Debates of March 22nd, 2019

Justice

[Mike Lake, Conservative, Edmonton—Wetaskiwin, AB]

Mr. Speaker, for 31 straight hours over the past three days, members of the House voted 200 times on essentially one question: “If nothing wrong took place, then why don't we waive privilege on the whole issue and let those who have something to say on it speak their minds and share their stories?”

That quote is from a current member of the Liberal caucus who inarguably was considered on all sides as one of the most respected members of the Liberal cabinet until she resigned her post this month, citing her lost confidence in her government.

The marathon vote taught us a lot of things: first, that the Prime Minister will go to extraordinary lengths to cover up this story; second, that there is constantly more to this story to uncover; and finally, that members of this Conservative team, and indeed all opposition parties, are resolved that Canadians will have the information they need to hold their government to account.

It has been said, “Things do not happen. Things are made to happen.” This is going to happen one way or another. Canadians will demand the truth.

Epilepsy

[Darren Fisher, Liberal, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Mr. Speaker, back in 2012, the member for Halifax West's Purple Day Act received royal assent. His efforts made Cassidy Megan's dream of establishing Purple Day a reality. Now, because of this, Purple Day is celebrated each year on March 26 in over 100 countries.

Every year, more than 15,000 Canadians are diagnosed with epilepsy, yet many Canadians do not know a lot about this disorder. In fact, due to the stigma surrounding epilepsy, many people do not seek the care they need.

That is why Cassidy Megan created Purple Day to raise awareness and to make sure that more people understand what this disorder means. Purple Day is an important time to help people with epilepsy learn that they are not alone.

I encourage all Canadians and folks around the world to join us by wearing purple for Purple Day on March 26. Together we can raise more awareness and reduce the stigma surrounding epilepsy.

International Trade

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

Mr. Speaker, we have just learned that China will stop purchasing Canadian canola, wheat, peas, linseed and canola meal. This is devastating news for our farmers. More than 40% of Canadian canola is currently sold to China. The loss of this market is catastrophic, and it will cost billions of dollars to our economy. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister is so consumed with scandal and cover-up that he is completely incapable of managing these critical economic issues.

What is the government going to do for our farmers, who are caught in the crossfire because of the Prime Minister's incompetence and his cover-up?

[Jean-Claude Poissant, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, we know that access to new markets for high-quality Canadian canola means more money in the pockets of our farmers and support for middle-class jobs for Canadian farming families.

Representatives from the two countries will continue talks to find a science-based solution to this issue as quickly as possible. We are working closely with industry representatives and we will keep them informed as new information becomes available.

Justice

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

Mr. Speaker, farmers do not need handouts from the government. They need their trading partners in China, and they need those relationships restored.

The House just finished over 30 hours of voting, where Liberal members continued the cover-up; over 30 hours of protecting the Prime Minister and his corruption; and over 30 hours of refusing to let the former attorney general speak. If these are the lengths the Prime Minister is willing to take to stop the truth from being told, then what he is hiding must be absolutely terrible.

If he has nothing to hide, why does the Prime Minister not come clean with Canadians and stop the cover-up?

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to start by saying that our thoughts are with Father Claude Grou and the entire community affected by the terrible incident at St. Joseph's Oratory—

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

Order.

We have limited time for question period, as members know, and these extra interventions delay and possibly remove questions from what might be intended otherwise. I would ask hon. members to keep quiet while other members are answering questions that have been posed.

We are going to go back to the hon. government House leader to finish her response, and then we will continue.

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I want to start by saying that our thoughts are with Father Claude Grou and the entire community affected by the terrible incident at St. Joseph's Oratory this morning. The Service de police de la Ville de Montréal is investigating, and we will follow the developments closely.

When it comes to the last 31 hours, let us not let Canadians be mistaken. That was 31 hours of Conservatives denying funding to services Canadians benefit from. I have no problem being up all night to fight for Canadians. That is what we will do.

