House of Commons Hansard #407 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was farmers.
Jacques Gourde Conservative Lévis—Lotbinière, QC
Mr. Speaker, pay, ask and you shall receive. There seem to be plenty of made-to-measure contracts to go around for Liberal insiders, but slim pickings for outsiders. La Presse and The Globe and Mail got their hands on the key to solving this mystery: a privileged communication between a law firm and a deputy minister that magically turned into a lucrative $711-per-hour contract.
Can the Liberal leader confirm the existence of this August 14, 2017, communication, yes or no?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, departmental officials followed the appropriate rules in making the decision. Once again, I find it a bit rich that the Conservatives would go after me on ethical and fundraising issues when they continue to hold secret private fundraisers with their leader. We invite the media to be part of our events. We do not hold our events in millionaires' private homes. We hold them in public places. We will continue to be open and transparent about our fundraising. We expect the Leader of the Opposition to do likewise.
Mark Strahl Conservative Chilliwack—Hope, BC
Mr. Speaker, SNC-Lavalin is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the Liberals looking out for their well-connected friends. They also awarded a sole-sourced contract to a law firm, where the two lead lawyers pocketing tax dollars on the $75,000 contract had both been previously employed by the Liberal Party.
On Monday, the justice minister tried to blame his department, but he has now admitted it was the Liberals themselves who signed off on this shady deal.
Why does the Liberal leader find it so easy to grease the skids for his Liberal friends, but so hard to conduct himself in an ethical fashion?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, all legal service contracts go through diligent and accountable processes. Contracts went through the Department of Justice for projects that were unrelated to one another. Both contracts followed all appropriate rules and policies of the department.
We will continue to ensure that the decision process respects all rules.
Karine Trudel NDP Jonquière, QC
Mr. Speaker, thousands of people have come together today to mark International Workers' Day.
As elected officials, it is our duty to improve their future, but the government has failed to deliver. Take, for example, the Phoenix fiasco, the ongoing wage gap between men and women, the special legislation for Canada Post, the uncertainty in the steel, aluminum and forestry industries, and the pensions that were stolen from Sears pensioners and others. The NDP stands with workers.
When will the Prime Minister stop trampling workers' right and take action on their behalf?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
On the contrary, Mr. Speaker, we are the ones who will always stand up to defend workers. We introduced historic pay equity legislation, which will finally close the gender wage gap in an open and proactive manner.
We have continued to stand up for the interests of forestry workers. We are always there to support steel and aluminum workers. We signed international trade agreements that help our workers and that will create prosperity
We will continue to create jobs in Canada, like the 900,000 jobs that we created over the past three years—
Niki Ashton NDP Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB
Mr. Speaker, May Day is a day to celebrate working people, yet today we hear one more example of how the government is prioritizing its billionaire friends instead. Not only did the government give money to Loblaws to buy fridges, but the government gave it privileged access in exchange for generous donations from lobbyists.
The reality is that as the billionaire class thrives, workers in Canada are paying the price. A recent OECD report showed that the middle class in our country is shrinking. Instead of doing favours for their billionaire friends, where is the Liberal government's defence of working people?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, our government has been unequivocal in our support for labour, and we are happy to celebrate that this May Day.
There is no question that since forming government, we passed Bill C-4 to eliminate the unfair Bill C-525 and Bill C-377 that Harper passed. We amended the Canada Labour Code to give federally regulated employees the right to flexible work arrangements and implement different leaves. We strengthened occupational health and safety standards. We passed Bill C-65 to protect federally regulated employees from workplace harassment and violence.
We will continually stand up for labour and stand up for workers across Canada.
Luc Berthold Conservative Mégantic—L'Érable, QC
Mr. Speaker, it is time to stand up for canola producers. After more than two months of inaction, it took three requests for an emergency meeting of the committee, nine requests for an emergency debate in the House, calls by producers and provincial premiers and intervention by the Leader of the Opposition for the Liberal leader to understand the pressing need for action in this file. He has heard the opposition's call for increased support, but there is no ambassador and no complaint before the WTO. Instead of sending a mission to China, he is sending his minister to Japan. He is still confused.
Why has the Liberal leader not shown some backbone in defending canola producers?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have been asking for help for canola producers for just a few days. We have been working on it for weeks. We stand in solidarity with agricultural families and we are working on resolving this matter.
We have announced changes to the advance payments program. We are increasing the maximum loan limit for all farmers to $1 million. We are increasing the interest-free portion for canola producers to $500,000.
