Debates of Feb. 19th, 2019

Justice

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

Mr. Speaker, the former principal secretary to the Prime Minister has shared his reasons in a letter to all Canadians. Anyone can read it.

The Conservatives continue to talk out of both sides of their mouths. In French, they are claiming that they have no intention of hurting SNC-Lavalin employees, as the member for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles said. However, in English, it is a completely different story. Some members, like the member for Carleton, are making it very clear that they want to shut this company down.

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

Mr. Speaker, we all know that the Liberal government has about five different versions of the current scandal involving SNC-Lavalin and the former attorney general. However, the question is very simple. There is one person in Canada who knows what happened. There are 330 members here, and that person is one of them.

Will the Prime Minister finally give the former attorney general the freedom of speech that all Canadians want her to have?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has asked me for a legal opinion on the question of solicitor-client privilege in this case. I am studying the issue and will give a legal opinion in due course. It would therefore be inappropriate for me to comment further on this matter.

Automotive Industry

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when General Motors announced the closure of the Oshawa plant, thousands of workers and their families were left twisting in the wind. The Prime Minister is siding with GM's corporate greed and not on the side of Canadians when he is all talk and no action.

Oshawa auto workers have called on the Liberal government to not purchase GM vehicles not made in Canada for government procurement. The Prime Minister talks about supporting the workers. Here is a specific request on the table. Will he do what they have asked?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, our government has been absolutely clear when it comes to supporting the automotive sector and the auto workers. We, through our programming and policies, have seen significant investments in the automotive sector since 2015. With the recent announcement by BlackBerry QNX, that takes us to over six billion dollars' worth of investments.

With respect to Oshawa, we have been very clear. When it comes to Unifor, when it comes to GM, we will be at the table. Part of the solution is to protect those jobs going forward.

[Tracey Ramsey, NDP, Essex, ON]

No one has even seen you in Oshawa.

Mr. Speaker, it is clear this—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I guess it has been a while since I have been in Oshawa.

I remind the hon. member for Essex to direct her comments to the Chair.

[Tracey Ramsey, NDP, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, no one has even seen a Liberal in Oshawa.

It is clear the Liberal government would rather invest its time and energy to help rich, corrupt corporations get off the hook instead of standing up for the thousands of GM workers who are scrambling to ensure a future for their families. Canadians deserve a government that is willing to stand up and fight for their jobs and communities.

The Canadian government has spent $320 million over the last 10 years buying GM vehicles for public use. Will the Prime Minister stand up for Canadian workers and commit now to stop buying GM cars, with taxpayer money, that are not built or assembled in Canada?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, we have always defended and supported the auto workers. We have always stood up for the automotive sector. It is through our policies and programs that we have seen historic investments. We actually turned the corner because under the previous Conservative government, 50,000 automotive jobs were lost in the first three years and two years before it was 20,000 jobs, before the recession even hit.

We understand how important Oshawa is. We will continue to work with Mary Barra, GM and also Jerry Dias to find a solution to protect these very important jobs in Oshawa.

Justice

[Leona Alleslev, Conservative, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's most trusted adviser has now resigned over the SNC-Lavalin scandal.

I swore an oath to serve and defend this country, as did many of my colleagues on both sides of the House. This is not about partisan politics. It is about trust in our democracy and a judicial system—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order, please. We need to hear the question.

The hon. member for Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill.

[Leona Alleslev, Conservative, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, luckily, on this side of the House, I have the opportunity to speak.

The question is simple. Has any current or former cabinet minister or member of the Prime Minister's staff been contacted by the RCMP on this scandal?

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

Mr. Speaker, I can say that we have no knowledge of such activity.

To refer to the member's other comments, I, on this side, am very proud of the work that we are doing as a government. We can see that the results speak for themselves. The investments that we are making are seeing 300,000-plus children lifted out of poverty. We see that our communities are growing. We see the investments in infrastructure are working. We see our municipalities are stronger than ever before. We should be very proud of this work and we know that we have to continue working hard so that Canadians can succeed. That is exactly who we are here for.

[Leona Alleslev, Conservative, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I think my hon. colleague may be forgetting that as a minister of the Crown, she swore an oath to faithfully execute the power entrusted to her, which includes protecting our judicial system from political interference. If a minister will not stand up and be counted to defend the principles of our democracy, who will?

The question is simple. Has any current or former cabinet minister or staff been contacted by the RCMP on this scandal?

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

Mr. Speaker, we have no knowledge of any such activity. I think that is a fairly clear answer.

[Mark Strahl, Conservative, Chilliwack—Hope, BC]

Mr. Speaker, one might think that if the RCMP had contacted former or current cabinet ministers or current or former PMO operatives, they might know about that. The fact that they do not know whether the RCMP has or has not started an investigation is troubling. This is a scandal that goes right to the heart of the Prime Minister's Office.

I will ask again. Has the RCMP contacted any current or former cabinet minister or staff, or any current or former Prime Minister's Office individuals, in order to get to the bottom of this obstruction of justice case?

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

Mr. Speaker, we have no knowledge of any such activity.

Carbon Pricing

[Julie Dzerowicz, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, economists are virtually unanimous in the view that carbon pricing reduces greenhouse gas emissions at the lowest possible cost to the economy. It is disappointing that while climate change is having a real impact on the health and well-being of Canadians, Conservative politicians are wasting millions of taxpayer dollars fighting climate action in court. Meanwhile, they still have no plan to protect the environment.

Can the minister please update the House on the actions our government is taking to fight climate change, while growing our economy?

[Catherine McKenna, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for Davenport for her long-time advocacy on climate change.

It was great to see last week in Saskatchewan at the court that we had farmers represented, we had young people represented, we had environmentalists represented, and we had doctors, health professionals and economists represented. They were saying that we need to put a price on pollution. We need to take action on climate change.

We know that we can do it in an affordable way, an effective way, by giving money back. A family of four in Ontario would get $307, more than eight out of 10 families will pay.

It is unfortunate the other side does not—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d'Orléans—Charlevoix.

Government Accountability

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d’Orléans—Charlevoix, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in 1999, we had Shawinigate. In 2004, there was the Gomery commission. In 2017, a Prime Minister was found guilty of ethical breaches for the first time in history. Today, we have political interference in a judicial process.

The Liberal government is losing the confidence of Canadians. On the heels of the third resignation of an influential person, namely the right-hand man and friend of the Prime Minister, Gerald Butts, people are entitled to real answers.

In light of this damning state of affairs, will the Prime Minister agree to shed light on this business and vote in favour of holding a public inquiry?

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

Mr. Speaker, we are confident that the two independent processes currently under way will be completed in a fair and thorough manner and will provide Canadians with the answers and information they seek. We have confidence in both the Standing Committee on Justice and the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner.

Indigenous Affairs

[Brigitte Sansoucy, NDP, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this weekend, part of the arena roof of the Algonquin community of Timiskaming First Nation collapsed overnight. Then the structure caught fire. The community has worked very hard to build this arena and all their efforts have disappeared in smoke. They need our help.

Can Timiskaming First Nation count on the Liberals to rebuild the arena?