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

Mr. Speaker, Canadians were watching last night throughout the 31 hours, and they saw exactly what the Liberal government and these Liberal caucus members were doing and the cover-up the Prime Minister continues.

In an explosive interview with Maclean's, the former president of the Treasury Board said there is much more of this story that needs to be heard. Canadians deserve to know the truth. Even after the former president of the Treasury Board said that more needs to be heard, the Prime Minister continues to cover up.

When will he stop the cover-up, allow these former members to speak and waive the client privilege that he has put on them? Stop the gag order. Let them speak.

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

Mr. Speaker, Canadians should get to hear, and that is exactly why the Prime Minister waived solicitor-client privilege as well as cabinet confidence. Canadians should get to hear, and that is why the justice committee brought witnesses.

The Conservatives will continue to chirp. They will not let me speak, because they know that institutions are intact in Canada. They know that the justice committee is doing its work. Conservatives should stop playing politics and get to work. It is really unfortunate, because when they were in government, they made these same comments to the NDP, talking about the costs of having the House run all night long.

We know that we will fight for Canadians.

Ethics

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

Mr. Speaker, we can always count on the Leader of the Government for comic relief.

When the Business News Network asked the president and CEO of SNC-Lavalin if failure to obtain a remediation agreement could mean job losses, he replied that he never said that, never talked to the Prime Minister about it, and does not know what he made up or had in his mind.

When will the Prime Minister end the cover-up and allow the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics to investigate this scandal?

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

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite is mixing things up on purpose. People on this side of the House respect our institutions. We know that the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights did its job and that the Ethics Commissioner is investigating. We respect their work. I think the Conservatives should have a modicum of respect, but clearly, they do not.

Members on this side of the House will let those people do their job.

Justice

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

Mr. Speaker, with all due respect, while we respect Canadians’ intelligence, this government clearly does not.

The SNC-Lavalin boss never said that jobs were at risk. However, the Prime Minister, his aide Gerald Butts and the Clerk of the Privy Council, who stepped down on Monday, I would remind the House, said on several occasions that that was the case.

We now know that that part of the story was completely fabricated to try to justify their abuse of power towards the former attorney general and towards Canadians.

When will the Prime Minister stop the cover-up?

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

Mr. Speaker, anyone who respects Canadians will recognize that the Prime Minister waived solicitor-client privilege and cabinet confidence so that Canadians could hear everything the witnesses have to say.

That is exactly why the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights held public meetings, so that Canadians would be able to follow what was happening. The Conservatives are confusing matters, and they are doing so intentionally. Their actions contradict their words.

[Ruth Ellen Brosseau, NDP, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, our thoughts and prayers are with Claude Grou.

Every Liberal in the House knows very well that they are in serious trouble because of the interference scandal involving the Prime Minister's Office. They promised that this affair would be studied by the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, but the Liberal majority shut it down.

They are now saying that the Ethics Commissioner is investigating, but the Liberals know full well that political interference falls outside his mandate. The former president of the Treasury Board says that there is much more to tell Canadians.

Will the Prime Minister do the right thing and agree to launch a public inquiry, as the NDP is calling for?

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

Mr. Speaker, we know that the committee did its job. We know that the former attorney general wants to say more, and she can do so. We know that Canadians want to make up their own minds, and that is exactly why the Prime Minister waived solicitor-client privilege and cabinet confidence.

We know that we, on this side of the House, have many responsibilities. If there are changes that affect jobs, the NDP will be the first to say that the government did nothing. That is exactly why we will take our responsibilities very seriously and continue to do our job.

[Ruth Ellen Brosseau, NDP, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I do not get it.

The Liberals have to realize that despite all their efforts they cannot deflect attention from this scandal. People no longer trust the Liberal Party. They know that the Prime Minister did something inappropriate.

