Debates of March 22nd, 2019

Status of Women

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB]

Mr. Speaker, Wednesday's question period involved the Prime Minister touting his own feminism. Now, as all good feminists know, there is nothing more feminist than a man bragging about his feminism.

However, let us check the facts of budget 2019. Budget 2019 has nothing for child care and nothing for pay equity, and it fails indigenous women. The budget has nothing specific to address the tragedy of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. In fact, indigenous women's groups have been clear that they feel ignored and have been left behind.

When will the Prime Minister stop bragging and act on the priorities of Canadian women, the priorities they deserve action now?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations]

Mr. Speaker, budget 2019 builds on almost $17 billion of investments in indigenous priorities, with an additional $4.5 billion to advance indigenous self-determination, redress past wrongs and close socioeconomic gaps. This includes $1.4 billion to forgive communities' outstanding comprehensive loan claims, $126 million to establish a national council for reconciliation and more than $15 million to ensure that federal policies and programs reflect the voices of indigenous youth. These sustained investments of more than $21 billion affirm and reaffirm our commitment to reconciliation.

Indigenous Affairs

[William Amos, Liberal, Pontiac, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the riding of Pontiac measures over 30,000 square kilometres, and all of it lies within traditional unceded Algonquin territory. Therefore, this week I was so honoured to join the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations in celebrating the signing of an MOU and the global settlement of 29 separate claims between Canada and Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation in the north of my riding. Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations update the House on what this MOU and $116 million in compensation means for reconciliation with this Algonquin community?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Pontiac for his tireless commitment to reconciliation and, more specifically, his engagement with the people of Kitigan Zibi. I also want to highlight his undertakings in learning the Algonquin language. He is an example to us all.

With the signing of this MOU and the settlement of these claims, which includes compensation of over $116 million, we are supporting the acceleration of community-led social and economic initiatives and advancing reconciliation in a way that respects the rights and interests of Kitigan Zibi. By working together, we have not only helped address past wrongs, but also have taken important steps to renew and strengthen our nation-to-nation relationship with Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg—

[The Deputy Speaker, Bruce Stanton]

The hon. member for Wellington—Halton Hills.

Justice

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the government keeps repeating the refrain that committees are independent of the PMO and masters of their own domain. Therefore, have there been any communications from either the office of the chief government whip or the office of the government House leader and Liberal members of the ethics committee about next Tuesday's meeting?

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

Mr. Speaker, according to some information from a member of the committee, she says there has not been.

I have the utmost respect for this place. When I am asked a question, I always do my best to answer that question. When it comes to my office, I work with a solid team of people. I have been in the House for over 31 hours voting. I slept for not even five hours and I am right back in my seat.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, no one believes that the Prime Minister is not manipulating these committees to cover up his scandal. The Prime Minister told the former attorney general and all Canadians a complete fairy tale. We now know no jobs were ever at risk.

The CEO of SNC-Lavalin said he never cited 9,000 jobs as a reason to end its criminal trial. In fact, when asked about these mythical job losses, the CEO said, “I don't know what people...have in their minds.”

When will the Prime Minister come clean with Canadians? When will he end this cover-up?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I have stated, the justice committee looked into this matter and the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner is currently investigating this matter. There is currently an ongoing court case in this matter. We have respect for these institutions, on this side. The Conservatives never had respect, and definitely not under 10 years of Stephen Harper.

I would say that Canadians are actually wondering, when will the Conservatives start having respect for institutions and when will the Conservatives show up to work and stop voting against measures that benefit Canadians? We on this side will vote for these measures to ensure that we have a cleaner, greener future for our kids and grandkids and a stronger—

[The Deputy Speaker, Bruce Stanton]

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

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

Mr. Speaker, if we voted against anything, it was against the cover-up.

The former president of the Treasury Board has said that there is much more to the story, and the former attorney general has said that she has more to add. Today, we learned that she will be providing copies of her emails and written correspondence to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights.

When the Prime Minister says that he is working to save 9,000 jobs at SNC-Lavalin, he is giving the House untruthful answers because the CEO of the company, Neil Bruce, has indicated that it was never about jobs.

When will the Prime Minister stop his cover-up?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are now trying to justify the fact that they voted against measures that are good for Canadians.

The Conservatives voted against programs like that of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec that helps individuals and businesses in Quebec. The Conservatives claim to support all of those programs and measures, but they voted against them.

The Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights did its job and so did and the Ethics Commissioner.

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the former attorney general told us that the Prime Minister insisted that jobs would be lost if she did not end the corruption trial of SNC-Lavalin. The Prime Minister told the media that his 9,000 job-loss figure came from the company itself.

Now the CEO of SNC-Lavalin stated that he never talked to the Prime Minister about a DPA or about jobs.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to the answer, I will remind Canadians once again that the justice committee looked into this matter for over five weeks. There is a process here. Legislation goes through the House and then it goes to committee. Most pieces of legislation are not even studied for five weeks. However, five weeks was devoted to these meetings to ensure that Canadians could hear from witnesses.

The Prime Minister actually waived solicitor-client privilege, as well as cabinet confidence. The Prime Minister ensured that everything was available so that Canadians would be able to hear and to come to their own conclusions.

