House of Commons Hansard #380 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was language.
David Lametti LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister stated today, he has not given directives to my predecessor, nor did he pressure her. For my part, as Attorney General of Canada, I can assure the House that I have received neither pressure nor direction from either the Prime Minister's Office or the Prime Minister himself.
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
Mr. Speaker, Canadians were confused and shocked when the first indigenous justice minister was summarily fired without explanation. In her letter to Canadians, she warned that an attorney general must ”speak truth to power” and “It is a pillar of our democracy that our system of justice be free from even the perception of political interference.”
In the bombshell report from The Globe and Mail, we now understand truly what she meant, because when the now former justice minister refused to drop the fraud and corruption trial against SNC-Lavalin, she was fired.
Again, did anyone in the Prime Minister's Office communicate with the former justice minister about this case, yes or no?
David Lametti LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister said earlier today, neither the Prime Minister nor his office put my predecessor or myself under pressure nor gave any directives. These allegations contained in The Globe and Mail are false.
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
Mr. Speaker, we can see what the Liberals are doing. A carefully crafted denial that is not a denial at all. The same company found guilty of corruption and fraud was also caught illegally donating more than $100,000 to those same Liberals. SNC-Lavalin was rewarded. When it faced corruption and fraud charges, the Liberals leaned on their own justice minister not to go to trial but to get a plea deal.
Do Liberals seriously expect Canadians to believe that all of these illegal and troubling events implicating the Prime Minister's Office itself and the former justice minister are all somehow just a coincidence?
David Lametti LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, at no point have I been directed or pressured by the Prime Minister or the Prime Minister's Office to make any decision in this or any other matter. As the Attorney General of Canada, I am the chief legal officer of the Crown and have the responsibility to give legal advice to the government in the public interest. I take these responsibilities very seriously—
JusticeOral Questions
The Speaker Geoff Regan
Order. I am having difficulty hearing the answers. I would appreciate members' co-operation.
The hon. leader of the opposition.
Andrew Scheer ConservativeLeader 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 LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
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 ConservativeLeader 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 LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
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 ConservativeLeader 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 LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, the answer is no.
Andrew Scheer ConservativeLeader 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 LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
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 ConservativeLeader 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 LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
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 LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
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.
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 LiberalMinister 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—
Indigenous AffairsOral Questions
The Speaker 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.