Two former ministers are telling us that they want to tell Canadians the whole truth, but the Prime Minister is doing everything he can to stop them. People need to hear the truth. Canadians deserve some respect from this Liberal government.

Will the Prime Minister launch a public inquiry?

It is a simple question. We deserve an answer today.

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

Mr. Speaker, the members of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights and the Ethics Commissioner are doing their job and we have confidence in them.

It is the Conservatives who said that members of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights would not get the meetings they wanted, but they did. They said that the witnesses would not get the chance to testify, but we saw that several witnesses came to committee and testified.

The Conservatives will keep casting doubt on the system, but we have confidence in the system and we know that it works.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and his office have been accused of interfering in the most important and serious prosecution of corporate corruption in modern Canadian history. They have had a slew of high profile resignations over the issue. Yesterday, the former Treasury Board president clearly stated, “There's much more to the story that should be told.” She went on to say, “there's been an attempt to shut down the story.”

With allegations this serious, the country cannot move on until Canadians know the whole story. Will the Prime Minister do the right thing and clear the way for the truth to come out, call a public inquiry for a fair, non-partisan assessment of the facts, yes or no?

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

Mr. Speaker, what is clear is that the NDP said that the justice committee would not meet, and it met. The NDP said that witnesses would not be able to appear, and they appeared. The NDP said that the former attorney general would not be able to speak, and the Prime Minister waived solicitor-client privilege, as well as cabinet confidence, something that has not happened in the history of our country, to ensure that she could speak.

The NDP will continue to say no, but we will say, “Yes, Canadians; we will fight for you”, while New Democrats choose to play their politics, just like the Conservatives are. There was a time that New Democrats would at least talk about the issues of the day, but today they are talking about politics as well.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

I am sorry, Mr. Speaker, but one does not move on to talk about other issues when there is a serious cloud of corruption hanging over us. Public service is not transactional. It is not that we announce a little program here and get to help our buddies over there. That is not how it works.

With respect to the justice committee, we know full well that a Liberal majority on that committee shut down the study. We know because the former attorney general wrote the justice committee today and said that she has more to say and hopes that the committee will accept her comments. She also said that those comments will be limited by the restrictions on the waiver that the Prime Minister issued.

Therefore, will the Prime Minister lift the waiver and create a forum for these former ministers to speak?

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

Mr. Speaker, the justice committee members decided on parameters that it would be looking at, and that dealt with the time that the former attorney general was the attorney general. When it comes to solicitor-client privilege, that is only pertinent to an attorney general. Then, all of a sudden, after the justice committee members set parameters, the Prime Minister lifted cabinet confidence and solicitor-client privilege for those parameters. The member is basically insinuating or implying that they should be working outside of those parameters.

Have some regard and respect for this place. I would encourage you, Mr. Speaker, to remind hon. members of that.

Ethics

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the former president of the Treasury Board made it clear that the Prime Minister is hiding something from Canadians. She told Maclean's magazine, “There's much more to the story that needs to be told”. The Canadian people deserve to know the truth and to hear that story. The cover-up must end.

Will the Prime Minister allow the ethics committee to conduct a public investigation into his corruption scandal, yes or no?

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

Mr. Speaker, when you listen to opposition members, you know that they have different approaches and styles. That is because when it comes to the way they function with their members on these committees, they have always believed in a centralized system. The former Stephen Harper government was the most centralized PMO; it was the most controlling Prime Minister's Office.

We committed to Canadians that we would do government differently. That is why they cannot comprehend that members are able to make choices, and they cannot comprehend that members might have differences of opinion. We on this side are okay with that.

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the former president of the Treasury Board made jaw-dropping statements that confirm the Prime Minister is hiding details on the SNC-Lavalin scandal. She said, “we actually owe it to Canadians as politicians to ensure that they have the truth.” The Prime Minister's talking points are misleading. Canadians deserve the truth. The cover-up must end.

Will the Prime Minister allow the ethics committee to conduct a public investigation into his corruption scandal?