Debates of Feb. 19th, 2019

Prime Minister’s Office

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, our cabinet gets together every Tuesday to talk about a broad range of issues. We continue to meet regularly as MPs and caucus members. Members in my office are engaged constantly with various departments and with ministers to stand up for Canadian jobs, to make sure we are moving forward in the right way, and to make sure we are standing up for the institutions and principles that underpin our democracy. We will always work hard to make sure we are delivering properly for Canadians.

Justice

[Guy Caron, NDP, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on the weekend, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and the Minister of Public Services and Procurement went on television and said that it is important that we get the former justice minister's version of events. We agree. The problem is that the Liberal members of the Standing Committee on Justice prevented that and said no to having the former justice minister and Gerald Butts appear before the committee.

It is clear that the hon. member for Vancouver Granville wants to share her version of story. The Prime Minister has given us five different versions so far.

Will he allow us to get the other side of the story by waiving solicitor-client privilege?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I have asked the Attorney General for advice on solicitor-client privilege. The government will always ensure its work is done properly, in compliance with all rules and laws.

[Guy Caron, NDP, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, all the Prime Minister has to do is waive solicitor-client privilege to allow her to give her side of the story. He refuses to do so.

The justice committee refuses to do its job and look into serious allegations of political interference.

Canadians want the truth. They also want transparency. Most importantly, they want to understand why the former justice minister had to write:

It is a pillar of our democracy that our system of justice be free from even the perception of political interference and uphold the highest levels of public confidence.

If he will not waive solicitor-client privilege, will he at least allow an independent public inquiry?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we have full confidence in the work of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner. We supported his announcement that he would be looking into this matter, and we welcome this work.

As the member opposite should know, members of parliamentary committees make their own decisions on what these committees study.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Gerry Butts, the architect of sunny ways, has been packing under a storm of corruption. It is up to the Prime Minister to come clean over allegations that his office attempted to strong-arm the former attorney general into taking a fall in one of the biggest corruption cases in memory.

The Prime Minister promised to do things differently, but the SNC scandal is corroding his credibility. He needs to stop hiding.

Will he waive solicitor-client privilege? Will he agree to an independent inquiry to restore the confidence of the Canadian people in him as prime minister?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have a Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner to determine the reality in issues just like this. He is pursuing his investigation, and as I said from the very first day, we welcome that work.

The matter of solicitor-client privilege is obviously one we have to consider very carefully. There is a real risk of unintended consequences, particularly in the two court cases currently under way. I have asked our Attorney General for advice on this matter.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am listening really hard, and for a Prime Minister who claims to be innocent, my God he is sounding guilty. The client here is the Prime Minister, and the question is whether he tried to strong-arm his former attorney general and then had her fired because she would not take a fall in one of the biggest corruption cases.

Stop hiding behind the legal games, and let her speak. Enough with this he said, and then he said something different, and when that did not work, he said something else about what she was supposed to say.

Just let her speak. Do the right thing.

[The Speaker, Geoff Regan]

I remind the hon. member for Timmins—James Bay of the rule, which of course he is familiar with, that one must direct one's comments to the chair.

The right hon. Prime Minister.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, unlike the member opposite, who is speaking disparagingly about laws and legal issues, we continue to respect our system of justice. We respect the independence of the judiciary, and we will always do our work that way.

That is why we welcome the news that the Ethics Commissioner is going to be looking into this matter. We will co-operate fully with him. That is something Canadians expect as we uphold the highest standards of their faith in our institutions.

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, what Canadians are asking very clearly and very simply is, why do we have to continuously hear the story from the Prime Minister's point of view as opposed to hearing it from the former attorney general's point of view? I know one could possibly say as an excuse that sometimes we perceive situations differently depending upon what gender we are, but this is the rule of law, and what Canadians want to hear specifically is what the former attorney general has to say.

Will the Prime Minister waive his solicitor-client privilege?

[David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, I can confirm that the Prime Minister has asked me for a legal opinion on the question of solicitor-client privilege. I am studying that issue—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Geoff Regan]

Order. I am having trouble hearing the hon. Minister of Justice. I know members want to hear both the question and the answer, so we will have a little order.

[David Lametti]

To continue, Mr. Speaker, I am studying the issue and will provide my legal opinion in due course. It would be inappropriate for me to say anything more.

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this Attorney General has already said many things about what he believes the former attorney general believes, thinks or even did, so it should take him very simply not much time to determine whether or not she can go ahead and speak.

Now that I have him on his feet, I am very curious. Last week a newspaper reported that this Attorney General had indicated that the matter regarding deferred remediation agreements and SNC-Lavalin was very much still alive and sitting on his desk.

I would like to ask the member, conveniently from Montreal, whether or not he has made a decision on the SNC-Lavalin issue.

[David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, I stated in that interview the law of Canada as it was passed and as is still the case, and it would be inappropriate for me to comment further.

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

Mr. Speaker, last week, the former justice minister resigned. Yesterday, the Prime Minister's top adviser, who is also his best friend, resigned. This all came about in the wake of serious allegations that the Prime Minister's Office pressured the former attorney general of Canada regarding a fraud case. Canadians want the truth, and only one person can give it to us.

Why will the Prime Minister not waive the former attorney general of Canada's solicitor-client privilege?

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, we know that the Prime Minister's former principal secretary shared his letter with all Canadians.

I think we can agree that all members and their teams are here to work hard for Canadians. That is my priority, my government's priority, and the priority of all members on this side of the House.

We will continue to work for Canadians. That is what we have been doing and what we will continue to do.

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

Mr. Speaker, every day since the Globe and Mail broke this story, the Prime Minister has given us a new version. Oddly enough, his story changes day by day.

Yesterday, his principal secretary and close personal friend resigned from his job while saying he had done nothing wrong. However, the situation is serious. This is about political interference in the justice system. There is one person who can give her side of the story and tell Canadians the truth, and that is the former attorney general of Canada.

Could the Prime Minister just let her speak?

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the member across the way knows full well that the Prime Minister's former principal secretary put out a letter explaining the reasons for his resignation. The Prime Minister accepted Gerald Butts' resignation.

We on this side of the House are going to keep working hard for Canadians. We respect the independence of the justice system, and we encourage them to do their work.

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, for the last 13 days the Prime Minister's answers on this issue have been all over the map. First he denied. Then there was a whisper campaign out of his office, insulting and disparaging the former attorney general. Now there is the answer of “It's not my fault; it has to have been somebody else's fault”, and his principal secretary has resigned, but for no reason. The Liberal government is in absolute chaos and disarray.

Canadians deserve answers. We need to hear from the former attorney general. Will the Prime Minister waive privilege and let her speak?

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, as I have stated in French, I will now state in English once again that the former principal secretary to the Prime Minister has shared his reasons publicly with all Canadians. The Prime Minister has accepted his resignation.

When it comes to the independence of our judicial system and of officers of Parliament, we respect their work. That is a clear contrast to the previous government, which constantly undermined the work that they did.

We will not do that on this side. We will continue working hard for Canadians, the very people who sent us here.

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

That was not an answer, Mr. Speaker, and it is frankly embarrassing to see the government House leader do that.

There is nobody who is watching this scandal saying that there is nothing to see here. From political commentators to the media to legal experts, there are questions that have to be answered. The actions of the current government are actions of a government and a Prime Minister who have something to hide.

There is somebody who can answer; that is the former attorney general. We want answers. Canadians want answers. Will you let her speak?

[The Speaker, Geoff Regan]

I remind the hon. opposition House leader to direct her comments to the Chair.

Order. The hon. Minister of Justice.