Debates of April 2nd, 2019

Justice

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

Mr. Speaker, let the facts speak for themselves. The justice committee, which has members of all recognized parties—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. It is shameful that I cannot hear the answer. Members need to behave in a way that Canadians can appreciate. Canadians do not appreciate this kind of behaviour of heckling, so let us not have any of it.

The hon. government House leader has the floor.

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speaker, members from all recognized parties in the House sit on the justice committee. The justice committee met and set parameters when it comes to these allegations.

The Conservatives said that the justice committee would never meet. It met for over five weeks on this issue, which is longer than most pieces of legislation are even studied. It called witnesses, and to ensure that witnesses would be able to share with Canadians, the Prime Minister waived solicitor-client privilege as well as cabinet confidence. All matters are public for Canadians to see.

Pharmacare

[Karine Trudel, NDP, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Budget Officer's report reveals that the Liberals are intentionally making Canadians pay more for their medications. It shows that the free trade agreement with the United States will cause prices to go up. Canadians will collectively be paying at least $169 million more by 2029. Millions of people are already struggling to afford their prescription drugs, and this agreement will only make things worse. The government needs to lower prices for everyone.

Why do the Liberals keep signing trade deals that raise drug prices?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, our government knows how proud Canadians are of their public health care system. It is part of our identity as Canadians. We also know that access to drugs is an important issue for many Canadians. That is why budget 2019 contains bold, concrete measures to lay the groundwork for a national pharmacare system. Our government will always stand up for our public health care system.

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

Mr. Speaker, health care in northern Saskatchewan is only getting harder. In Meadow Lake, six doctors and one nurse practitioner will be leaving the community by the end of the summer. With the closure of STC, more seniors will not have access to health care.

Prescriptions are getting more expensive because of this government, and seniors and elders are already forced to choose between their groceries and their medicine.

When will the Liberals make pharmacare universal so that all people across northern Saskatchewan can get the help they need?

[Seamus O'Regan, Minister of Indigenous Services, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, our government is working to close the unacceptable gap in accessing quality health care that exists between between indigenous and non-indigenous people.

To close that gap, I am proud to report that 52 new community-led mental wellness teams are now serving 344 communities. Over 214,000 health-related requests for first nations children have been approved under Jordan's principle.

We are working with indigenous partners in northern Saskatchewan and across the country to reach arrangements that support indigenous control of health care delivery for indigenous peoples.

National Defence

[Neil Ellis, Liberal, Bay of Quinte, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this week we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Since its foundation on April 4, 1949, NATO has been a cornerstone of Canadian defence and security policy. As a founding member, we have contributed to every NATO operation over the past seven decades and remain a leader with the alliance.

On this anniversary, can the Minister of National Defence please update the House on our government's commitment to international peace and security and leadership in NATO?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Bay of Quinte for his incredible support of our Canadian Armed Forces.

Canada is a founding member of NATO. We have contributed to every NATO operation over the past seven decades and remain a leader within the alliance. We are leading a multinational battle group in Latvia and we are commanding the NATO training mission in Iraq. These contributions are a clear demonstration to the alliance on this milestone anniversary.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank the women and men of the Canadian Armed Forces who serve us every single day.

Justice

[Leona Alleslev, Conservative, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is the job of all members of Parliament to act in the best interest of Canada. That is exactly what the former attorney general was doing in protecting our rule of law from political interference, yet she and the former president of the Treasury Board have been smeared, intimidated and silenced for doing what Canadians expect of all of us.

Should acting on principle come with such a devastating cost? Why is the Prime Minister punishing these women for telling the truth about his corruption?

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

Mr. Speaker, we believe that Canadians should be able to hear and decide for themselves, and that is exactly why the Prime Minister waived solicitor-client privilege as well as cabinet confidence. This is something that has not been done, something unprecedented, because it is important that Canadians be able to hear.

Members who sit on the justice committee had meetings on this matter for over five weeks, and Canadians were able to hear for themselves. Members who sit on the committee actually asked for additional information, and they have received that additional information. Guess what? That information is public too.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, when the former attorney general stood up and spoke her truth, when she functioned with integrity, she was fired. The Prime Minister does not like it when strong and intelligent, capable women stand up to him. As Michael Wernick said, we know how he can get when he is in a mood.

The Prime Minister has done everything that he possibly can to try to berate and discredit the former attorney general, but every time he attacks her, she comes forward with more and more evidence to prove her point.

Why is the Prime Minister punishing strong women who stand up to him?

