Debates of Feb. 28th, 2019

Justice

[Michael Barrett, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, CPC]

Mr. Speaker, we have heard a lot today from the members opposite about letting the justice committee do its work, but the Liberals on the justice committee said it was a witch hunt. That is absolutely unacceptable. The Prime Minister put his re-election above the judicial system when he cited the Quebec election and that he was an MP from Quebec, when he pressured the former attorney general to drop the criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin. She said no.

As the former Ontario Liberal attorney general has said, interfering with a criminal prosecution is what despots do. Why did the Prime Minister put his personal political interests ahead of the integrity of our government?

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

Mr. Speaker, once again for the record, the justice committee is meeting. It has called witnesses. Witnesses are appearing and answering questions.

There was a time not too long ago that the opposition was denying that the committee would ever meet. The committee is meeting. They were denying that witnesses would appear. Witnesses are appearing, and they are answering. They were denying that the former attorney general would be invited. She was invited, and she appeared. They denied that the former attorney general would be able to share her perspective and share her side. She appeared yesterday and she shared it.

She confirmed that the Prime Minister at every step told her it was her decision to take. In the end—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Calgary Nose Hill.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, at the heart of the conversation on women's rights over the last year has been the need to believe women. Yesterday, the former attorney general presented evidence, texts and emails that show a campaign by the Prime Minister to intimidate her into politically influencing the outcome of a criminal corruption investigation.

However, the Prime Minister is saying that we should not believe her or her evidence. Why is the Prime Minister telling Canadians that we should believe all women, except his accusers?

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

Mr. Speaker, there is a clear difference between the way this Prime Minister and our government governs versus the approach of the previous government. We on this side respect the work of committees. We on this side respect the work of officers of Parliament. We on this side respect the independence of the judicial system.

The justice committee members have asked for witnesses to appear. Witnesses are appearing and they are providing answers. It was important for Canadians that the former attorney general be able to speak openly at the justice committee. The Prime Minister worked with the current Attorney General to ensure that solicitor-client privilege would be waived, as well as cabinet confidence.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, here are the Liberal lines on the mountain of evidence that were presented yesterday by the former attorney general: Her dad is pulling her strings. Why didn't she say no more forcefully? Why didn't she report it sooner? She experienced it differently.

Gaslighting a strong woman, especially one with a mountain of evidence, at the behest of the fake feminist who through his actions uses women instead of supporting them, sets women back. Why are not all women in that caucus, and their so-called feminist allies, calling for the Prime Minister's resignation?

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

Mr. Speaker, we on this side have confidence that the justice committee will have witnesses appear. Witnesses are appearing. They are answering questions. We on this side have confidence that it will be able to do that work.

We on this side also know that the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner is looking into this matter. We have confidence in our officers of Parliament. We also know that there are two ongoing court cases. We on this side have respect and confidence in the independence of the judicial system.

Employment

[Tracey Ramsey, NDP, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on that side no one is standing up for women. While Canadians are fighting for their jobs, the Prime Minister has been busy pressuring the former attorney general to break the law for his rich corporate friends. Imagine if the PMO put all those efforts into standing up for working people. Instead, he invested time and energy into pressuring the former AG to change her mind to help his rich corporate friends.

This is about the choices the Liberals make. They will not fight for GM auto workers. They will not fight for steel and aluminum jobs and they failed Sears pensioners. Why will the Liberals not just admit that the middle class and those working hard to join it just do not matter to them?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would encourage the member to have more regard and respect for the former attorney general's testimony yesterday. She confirmed that the Prime Minister told her it was her decision to make. The former attorney general stated that it was appropriate to discuss job impacts. In the end, the former attorney general made the decision not to proceed. The law was followed every step of the way.

The job of any Prime Minister is to stand up for Canadians and Canadian workers and that is exactly what this Prime Minister did. We, on this side, have confidence in the work of committees. We know that witnesses will appear and—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Jonquière.

International Trade

[Karine Trudel, NDP, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, small businesses and workers in Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean have been in limbo for months because of the steel and aluminum tariffs. The entire region is waiting for the Prime Minister to do something, but nothing is happening. I guess he is too busy putting pressure on the former attorney general instead of Trump.

When friends of the party call, the Prime Minister always picks up. Workers, though, do not have a direct line to his office.

Will the Prime Minister admit that he has never been on the side of Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean and that he works only for friends of the Liberal Party?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the illegal and unjust American tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum must be lifted. We are consistently sending this message to the United States, and it is being received.

