Debates of April 11th, 2019

Justice

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

Mr. Speaker, once again, yes, the leader of the official opposition was put on notice. After he received notice, he deleted those tweets. He and his team probably went back to their office and revisited some wording. Their new wording is exactly what they are repeating. They will not repeat the comments they deleted after they received notice. That is a fact.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, according to Maclean's, the Ethics Commissioner has become a useful fig leaf for Liberals keen to shut down further discussions. Harper Conservatives drafted a weak ethics bill, but it is the Liberals who are using it as cover to avoid answering questions.

The Liberals will be under the microscope when the anti-bribery groups meet in June. Will the Prime Minister assure OECD officials that the Liberals will not interfere with Canada's top prosecutor taking corporate corruption to court?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would encourage the member to revisit his wording, because I know he would never undermine the work of officers of Parliament. If, all of a sudden, the NDP members are taking that approach, they are even closer to the Conservatives than I even realized. We will never undermine the work of officers of Parliament.

When it comes to the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, yes, there is an ongoing investigation in this matter. Yes, we have confidence in our institutions. We know there is an ongoing court case. We know the justice committee did its important work. I guess only we, on this side, have respect for our institutions.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I know a pretty good lawyer, so I will be all right.

Canadians are concerned. They see this Prime Minister ignoring questions about his scandal and want to know what happened. They are not the only ones who are concerned. The OECD warned Canada that it will be monitoring how the Liberal government manages this matter. People want the truth.

When will the Prime Minister launch a public inquiry?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, in March, the minister spoke with the chair of the OECD working group and confirmed that we are committed to fully co-operating with the OECD and that we firmly support its work. Canada is a strong supporter of the rules-based international order, which includes the OECD.

Consumer Protection

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is increasingly clear that the Prime Minister stands up for big business and not people.

Last year, people were horrified to learn that the big banks were aggressively selling services that people did not need. We have now learned that the situation was even worse than we thought and that the Liberal government whitewashed the report. Even worse, it gave the big banks the opportunity to whitewash it.

When will the Prime Minister admit that he is there for the richest companies but not for the people?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. gentleman has drawn the wrong conclusion. As a matter of fact, as a result of the report, we have introduced legislation that prohibits the banks from providing misleading information and exerting undue pressure. It requires the banks to have a policy in place to make consumers receive the products that are appropriate to them and increases the penalties on the banks from $500,000 to $10 million.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, since we launched our lower cellphone bill campaign, we have been swamped with stories from mistreated Canadians. Now we learn the agency tasked with protecting Canadians from the banks changed its report on aggressive sales tactics because the banks asked. Even a requirement that banks work in the best interests of consumers was removed. Experts say this shows a cozy relationship between banks, the agency and the Liberal government.

Why is the government supporting billionaire banks and not Canadians?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, in both official languages, he is still wrong. As a result of the work investigating this situation, the government has introduced legislation that prohibits the banks from providing misleading information. It prohibits the banks from exerting undue pressure. It requires the banks to have policies in place to ensure consumers receive the products that are appropriate to them. It increases the penalties on the banks from $500,000 to $10 million. Parliament decides.

Justice

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister was accused of strong-arming the former attorney general to interfere in a criminal prosecution. He denied it. She provided proof. Then the Prime Minister was accused of firing her for refusing to interfere. Again, he denied it. Again, she provided proof. The Prime Minister was accused of being aware that the former attorney general raised her concerns with the officials at the PMO. He denied it. Again, she provided proof.

Does the Prime Minister realize that if he repeats these denials in the court of law he will be charged with perjury?

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

Mr. Speaker, all the facts in this matter are public, and they are public because the Prime Minister provided an unprecedented waiver. He waived solicitor-client privilege as well as cabinet confidence so Canadians could decide for themselves.

I know the Conservatives believe they have to decide for all Canadians. The Conservatives will continue to represent Conservatives. The Conservatives will continue to focus on us.

We will focus on all Canadians. That is exactly why Canada is better off today than it was under 10 years of Stephen Harper. However, we have a lot more work to do. I encourage us to start talking about policy that matters.

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, she is right. Canadians do know the facts.

The Prime Minister said that The Globe and Mail allegations of pressure on the former attorney general were false. We now know that is not true. He said that the former attorney general never came to him to speak of her concerns. We now know that is not true. He said that it was all about protecting jobs, but we know now that also is not true.

