned that due to the Liberals' fake capability gap, taxpayers are now on the hook for an extra $18 million to stay in the F-35 program.

Let us get this straight. The Liberals are buying old Australian fighter jets we do not need to fill a capability gap that does not exist, and now we are paying tens of millions of dollars on a plane the Prime Minister said he would never buy.

Why do Canadians always have to pay for the Prime Minister's mistakes?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to making sure that the Royal Canadian Air Force has the equipment it needs.

Unlike the previous government, we will not neglect our NORAD and NATO commitments. We have directed the department to prepare options to actually approve the combat capabilities of the CF-18s. We will make sure we not only have the right aircraft to fulfill our missions but that we have the right future fighter aircraft through our competition, which is ongoing.

Telecommunications

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

Mr. Speaker, disappointed and frustrated by this Liberal government's failure to listen, the mayor of Otterburn Park presented me with a petition opposing the building of a Telus tower in a protected area, which was signed by thousands of people. Worse still, we have obtained e-mails in which a senior bureaucrat specifies my political affiliation as well as my election results in a briefing note to the minister.

My question to this government is this: does the minister believe that it is appropriate to have this kind of political interference in a decision that has such a significant impact on our community?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for the question. It is a very important issue. I will work with the member to address the problems he has raised.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Francis Drouin, Liberal, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Mr. Speaker, northern and rural communities are vibrant and full of potential. However, our local economies are struggling because employers cannot find enough workers to fill all of their job vacancies. That is why I have joined with a number of colleagues to call on the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship to find a way to attract and retain more immigrants to meet the skills shortage in our rural communities.

I am thrilled that our government has listened and acted. Could the minister please update the House?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, the evidence is clear: Immigration is key to growing our country's economy. Our new rural and northern immigration pilot program will ensure that immigration and its economic benefits are felt right across the country, especially in communities that are facing labour shortages and population decline. I encourage those communities to apply by March 1.

Our government is committed to making sure that we harness the economic potential of immigration to create good middle-class jobs, both in large cities as well as in smaller towns.

Foreign Affairs

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, all of us were shaken by the terrible terrorist attack in the Philippines on the weekend. Christians at prayer were killed as a bomb exploded in their midst. Another attack occurred this week, this time at a mosque. We express our solidarity with all those who are grieving.

Could the government update the House on any engagement it has had with the government of the Philippines on this issue, including support for its ongoing fight against radical extremism?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, our government, and I believe all Canadians, are absolutely of the view that religious freedom is an essential part of human rights, and these are freedoms we should enjoy not only in Canada but around the world. We are very engaged with our partners around the world in protecting the religious freedom of all people, whether they be Christian or Muslim.

Official Languages

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I tabled a very simple bill with a clear objective: to allow newcomers who are residents of Quebec and who want to obtain citizenship to integrate into their host society. Communication is essential to integration, and in Quebec, the common language is French.

Why do the Liberals have a problem with the fact that French is the common language in Quebec?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, during my first election campaign in 2015, Canadians had a choice between the Harper Conservatives' politics of fear and division and an approach that was more positive, optimistic, future-oriented, committed and respectful of differences because, in Quebec and Canada, differences and diversity are a source of strength and pride.

Canadians understand that and so do Quebeckers back home.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals do not seem to understand what a common language is.

The Liberals, and no doubt the Conservatives and a few members of the NDP, have decided that the debate on adequate knowledge of French will not take place and that we will talk about it as little as possible.

Meanwhile, the Government of Quebec is proposing that newcomers who want to obtain permanent residency must have an adequate knowledge of French.

Does the Liberal heritage minister support the Legault government's desire to require newcomers to have an adequate knowledge of French?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, Canada remains a welcoming, open, sharing and supportive country. I understand this very well. It all goes back to 1535, when Grand Chief Donnacona, leader of the Huron-Wendat nation, welcomed Jacques Cartier to Quebec City. Jacques Cartier had heard that Canada and Quebec were a welcoming, open, supportive nation. That will not change.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my constituents—indeed, all British Columbians—are irate at the money-laundering scandal that went on in B.C. with government-owned casinos. A billion dollars a year was laundered through those casinos from drug profits, illicit gambling and extortion, and it fuelled directly the housing crisis and the opioid crisis.

What did the RCMP know? Why did it turn a blind eye? Are we looking into it?

[Peter Schiefke, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister (Youth) and to the Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure, as always, to respond to a question from my hon. colleague.

Our government takes the threat posed by money laundering and organized crime to Canada's national security and to the integrity of our financial sector very seriously. We are taking action to combat this threat by enhancing the RCMP's investigative and intelligence capabilities, both in Canada and abroad, and our financial intelligence unit further helps protect Canadians and our financial system.

Specifically in reference to British Columbia, the Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction met recently with both Dr. Peter German and B.C. Attorney General David Eby about how to reduce instances of money laundering in British Columbia and all across Canada. We promised Canadians we would take action. That is exactly what we are doing.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

That will conclude oral question period for today.

The hon. member for Edmonton West on a point of order.

[Kelly McCauley, Conservative, Edmonton West, AB]

Mr. Speaker, if the House will allow it, I would like to submit a document from the Library of Parliament showing the full-time equivalents for the Canada Revenue Agency. It shows that the Liberal government chop, chop, chopped 800 jobs when it took over, and it is further forecasting, according to departmental plans, to chop another 800 jobs.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

Does the hon. member for Edmonton West have unanimous consent to—