House of Commons Hansard #401 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was north.

Topics

JusticeOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

I thank the hon. member for Banff—Airdrie.

The hon. member for Carleton.

JusticeOral Questions

2:45 p.m.

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON

Mr. Speaker, one cannot be a lawmaker if one is a lawbreaker.

We know that the Prime Minister has broken the law, not just the ethics law that he broke by accepting gifts from someone seeking a government grant, but he broke the Parliament of Canada Act to kick two of his members out of caucus as part of the cover-up in the SNC-Lavalin scandal.

If the Prime Minister is so confident that anything he said in this matter is true, when will he launch his lawsuit so we can put him on the stand and question him under oath?

JusticeOral Questions

2:45 p.m.

Toronto Centre Ontario

Liberal

Bill Morneau LiberalMinister of Finance

Mr. Speaker, the critic from Carleton knows that this question has already been answered.

What we want to do in the House is talk about the budget that we put forward for all Canadians. We put forward a budget that is going to help young people have the possibility of getting into their first home. We put in place a budget that is going to help students be able to retire their debt earlier in their post-student life. We put in place a budget that is going to help people get the sort of ability to face up to a changing world with the training that they need.

We are proud of what we put forward for Canadians and we look forward to talking about it more.

The EnvironmentOral Questions

2:45 p.m.

NDP

Niki Ashton NDP Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB

Mr. Speaker, last week I asked the government to address urgent food insecurity in our north because of climate change.

Did it ever deliver, giving $12 million to Loblaws, a company headed up by the second-richest Canadian. The Liberals also gave $4.5 billion to a rich American oil company. In the eyes of the Liberal government, it is clear that every problem can be solved by giving money to its billionaire friends.

Meanwhile, first nations already hurting from climate change get nothing. Instead of favours for the billionaire friends, when will the government stand up for first nations and Canadians already hurting?

The EnvironmentOral Questions

2:45 p.m.

Ottawa Centre Ontario

Liberal

Catherine McKenna LiberalMinister of Environment and Climate Change

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to actually talk about climate change and the action our government is taking.

We are phasing out coal, investing in renewables and having a just transition for workers. We are investing in clean solutions so innovators, entrepreneurs across the country create good jobs. We are of course investing in energy efficiency.

The program the member opposite is talking about was a fair and open competition. It was based on the most submissions, the most bang for the buck. It will remove 50,000 cars off the road. The company in question is paying three-quarters of the cost.

The real question Canadians want answered is—

The EnvironmentOral Questions

2:45 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

Order, please. I would ask the hon. member for Battle River—Crowfoot and others not to show disrespect to other members in the House.

The hon. member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie.

The EnvironmentOral Questions

2:45 p.m.

NDP

Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC

Mr. Speaker, when the IPCC report gave us 12 years to take action on global warming, how did the Liberals respond? They purchased a pipeline. When we learned that Canada is warming at twice the rate of the rest of the planet, how did the Liberals respond? They released a budget that keeps giving oil companies billions of dollars. Now we have learned that our glaciers in the far north are disappearing and melting twice as fast as the others around the world. What are the Liberals doing? They are giving Loblaws $12 million for refrigerators.

What exactly is it going to take for the Liberals to do something? Does one of their multimillionaire buddies need to move to the far north?

The EnvironmentOral Questions

2:45 p.m.

Ottawa Centre Ontario

Liberal

Catherine McKenna LiberalMinister of Environment and Climate Change

Mr. Speaker, I am always happy to stand up and talk about our ambitious climate change plan. We are eliminating coal. We are investing in renewables. We are ensuring a just transition for communities and workers. We are investing in clean technology to create good jobs here. We are investing in energy efficiency measures.

Yes, we launched some competitions to determine who could achieve the greatest emissions reductions. That is why the company that won the competition is going to achieve carbon reductions equal to taking 50,000 cars—

The EnvironmentOral Questions

2:45 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

The hon. member for Willowdale.

HousingOral Questions

2:45 p.m.

Liberal

Ali Ehsassi Liberal Willowdale, ON

Mr. Speaker, the Toronto Community Housing Corporation is the largest social housing provider in Canada and the second-largest in North America.

Last week, the Prime Minister was in Toronto to make a $1.3 billion housing announcement, the largest federal housing investment in Canadian history. Could the Minister of Families, Children, and Social Development inform the House how this record investment will provide tens of thousands of Toronto families safe and affordable homes?

HousingOral Questions

2:45 p.m.

Québec Québec

Liberal

Jean-Yves Duclos LiberalMinister of Families

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for Willowdale for his hard work on behalf of the people of Toronto.

