Debates of April 10th, 2019

Justice

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister just said another false statement. A spokesperson for SNC-Lavalin said as late as last week that there was no intention to move the headquarters from Canada.

However, I guess the Prime Minister is worried about actually taking this to court. Everything he has said outside the House in front of Canadians if he were to say it again in a court of law, he would be guilty of perjury. I guess the famous “just watch me” has turned into “just watch me run away”.

Will the Prime Minister have the backbone to stand by his threats and show up in court to fight this case?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, what we have is a Conservative Party flailing and floundering, trying to change the subject away from what matters to Canadians. It has no plan to fight climate change, no plan on the economy and, quite frankly, have continued to demonstrate this.

Despite the rejection the Conservatives had from Canadians in 2015, they still do not understand that the economy and the environment need to go to together. To build a stronger economy, we have to take action on fighting climate change. They fail to understand that and, therefore, they are are looking for anything else to talk about.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order, please. All members, including former chair occupants, should have a good understanding of the responsibility of each member to uphold dignity and decorum in the House. It is a responsibility we all share, and no one individual can do it alone. It requires all members.

The hon. member for Essex.

[Tracey Ramsey, NDP, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's interference scandal is capturing attention from the international community, but not the kind that Canadians are proud of.

The Liberals have shut down debate in two committees with their majority. The Ethics Commissioner has a very limited role. Now the world is watching and Canadians want the truth. Canadians have questions that the Prime Minister needs to answer.

If the Prime Minister is serious about the truth, then the answer is simple: an independent public inquiry. Will he launch one, yes or no?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as we have said, we have tremendous confidence in the committees of Parliament to do their work.

We are pleased that the justice committee heard over 10 hours of testimony, over many weeks. That was facilitated by the fact that we gave an unprecedented waiver to allow for testimony that put aside both attorney-client privilege and cabinet confidentiality, because it is important that Canadians see what went on here. That is exactly what they did.

We continue to trust the Ethics Commissioner in the work that he does. We know that Canadians are concerned about this, but are also concerned about—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Essex.

[Tracey Ramsey, NDP, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the justice committee did not get the job done because the Liberals shut it down. What is the Prime Minister hiding that he does not want Canadians to know?

The OECD has referred the PMO's interference scandal to its working group on bribery. The Prime Minister does not seem to understand that Canada's reputation is on the line. The Liberals have blocked any way forward to get to the bottom of what happened. Canadians deserve to know if there was any political interference in the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin.

What is the Prime Minister afraid of? Why does he not do the right thing and call a public inquiry now?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it is kind of dismaying to see the NDP, which had such a tradition of standing up for workers, put all that aside to try to score a few points now that some international organization has actually noticed that they exist.

The fact of the matter is we are going to stay focused on the things that matter to Canadians. We are going to continue to fight for jobs, for workers across this country, for canola farmers across this country and for forestry workers across this country. We are going to stay focused on Canadians while everyone else tries to play politics.

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, politics aside, the Prime Minister has left something very much open, and it is the response that he has to the notice of libel that he sent to the Leader of the Opposition.

Now, he may not be aware of this, but a notice of libel is for the benefit of the defendant to be able to mitigate his damages by apologizing, if he sees fit. In this case, the Leader of the Opposition has indicated that he has nothing to apologize for.

It is now in the hands of the Prime Minister. When will the Prime Minister start the statement of claim?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, indeed, we have noticed, and Canadians have noticed, that the Leader of the Opposition continues to double down on his misleading statements.

We know that Canadians deserve politicians on all sides who speak the truth, who do not mislead Canadians, and who end up talking about the things that matter and not hiding from Canadians. What we have right here is a political party that does not want to talk about the economy, that does not want to talk about the budget, that does not want to talk about climate change and that just wants to play politics and attack us.

We are going to stay focused on Canadians, because Canadians deserve a better path forward than what those members are offering.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. The hon. member for Battle River—Crowfoot will come to order, I am sure, because he wants to hear both the question and the answer.

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister seeks to be judge, jury and executioner in this matter when, quite frankly, he is using a notice of libel as a tool of intimidation, much like he has done for this entire case.

He states that it is a fact that the Leader of the Opposition is indeed spreading mistruths. Our fact is that is not the case. Guess who gets to decide that? A real court.