What the Conservatives do not want to talk about is that they voted against programs like western—

[The Deputy Speaker, Bruce Stanton]

The hon. member for Kootenay—Columbia.

Child Care

[Wayne Stetski, NDP, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal budget acknowledges that lack of affordable child care is putting education, employment and home ownership out of the reach of parents, particularly mothers. Despite this, there is no new funding for child care and the crisis persists across the country outside of Quebec.

The Royal Commission on the Status of Women said almost 50 years ago that universal child care was critical to women achieving true equality, yet the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development is still calling this a “long-term vision”.

Will the government stop making promises and show leadership on the child care crisis?

[Adam Vaughan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, the funniest thing about the NDP members is that when we put something in the budget, they complain that it is long-term, and when we do not put something in the budget because we did it the previous year, they ignore that we did it last year.

The reality is that $7.5 billion has been invested in child care agreements. These agreements are with provinces and territories, but they also have specific agreements with indigenous-led organizations through the NIOs.

Our $7.5 billion over the next 10 years is now in the system and delivering child care spaces in B.C., Ontario and right across the country from coast to coast to coast. We are proud of our investments.

We realize that more needs to be done. That is why we are also focused on lifting women out of poverty. The numbers on that are even better. If members want to ask me a question about that, I would be happy to answer.

Pensions

[Scott Duvall, NDP, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have failed on their promise to protect pensions and benefits in cases of corporate bankruptcy. The Prime Minister had one last chance to deliver on his promise in budget 2019, but he chose to leave Canadian workers and retirees without protection.

Despite having seen the damage that Sears has caused to Canadian workers and retirees, the Liberals want us to rely on the good faith of rich corporations to protect pensions. What? Are they serious?

Canadians are not buying that. Why are the Liberals more committed to protecting shareholders and rich banks over Canadian workers and retirees?

[Sherry Romanado, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Seniors]

Mr. Speaker, our government has had extensive and thorough consultations with industry and Canadians about workplace pensions. We have taken immediate action. Through budget 2019, our government will strengthen courts' power to review executive bonuses, root out attempts to asset-strip companies, compel stakeholders in insolvencies to be honest about their interests, invest $150,000 in the national pension hub to continue to support pension research and invest $12.5 million in the Global Risk Institute so it can continue its important work in developing new approaches to financial risk management.

When it comes to seniors, we will continue to deliver for seniors.

Justice

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister told the former attorney general twice on September 17 that SNC-Lavalin was threatening to move its headquarters unless she shelved the charges for fraud and corruption. BNN asked SNC's CEO this week, “Did you threaten to move your headquarters from Montreal?”. The answer was, “No.... No”.

Where did the Prime Minister get this falsehood, and why would he say something he knew was untrue to a top law officer in order to shelve charges?

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

Mr. Speaker, let us see how long we can go before the Conservatives start speaking over me so that I cannot answer.

Let us make sure that Canadians understand that when it comes to the way governments work, they all work differently. The member was once a cabinet minister, and different cabinet positions will have different responsibilities. This is where we have confidence that the ministers of justice and attorneys general would fulfill their duties, and I would say they have done a pretty impressive job. However, when it comes to the Prime Minister, the Minister of Innovation and the Minister of Seniors, they also have different responsibilities. When it comes to a government, we will always fight for the national interest.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister claimed that either the AG shelve the charges against SNC-Lavalin or the headquarters would leave.

The question from BNN to the CEO: “Did you threaten to move your headquarters from Montreal?” The answer: “No.”

A further question: “So where did this issue come up from, that that was a possibility for SNC?” The answer: “I don't know what people make up or what they have in their minds.”

The Prime Minister is the one who spread this falsehood. What exactly did he have in his mind?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would hope that the Prime Minister, or any prime minister, would always have in mind the best interests of Canadians and the country he fights for. That is exactly what we have been doing since we were elected.

The Conservatives are sitting on those benches because they forgot that their priorities are Canadians, and not only those of Conservatives. We on this side can fight for people we share a political stripe with, but whom we fight for first and foremost is all Canadians, and that is what we will do.

We are going to have tough conversations, and sometimes we will not agree, but it is okay. When the Prime Minister says that diversity is our strength, he includes the diversity of perspectives, of regions, and the list goes on.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I know that when I asked what the Prime Minister had on his mind, I was being presumptuous. However, let me quote from BNN's question yesterday: “because the inference is that if you do not get to go the way of a deferred prosecution agreement, 9,000 jobs disappear.” The SNC CEO's response: “That's incorrect, and we've never said that.”

Now that we know that the 9,000 jobs excuse was a lie and that the Prime Minister was not protecting jobs, exactly who was he protecting?

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

Mr. Speaker, to ever imply that the Prime Minister of Canada would not protect jobs is, frankly, not true and pathetic. That member knows very well that he is going pretty far in making an accusation.

Any prime minister, those I have liked and those I have not, have been prime ministers of the country I am proud to serve and fight for. There is a spot for partisan politics, and that should be in campaigns. When we are sent to this place, we should raise the bar in the work that we do. We are all hon. members, and every member of Parliament should be fighting for jobs.