We will continue to look for new markets. We have announced trade missions to Japan and South Korea. Thanks to our trade agreements, businesses now have preferred access to more than 1.5 billion new customers. We will continue—
Randy Hoback Conservative Prince Albert, SK
Mr. Speaker, today's two-months-too-late announcement by the Liberals shows just how out of touch they are with farmers and rural Canada. We welcome any and all support for farmers, but a few tweaks to a government program is not good enough. The canola crisis is a direct result of the Liberal leader's bungling of Canada's relationship with its second-largest trading partner. Farmers need the issue resolved and market access restored.
The current Liberal leader created the problem. Where is the solution?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, it troubles me to hear the Conservatives belittling what the Canola Council and the canola farmers have been asking for for weeks. We were happy to deliver a $500,000 interest-free loan for canola farmers, just like they have been asking for.
We are going to continue to stand up for our farmers, the same way we stand up for our farmers by giving them new access to new markets. With our signing of the CPTPP, of a renewed NAFTA and of CETA, our producers have access to two-thirds of the global economy, and we are now the only G7 country with a free trade deal with every other G7 country.
The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan
Having asked the question, I would invite the hon. member for Prince Albert not to be speaking after he no longer has the floor. We do like to hear him when he has the floor, but then it is someone else's turn.
Now it is the turn of the hon. member for Niagara West.
Dean Allison Conservative Niagara West, ON
Mr. Speaker, it has been two months since the Chinese government banned imports of Canadian canola. Earlier this week, the Liberal leader was confusing China and Japan. This morning, the Liberals announced their plan to resolve the deepening crisis and dispute with China, and get this, by sending a trade mission to Japan. I cannot make this stuff up.
When will the Liberal leader finally get serious and launch a trade complaint against China?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, we have been engaged on this issue with China since the very beginning, first with our concerns around two Canadians who were arbitrarily detained by Chinese authorities, and now with our concern that the Chinese are using flimsy phytosanitary excuses in regard to canola when, as we all know, Canadian canola is the best and the cleanest in the world.
We are going to continue to stand up for our farmers. We are going to continue to stand up for Canadians. We are going to continue to work with all our partners internationally to make sure that we resolve this situation.
Erin O'Toole Conservative Durham, ON
Mr. Speaker, there is a lot of hand-waving and lofty language from the Liberal leader today, but as two hon. former Liberals in that corner know, this Prime Minister is not always as advertised. His hand-picked Liberal ambassador to China resigned three months ago. Canadian citizens are paying the price for his inaction. Our exporters are paying the price for his inaction and incompetence. When will he nominate a new ambassador to China to turn around this crisis?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, once again, the Conservatives are all over the place on what they think they want on the world stage. On the one hand, we have to withdraw money from Asian infrastructure banks that are doing good work across the continent. On the other hand, the Conservatives want us to be reaching out and be friendlier with China. On the other hand, they want us to draw in international supports. On the other hand, they want us to push back harder. They do not know what they are doing.
On this side of the House, we are focused on standing up for Canadians, standing up for farmers and resolving this international difference.
Alistair MacGregor NDP Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC
Mr. Speaker, the west coast suffered through a decade of Conservative mismanagement of Pacific wild salmon, including cuts to DFO and gutting habitat protection. Now we have a Liberal government that has spent billions of dollars on a leaky pipeline and will increase tanker traffic in our sensitive marine environment, putting salmon and whales at risk. Vancouver Island coastal communities have had enough. They want a full recovery plan. Will the Prime Minister listen to them, and to coastal leaders like Chief Bob Chamberlin, and protect wild salmon?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, protection of wild stocks in B.C. is a priority for our government. With the province, we created the B.C. salmon restoration and innovation fund, contributing $100 million. We also endowed $5 million to the Pacific salmon endowment fund. Fifteen of 16 southern B.C. chinook runs are endangered, threatened or of special concern. We understand the concerns of fishing and tourism industries, but these closures will be crucial in helping the recovery of these stocks. We know that putting the interests of salmon first is putting the interests of British Columbians first.
Robert Aubin NDP Trois-Rivières, QC
Mr. Speaker, last week the Minister of Transport reassured Jason Kenney by saying that building the pipeline was his government's number one priority. Then, on Monday, he reassured flood victims by saying that inaction is costly, that the science is clear and that we must act now. That is rich.
Does the Prime Minister realize that the only way the economy and the environment can go hand in hand is if we focus on a green economy and not on subsidies for the oil companies?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, once again, the NDP does not understand that the economy and the environment go hand in hand. I congratulate them on acknowledging that at least once. The NDP does not understand that the way to advance and protect the environment and create jobs for communities and families is to be responsible on both fronts.
Indeed, we will ensure that our exports are transported safely and sent to countries other than the United States, but we will also put a price on pollution. We will invest in green energy. We will also do our duty to protect—