When will the Prime Minister bring this to the right place to debate, a court of law in the province of Ontario? When will he start the claim?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to Canadians having a choice between a party that consistently lies to Canadians, as the Conservatives do, and a party that stays focused on what matters to them.

We have, over the coming months, an opportunity to put our best feet forward for Canadians and show them our plans to grow the economy, to fight climate change and to continue to increase Canadians' prosperity and safety in the world. We have laid that out. We have acted on it over the past four years. The Conservatives have nothing to show but simple political attacks, partisanship and their misleading of Canadians.

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we are faced with a Prime Minister who has been flatly denying the truth from the beginning, ever since the Globe and Mail broke the story on the interference scandal involving him and his entourage.

He was unsuccessful at silencing all the Liberals, so now he is bringing out a new Liberal tactic. He is threatening our leader with legal action, purely in the hope of silencing the members on this side of the House.

Does this Prime Minister have the guts to follow through on his notice?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition continues to mislead Canadians. This shows that the Conservatives are still following Stephen Harper's playbook.

We put him on notice because he and his party have a history of making false and defamatory statements. That is what he did in December against the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. He was forced to swallow his false words and retract his statements. We will not stand by while he continues to mislead Canadians.

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, from the beginning, the Prime Minister has been repeating that there was no political interference. Today, everyone knows that is untrue. He said that the former attorney general never shared her concerns with him, but we now know that is not true either.

If the Prime Minister has nothing to hide, then he should follow through on his notice. We, on this side of the House, are not afraid of the truth. In fact, the truth is all we are asking for. Canadians all want to know the truth.

The Prime Minister should show a little courage and follow through on his notice.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, what Canadians want is a government with an economic plan and a plan to fight climate change, and that is exactly what we are doing.

The Conservatives are continuing to mislead Canadians about our economic plan and our plan to fight climate change.

I know that all Quebeckers and all Canadians are concerned about the fact that the Conservatives do not have a plan to fight climate change. The Leader of the Opposition promised to present a plan 346 days ago, but he has still not done so.

When will he tackle climate change?

Indigenous Affairs

[Georgina Jolibois, NDP, Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK]

Mr. Speaker, Liberals still discriminate against hundreds of thousands of first nations women across Canada. First nations women and their children still do not have the same right to Indian status or the right to transfer their status as first nations men have. This is a violation of their human rights and it denies first nations women's dignity.

Liberals know that they could stop this injustice at their next cabinet meeting. Will the Liberals commit now to end the discrimination against first nations women, yes or no?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, no relationship is more important than that between this government and indigenous peoples, and that is why we have made historic strides forward on reconciliation with indigenous peoples. It involves tangible things like ending boil water advisories and creating more housing and schools on reserves, but also moving forward on rights recognition frameworks and self-government agreements.

However, all of these are done in partnership and with respect for indigenous peoples. We are not the ones determining the path forward for them. We are working with them to determine that path forward. We will always do it in respect of their views, not impose ours.

The Environment

[Brigitte Sansoucy, NDP, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, to fight climate change, the Liberals are giving $12 million of our money to a billion-dollar corporation led by the second richest person in the country, while our local markets and independent grocers struggle to survive. Our local businesses are greener, yet they are not getting any help from the government.

The Liberals would rather help billionaires than make life more affordable for families and fight climate change for future generations.

What is the Liberals' priority?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the House understand that the fight against climate change requires action on many fronts. The government has a lot to do. The Conservatives and Canadians need to do their part, and the private sector needs to contribute, too.

We have programs aimed at supporting the fight against climate change. These programs are open to private-sector businesses across Canada. We are going to keep making sure that we are all working together to fight climate change, not just paying lip service.

Interprovincial Trade

[Chris Bittle, Liberal, St. Catharines, ON]

Mr. Speaker, many Canadians have been frustrated by the restrictions on the transportation of Canadian beer, wine and spirits between provinces and territories. In St. Catharines and across the Niagara region there are many small and medium-sized businesses that because of barriers to trade within Canada cannot sell their product to other provinces.

Could the Prime Minister please update the House on what our government is doing to eliminate the federal barriers to the trade of alcohol within Canada in order to make it easier for businesses to grow and succeed?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for St. Catharines for his hard work—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!