Debates of Feb. 7th, 2019

Justice

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, he might not have been “directed to”, but he was certainly promoted based on his willingness to go along with the PMO on this.

Let me try this again.

SNC-Lavalin met with the Prime Minister's Office at least 14 times on the subjects of justice and law enforcement. Some of the meetings were with the PMO principal secretary.

Did the subject of the criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin come up during the meetings at the Prime Minister's Office, yes or no?

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

Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister said earlier today, he did not give any directives to my predecessor. For my part, I can assure the House that I have received neither pressure nor direction from either the Prime Minister or Prime Minister's Office regarding any decisions on this matter. As the Attorney General of Canada, I take my responsibilities very seriously.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the new Attorney General is trying to hide behind the Prime Minister's carefully scripted legal response this morning, but the question is quite simple. It is direct about dealings on the criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin.

I will ask the attorney general again. Was he ever contacted by anyone in the Prime Minister's Office about this case before he was promoted to the position of attorney general?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I have said, I have received neither pressure nor direction from either the Prime Minister or the Prime Minister's Office with respect to the decision that could be made in this particular file.

As a Quebec member of Parliament who reads the newspapers, I did know about this case, but it does not transfer into my role as Attorney General.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the question was not about the Prime Minister's carefully-vetted answer this morning. The question was about himself. Yes, he may have been aware of this case, but the question was very specific.

Was he ever contacted by anyone in the PMO about the criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin before he was named to his new post of Attorney General? Did those conversations happen, yes or no?

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

Mr. Speaker, the answer is no.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the former attorney general can shed some light on this issue. It is quite clear that we are seeing the beginnings of a cover-up here. The former attorney general prided herself on speaking truth to power. She spoke truth to power behind closed doors and the Prime Minister fired her.

Will she now speak truth to power in front of all Canadians and confirm whether or not she received any communication from the Prime Minister's Office regarding the criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin, yes or no?

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

Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister said earlier today, neither my predecessor nor myself have received directives with respect to the dealing of this particular case.

As the Attorney General of Canada, I take my responsibilities to give advice in the public interest to the government very seriously. I will continue to do so.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, that question was for the former attorney general. It is clear that the Prime Minister has fired her, and now he is silencing her.

Why will he not allow her to answer the question as to whether or not she received any communications between the Prime Minister's Office and her own regarding the criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin? Did those conversations happen, yes or no?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister dealt with this matter very clearly earlier today. He stated that neither he nor anyone in his office pressured my predecessor or myself to come to any particular decision in this matter.

As the Prime Minister stated earlier today, the allegations contained in The Globe and Mail article are false.

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

Mr. Speaker, 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. As such, it has always been my view that the Attorney General of Canada must be non-partisan, more transparent in the principles that are the basis of decisions and, in this respect, always willing to speak truth to power. Those are the words and principles of the former attorney general.

Why did the Prime Minister fire her for refusing to break them?

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

Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister said earlier today, neither he nor anyone in his office directed my predecessor or myself to come to any particular result in this case.

As the Attorney General of Canada, I am the chief law officer of the Crown and I provide legal service to the government, with a responsibility to act in the public interest. I take this responsibility very seriously.

Indigenous Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, I met a young mother in Cat Lake this week who wept as she told me that her 12-year-old was so disfigured from rashes and impetigo that she had quit school, she hid under a blanket and she would not let her own mother see her face. Last week, the minister offered to send up some light switch covers. That does not cut it in a country as rich as Canada.

I am asking the minister if he will stand in the House and commit today to a full independent medical team to go into Cat Lake to assess every child living in those mould-infested shacks, yes or no?

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations]

Mr. Speaker, we all share the member's concerns. Today we are in direct connect with the leadership of Cat Lake on all the challenges it is facing. We have heard very clearly from the community the serious concerns around health, safety and the quality of housing. Another meeting is taking place with the community leadership and partners, as we speak, to advance immediate action and long-term planning. We will continue to work directly with the community to address these issues.

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

Mr. Speaker, well, I am thankful that another minister had to stand up for the minister who is missing in action. I will tell members what the chief just wrote today—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I know the hon. member realizes that we cannot call attention to the presence or absence of a member, so I would ask him to carry on without that kind of reference.

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

Mr. Speaker, I said that the minister had not done his job. I have a letter from the chief, who wrote, “Your department was given ample time and information.” They have received nothing but unrelenting barriers, outright refusals from the representatives and roadblocks.

Therefore, I would like to ask the minister to stop hiding beneath the desk, stand up, show some leadership and go to Cat Lake. Hell, I will take him there myself.

[Dan Vandal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, as we have said, we are working directly with the community of Cat Lake. The minister is in contact with the chief and another meeting is taking place today with senior officials.

We are accelerating work on needed repairs. We are accelerating the construction currently under way on new homes. We are establishing a task force with the community leadership and the Windigo tribal council. We continue to work diligently with Cat Lake to solve these issues.

Justice

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

Mr. Speaker, today The Globe and Mail reported that the former minister of justice was pressured by officials in the PMO to politically intervene in the criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin. Was the former minister of justice fired by the Prime Minister because she refused to do his dirty work? Did she pay the price for his mistakes?

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

Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister said earlier today, no direction was given to my predecessor. No direction has been given to myself in regard to this decision.

As the Attorney General of Canada, I am the chief legal officer of the Crown. I take my responsibility to give advice, in the public interest, to the government very seriously.

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

Mr. Speaker, The Globe and Mail article raises serious allegations against the PMO about trying to politically intervene in the criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavelin, thereby interfering with the independence of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada.

We all know what happened next. The Prime Minister fired the former attorney general, because, as she said, she “spoke truth to power”.

Did the Prime Minister fire the former attorney general because she refused to do his dirty work, yes or no?

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

Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister has said, no such direction was given to my predecessor. No such direction has been given to me.

Once again, as the Attorney General of Canada and the chief legal officer of the Crown, I provide legal advice to the government based on the public interest. I take these responsibilities very seriously.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada's notes are looking a little worn. We know that he did not receive any directives. He has repeated that 20 times.

Did the Prime Minister put pressure on the former attorney general of Canada to ask the director of public prosecutions to drop criminal proceedings? That seems fishy. Did the Prime Minister make her pay for his mistakes?

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

Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister said earlier today, there was no pressure on my predecessor and there were no directives. The same goes for me. I was not pressured and did not receive any directives from the Prime Minister or his office.