[Maryam Monsef, Minister of International Development and Minister for Women and Gender Equality, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, I believe my colleague's question has been addressed several times in this House.

Canadians want to know why it is that the Conservatives voted against proactive pay equity legislation. They want to know why they voted against child care, why they voted against funding to support single moms, why they voted against funding to support a housing strategy that puts a roof over women's heads so they do not have to stay in abusive relationships and why they voted against money for sexual assault centres.

Our record speaks for itself, and so does theirs.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, “Rather than letting authority be the truth, let the truth be the authority. If I had succumbed to interpreting the beliefs of others to be the truth, I never would have been able to push forward in the face of racism and misogyny”.

Misogyny imposes social costs on women who do not conform and who speak truth to power. Is that why the Liberal Party is so hell-bent on smearing the former attorney general and turfing her from the party?

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

Mr. Speaker, Canadians should get to hear, and once again, that is exactly why the Prime Minister waived solicitor-client privilege as well as cabinet confidence. Let me share this quote from the former attorney general when she appeared at committee:

I really want to say this, and I'll be brief. I do not want members of this committee or Canadians to think that the integrity of our institutions has somehow evaporated. The integrity of our justice system, the integrity of the director of public prosecutions and prosecutors, is intact. So I don't want to create fear that this is not the case.

We have confidence in our institutions, and Canadians can as well.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, there are 338 women from across the country who are here as part of a program to encourage more women to run for office. Members of that party went to a cocktail reception with them, took pictures with them, tweeted about them, and then walked across the street and went into a caucus meeting after smearing the former attorney general because she spoke truth to power.

Why is the Liberal Party so hell-bent on punishing the former attorney general for speaking her truth?

[Maryam Monsef, Minister of International Development and Minister for Women and Gender Equality, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, we reject entirely the premise of that question. What I would like to know, and what those 338 young women want to know, is why the Conservatives voted against the funding to bring them here to Ottawa, why they voted against funding to support women entrepreneurs and why they voted against funding to ensure that Canadians across the country have opportunities to sit around decision-making tables through Bill C-25. Our record speaks for itself; so does theirs.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. I would ask the hon. member for Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies and others not to be yelling when someone else has the floor. I would ask members to come to order.

The hon. member for Windsor West.

Automotive Industry

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Fiat Chrysler is investing $4.5 billion in Detroit, creating 6,500 jobs. I asked the minister to set up a task force to ensure that Canadian workers and Canadian companies could benefit from this next-generation investment. The minister has yet to respond.

Instead, he slapped workers in the face by leaving out the Canadian-made electric Chrysler Pacifica from the vehicle incentive program in the Liberals' budget. The minister was forced to reverse the government's blunder, but we still need a new product to protect the Windsor workers and 1,500 jobs are on the line.

What is the point of his $2-billion fund if he never uses it? Is there finally going to be some investment?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to correct the record. The $2-billion fund that the member opposite is referring to is the strategic innovation fund, and absolutely the automotive sector has benefited from that fund. We have seen 40 projects move forward, resulting in six billion dollars' worth of new investments in the automotive sector since we formed government in 2015. We have seen thousands of jobs created.

At the same time, we recognize that the Fiat Chrysler third shift closure is very difficult for the workers and their families in the community of Windsor. We will continue to work with the union and the leadership to find a solution and get new mandates here in Canada.

Veterans Affairs

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Veterans Affairs Canada has yet again failed to meet its service standards in two-thirds of its programs. Some results were as low as 23%. That is not acceptable. Most programs had even worse results than in the previous year. The problem continues.

The Liberals have had plenty of time to fix things for veterans, and have failed to do so. It is an insult to every Canadian who has served this country. What will the government do to serve the people who served us so well?

[Stéphane Lauzon, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, our government is determined to serve Canada's veterans and to provide them with the care and support they need.

We have invested over $10 billion in additional funding for Canadian veterans and their families, particularly by launching the pension for life, creating an education and training benefit, and restoring access to critical support, access that the Conservatives had cut for 10 years. They made cuts to PTSD treatment centres and doctor positions. We have restored the confidence of veterans.

Justice

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, let us be very clear. The SNC-Lavalin scandal is about the Prime Minister's own corruption. The scandal is on him. When the story first broke, he said it was false and that there was nothing to see here. Then, when the evidence mounted, he changed his story again and again.

Why is the Prime Minister going to such great lengths to hide his unethical behaviour from Canadians? Why will he not just end the cover-up and tell Canadians the truth?