American legislators have asked Ambassador Lighthizer to lift these tariffs. Republican Kevin Brady recently said that the tariffs should be lifted. On Monday, I raised this issue directly with the Vice-President of the United States, Mike Pence.

Justice

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when the former attorney general resigned in protest of political interference, the Prime Minister said that he was “both surprised and disappointed by her decision to step down” and “she said nothing of that to me”. Yesterday, we learned that she said to him in September, “Are you politically interfering with my role, my decision as the Attorney-General? I would strongly advise against it.”

Why did the Prime Minister tell Canadians the opposite of the truth?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has been clear since the beginning that he and his staff always acted appropriately and professionally. It was important for Canadians to be able to hear from the former attorney general. The members of the justice committee have been working together, members from both sides, to have witnesses appear. Witnesses are appearing. They are answering those questions. Canadians are able to hear that testimony and it is important that they do.

Our government will always focus on jobs, growing the middle class and strengthening our economy. There were, of course, discussions about the potential loss of 9,000 jobs in communities across the country, including a possible impact on pensions. It is a job of—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Carleton.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we now know that the only job the Prime Minister was interested in protecting was his own. Yesterday's testimony revealed that the Prime Minister looked Canadians in the eyes and he said that the former attorney general had never raised concerns about his political interference. We now learn that she did raise her concerns in September.

If the Prime Minister does believe that her testimony under oath is false, will he show up to committee to refute it?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister, in the House, as well as outside of the House, has said that it is important that Canadians be able to hear from witnesses, including the former attorney general. The Prime Minister worked with the current Attorney General to ensure that solicitor-client privilege could be waived as well as cabinet confidence.

The former attorney general, yesterday in her testimony stated that the Prime Minister told her it was her decision to make. The former attorney general stated that it was appropriate to discuss job impacts.

In the end, the former attorney general made the decision not to proceed. The law was followed every step of the way. Why can the member not accept that?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is clear the current Prime Minister would go to the moon to avoid answering questions on this issue. In fact, he has so far refused to summon the courage that yesterday the former attorney general demonstrated when she came with copious notes, saved text messages and other documentary evidence proving the veracity of her comments. She exposed a pattern of systematic political interference by the Prime Minister in a criminal prosecution. Will he show the same courage and show up and answer under oath?

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

Mr. Speaker, it was important for Canadians to hear from witnesses on this matter, including the former attorney general. We know the justice committee is doing its work. We on this side respect the work the committees do. That is exactly why this government increased resources for them.

We also know the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner is looking into this matter. We on this side respect our officers of Parliament.

We also know that there are two ongoing court cases. We on this side respect the independence of our judicial system. That is unfortunately not the case for the Conservatives.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I will advise the member from Calgary that he shall not interrupt when someone else has the floor.

The hon. member for Brossard—Saint-Lambert.

Innovation, Science and Economic Development

[Alexandra Mendes, Liberal, Brossard—Saint-Lambert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has made major contributions to space science and technology, such as satellite communications technology, the Canadarm and satellites in space. When we invest in science, innovation and research, we foster economic growth, create thousands of jobs for Canadian workers and gain a better understanding of our world.

Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development tell us a bit more about this?

[Rémi Massé, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member from Brossard—Saint-Lambert for her excellent question.

This morning, the Prime Minister was in Saint-Hubert to announce an investment of more than $2 billion in Canada's space program. This historic investment is part of Canada's new partnership in the Lunar Gateway project.

This NASA-led project will make it possible to return to the moon and to prepare for more thorough exploration of Mars. This partnership provides new opportunities for our astronauts to participate in space missions and for our scientists to conduct groundbreaking research. Our investments will create hundreds of well-paid jobs and make it possible for Canadian explorers—

Justice

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

Mr. Speaker, on September 17, I left the Liberal Party because I lost confidence in the current Prime Minister. I know what it is like to trust the Prime Minister and have that trust broken. Canadians have had their trust in the Prime Minister broken. He has lost the moral authority to govern. Will the Prime Minister resign?

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

Mr. Speaker, I can say that I ran for the Liberal Party because this Prime Minister had a plan, a plan for the economy and a plan for kids. What is interesting is that every step of the way, the Conservatives voted against it. We brought forward the Canada child benefit, a tax-free benefit to help families with children who need it the most. This week it was confirmed that close to 300,000 children have been lifted out of poverty, and over 800,000 Canadians are benefiting from this program. The Conservatives voted against it every single time. Over 800,000 jobs have been created by Canadians because of our investment. The Conservatives—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Saskatoon West.