We believe that every Canadian should have a safe and affordable home. That is why we launched the first-ever national housing strategy, a $40 billion plan. Sorry, it is a $55 billion plan because of budget 2019. That is why we were so pleased last Friday to announce a very historic investment in the city of Toronto, helping to renovate, renew and reconstruct the community homes of 58,000 families in Toronto. That is why we will keep working very hard to give every Canadian a safe and affordable place to call home.

JusticeOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Conservative

Jacques Gourde Conservative Lévis—Lotbinière, QC

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's saga of corruption and political interference continues. After pulling out all the stops to kill the story and hide the truth from Canadians, the Prime Minister is now resorting to intimidation tactics in a bid to silence the Leader of the Opposition.

Will the Prime Minister make good on his threat as soon as possible? Canadians want the truth.

JusticeOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Waterloo Ontario

Liberal

Bardish Chagger LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister wanted to make sure Canadians heard the truth. That is why he waived solicitor-client privilege and cabinet confidence.

The Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights called witnesses. The witnesses came to testify—

JusticeOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

Order. I am being told that the interpretation was not working at the beginning of the member's intervention. Apparently the problem has now been fixed.

The hon. Leader of the Government in the House of Commons.

JusticeOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Liberal

Bardish Chagger Liberal Waterloo, ON

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister wanted to make sure Canadians heard the truth. That is why he waived solicitor-client privilege and cabinet confidence.

The Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights called witnesses, and the witnesses came and testified. All the facts are now public, and Canadians can hear them for themselves.

The interesting thing is that after the Leader of the Opposition was served notice last week, he deleted the tweets because he knows he cannot make defamatory statements.

JusticeOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Conservative

Jacques Gourde Conservative Lévis—Lotbinière, QC

Mr. Speaker, the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics is an excellent place to disclose new information on the Prime Minister's political interference, especially when that information will help the Ethics Commissioner in his upcoming investigation.

Will the Prime Minister waive any restrictions that might prevent witnesses from appearing and speaking freely before the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics? Canadians still want to know the truth.

JusticeOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Waterloo Ontario

Liberal

Bardish Chagger LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, ensuring that Canadians could hear and know the truth is precisely why the Prime Minister waived cabinet confidence and solicitor-client privilege.

All the facts have now been made public. Members of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights made their own decisions. That is how we operate on this side of the House.

We can see that the Conservatives get direction from the Leader of the Opposition, but our MPs can make their own decisions. Members of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics will proceed as they see fit.

JusticeOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Conservative

Peter Kent Conservative Thornhill, ON

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has shut down every parliamentary opportunity to examine fully his attempted interference in the SNC-Lavalin corruption trial. By threatening a lawsuit, he suddenly seems to favour litigating details of his scandal under oath in a public court—well, not really. We know it is just a desperate ruse.

However, there is another opportunity this afternoon. Will the Prime Minister encourage the Liberal members of the ethics committee to support my motion to invite him and 11 other witnesses to speak without constraint about this sorry affair?

JusticeOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Waterloo Ontario

Liberal

Bardish Chagger LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, this matter has been addressed numerous times in the House, but I will definitely answer it once again.

We believe that Canadians should get to hear the truth. That is exactly why the members of the justice committee themselves set parameters for a discussion: to ensure the truth could be shared with Canadians. That is exactly why the Prime Minister waived solicitor-client privilege as well as cabinet confidence. This is the first time in the history of the country that this has been done.

However, it is important that Canadians get to know. That is exactly why all the facts are now public. The Conservatives are misleading Canadians, and that is what they continue to do. That is why they were served notice and then all of a sudden made some changes.

JusticeOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

Order. I know that the hon. member for Lévis—Lotbinière got everyone excited. That is no ill reflection on the hon. member for Thornhill, of course, but let us remember that each person has to be listened to.

The hon. member for Thornhill has the floor.

JusticeOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Conservative

Peter Kent Conservative Thornhill, ON

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has shown little regard for anyone but himself in this ever-deepening scandal. The banal excuses and empty platitudes about his respect for the rule of law and the independence of committees stand in stark contrast to the trail of resignations, removals and character smearing left in his self-serving wake.

Again, will the Prime Minister finally order his minions to stand down and encourage the Liberal members of the ethics committee to freely vote their conscience?

JusticeOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Waterloo Ontario

Liberal

Bardish Chagger LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, what is clear is that the member is projecting. That member and his benches are minions of the leader of the official opposition.

Rather than point fingers, the member should know very well that when it comes to our members, they make their own decisions. The Conservatives cannot fathom that people do not agree with them. They have not had to endure them often, but we in the Liberal benches have tough conversations. We agree to disagree and we try to find compromise where it is possible.

It is with those qualities that we know that Canadians are better off today than they were under 10 years—

JusticeOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

JusticeOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

Order. I do not know that I have heard of “minions” described as unparliamentary, but people should be judicious, and I think we should be careful how we describe each other. There are members in the House—

JusticeOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!