Does the Prime Minister realize that if he repeats these falsehoods in court he will be charged with perjury?

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

Mr. Speaker, perhaps I can help hon. members out.

The Conservatives said that the justice committee would not meet. That turned out to be false. The Conservatives said that witnesses would not get to appear. That turned out to be false. The Conservatives said that the Prime Minister would not waive solicitor-client privilege or cabinet confidence. That turned out to be false.

All facts are public for Canadians to hear. Canadians deserve to get to hear the truth and that is exactly why all the matters from the justice committee on this issue were in public.

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

Mr. Speaker, on February 7, the Prime Minister said that the former attorney general's story and claims were false, but now the media, Canadians and, even worse, the Liberal caucus, know the truth.

Does the Prime Minister realize that he would be guilty of perjury if he repeated those same comments in court?

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

Mr. Speaker, this is not the first time that the Conservative leader and his party have misled Canadians with false and defamatory statements.

This is not the first time that we have sent a letter to the Leader of the Opposition because he continues to repeat falsehoods. They erased public statements, their tweets, from December, February, and now March, because they know that they should have a little respect for our institutions—not a lot, just a little.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would remind the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons that nothing has changed since the Prime Minister put the Leader of the Opposition on notice regarding the statement he made on March 29. The Leader of the Opposition has publicly stated to the media that he stands by his statement.

That being said, it is different for the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister says things that are not true. Is he prepared to come to court and say the same thing, knowing that he would be committing perjury?

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

Mr. Speaker, on a number of occasions the Leader of the Opposition, the Conservative leader, was forced to delete tweets and reword his statements. He changed the words he used and is now repeating the words he changed, but the facts are clear. After receiving letters from the Prime Minister and the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, the Leader of the Opposition deleted the tweets and changed the words because he knew full well that action could be taken—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Lakeland. Order.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's letter was about the opposition leader's statement. It has nothing to do with tweets.

The Prime Minister said, over and over, that no one ever warned him that his pressure to interfere in the criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin was political interference and was wrong. However, last week he himself admitted that on September 17 that the former attorney general directly advised him, in person, to back off. Now, even though he caught himself in his own words, he still threatens to sue the Leader of the Opposition.

Does the Prime Minister know that if he repeats his initial denials in court he will commit perjury?

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

Mr. Speaker, the first step in any situation, as the members are referring to, is to put the leader of the official opposition on notice. We have now put the leader of the official opposition on notice numerous times.

Canadians can rest assured that we will not stand idly by, while those Conservatives continue to mislead Canadians. That is exactly why we provided them notice. What did the leader of the official opposition do? He deleted tweets and he retracted online statements. He knows very well that the notice he was served has consequences.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I would remind the hon. member for Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier and other hon. members that each side has a turn and everyone has to wait their turn to speak.

It is now the hon. member for Lakeland's turn to speak.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the opposition leader did not retract any statements. In fact, he repeated every single word yesterday.

We look forward to the Prime Minister's testifying in court under oath, where he cannot control the process, he cannot control the people and he cannot shut it down like he killed two investigations. For once in his life, he will have to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Does he actually have the backbone to set a date? When will we see him in court?

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

Mr. Speaker, I have answered that question on numerous occasions. The members know very well that the leader of the official opposition was put on notice. They know very well that he has deleted tweets and retracted comments.

What do they do? The Conservatives continue to mislead Canadians. They mislead Canadians because they have no plan for the environment and no plan for the economy. However, what they do have is a plan to mislead Canadians.

That is exactly why, when it comes to programs and services available to Canadians, the Conservatives choose to mislead Canadians by refusing to admit that there is a climate action incentive. Luckily they cannot do that in New Brunswick, but they sure did in—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Essex.

[Tracey Ramsey, NDP, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as much as this Prime Minister wants to change the channel, Canadians still want the truth on his political interference in the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin. The Prime Minister says that he has full confidence in committees, the same ones the Liberals have shut down debate on.

The OECD is not letting it go, and that is why it referred the case to its working group on bribery. The Prime Minister's word is not going to cut it. This is a stain on Canada's international reputation.

Will the Prime Minister save us the embarrassment and launch a public independent inquiry?