Debates of May 1st, 2019

Ethics

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, when the Liberal Party became aware of the issue, it quickly returned the contributions, in accordance with Elections Canada rules. The question for the member opposite, who is so concerned with ethics, is this: why is his leader continuing to hold secret, private fundraisers that do not invite the media, are in big, fancy private homes and are not open to Canadians?

While we are at it, I will take no lessons from the party that in every single one of the past four elections was guilty of breaking Elections Canada laws.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is pretty rich to hear about ethics and accountability from these Liberals and that Liberal leader. Since taking office, the Liberal leader quickly established a pattern of scandal. Everyone knows about the Liberal leader's attempted interference in a criminal trial. Now it has come out that he is getting illegal donations from an American marijuana tycoon.

Can the Liberal leader confirm if the RCMP has contacted him, his ministers or his staff regarding these or their many other scandals?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, when we became aware of the ineligible donation, we immediately refunded that donation. That is what Canadians expect with our Elections Canada laws.

It was quite disturbing yesterday to hear a Conservative MP attacking the neutrality of Elections Canada and our institutions, which all Canadians need to support. Instead of attacking Elections Canada, Conservatives should simply stop breaking election laws, laws that they broke during every single one of the past four elections.

Public Safety

[Pat Finnigan, Liberal, Miramichi—Grand Lake, NB]

Mr. Speaker, as everyone is aware, flooding has greatly affected many communities from Ontario, Quebec and in my own province of New Brunswick, including my riding of Miramichi—Grand Lake, where last year's crest was the highest on record. We have surpassed that mark.

Our government responded quickly to the province's request for support by deploying our armed forces and other resources.

Since most Canadians are aware of the devastating effects of climate change, could the Prime Minister tell us how our government plans to protect our communities in the long term?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Miramichi—Grand Lake for his question and the hard work he does for his constituents.

Our thoughts are with all those affected by the flooding. We thank the first responders, the members of the armed forces, and especially the volunteers who have been working hard to save their neighbours' homes.

With climate change, we are going to be seeing more and more extreme weather events. We are helping communities in the aftermath of those events. Budget 2019 allocates $2 billion to help communities better manage the risks associated with natural hazards such as flooding.

Justice

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

Mr. Speaker, every single week since the SNC-Lavalin scandal broke, the opposition has asked the Liberal leader whether or not the RCMP has contacted him or any of his ministers or staff with regard to the SNC-Lavalin scandal. Today when we asked the question, he skirted the answer. He did not answer.

I am going to ask him very directly. Has the RCMP contacted either the Liberal leader, any of his ministers, his senior staff or party leadership with regard to the SNC-Lavalin scandal?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, no.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. Order. The hon. member for Chilliwack—Hope will come to order.

The hon. member for Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques.

Foreign Affairs

[Guy Caron, NDP, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after Jamal Khashoggi was brutally murdered, the Prime Minister announced on October 25 that Canada would review the permit to export arms to Saudi Arabia. That was six months ago, but nothing more has been said since. The radio silence is almost as deafening as Canada's silence on the 37 beheadings that took place in that country on April 23.

Some countries responded without hesitation. Less than a month after Khashoggi was slain, Germany, Finland and Denmark halted arms exports to Saudi Arabia.

What is taking so long? Will the Prime Minister finally walk the talk and ban arms sales to Saudi Arabia?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we will always stand up in defence of human rights around the world.

We did indeed condemn the Saudi executions. When I met with Mohammad bin Salman in Argentina, I told him it was utterly unacceptable and expressed my grave concern. As Canadians, we are all concerned about human rights in Saudi Arabia. We will keep working on this issue because that is what Canadians and people around the world expect from Canada.

The Environment

[Kim Rudd, Liberal, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it has been more than a year since the party opposite promised a climate plan, and it still has not been delivered. Frankly, Canadians and the environment cannot wait.

Instead, Conservatives are busy misleading Canadians by refusing to provide them with information on money that is rightfully theirs. Rather than spending their time misleading Canadians about our plan, the Conservatives should spend their time coming up with a plan to fight climate change.

Could the Prime Minister please update the House on the actions our government is taking to fight climate change and grow the economy?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Northumberland—Peterborough South for her hard work and for her question.

We are fighting climate change while making life more affordable for Canadians. Pricing pollution is the most affordable and effective way to cut pollution. For Canadian families, our plan will mean a cleaner environment and more money in their pockets. That was confirmed by the Parliamentary Budget Officer.

While the members opposite hide this fact from their constituents as they struggle with their backroom operatives and big oil executives to come up with their plan, we are working for a better future for our kids and grandkids.

Justice

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, since the Prime Minister likes to keep track of the number of days, I have one for him. It has been 31 days since the Prime Minister threatened to sue me for telling the truth about his interference in a criminal prosecution.

I have repeated all my allegations outside the House and have been waiting for our day in court, where he can finally testify for himself under oath. Can the Prime Minister tell me when I can expect the court proceedings to commence, or, like everything else with him, was it all just a big act?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I can understand that the Leader of the Opposition wants to continue to focus on me, but I am not going to focus on them. I am going to stay focused on Canadians. I am going to tell them the truth about what we are doing, which includes lowering taxes for the middle class and raising them on the wealthiest 1%, investing in infrastructure right across the country and continuing to demonstrate that every—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. Order. There is far too much noise. I have heard very many times today from many members. One in particular would be the member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, whom we all love to hear from when he has the floor. I would encourage all members to wait until they have the floor before they speak.

I think they could talk to their whip or perhaps their House leader about that, but the Right Hon. Prime Minister has the floor.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, while the Conservatives continue to focus on politics and on me, I am going to stay focused on Canadians and what we are doing every day to grow the economy, to protect jobs, to lift Canadians out of poverty. That is what Canadians voted for in 2015. That is what we are going to continue to do.

Indigenous Affairs

[Hunter Tootoo, Independent, Nunavut, NU]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister.

Recently, the government generously funded ITK to tackle critical issues facing the Inuit in Canada, like housing and health care. The problem is the majority of Canada's Inuit live in Nunavut. The Government of Nunavut has been cut out of the strategic planning and cut off from the funding. The Government of Nunavut is responsible for the delivery of programs and services, not ITK. Therefore, this makes no sense whatsoever.

Why has the Prime Minister failed to deal directly with the Government of Nunavut to ensure it has the resources to tackle these issues?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am always very pleased to talk to Premier Savikataaq and to work with his government. However, at the same time, I will make no apologies for a distinctions-based approach to reconciliation that treats indigenous communities and nations as full partners. Indeed, as we move forward on true Crown-indigenous partnerships, the work we are doing directly with the ITK complements the important work done by the territorial government.

We believe in creating more partnerships, not fewer. We will continue to fight for a better outcome for indigenous people right across the country.

Oral Questions

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I am rising on a point of order to seek clarity on a ruling you made in question period.

My colleague the member for Carleton rose and he repeated what the Minister of Foreign Affairs had communicated a while ago. According to what she said, the Chinese government had what she called a term of endearment and fondness for the Prime Minister, calling him “little potato”. We at the time believed it was not a term of endearment or fondness. Therefore, in our role as opposition, we have been asking the government about this and asking the Prime Minister.

You rose, Mr. Speaker, to say that we could not do indirectly what we could not do directly. I am assuming you mean insulting the Prime Minister by calling him “little potato”.

I would like some clarity. We were not actually calling him “little potato”. We were, however, repeating what—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order, please. We have heard the phrase enough now. Members may not know that I do not speak Mandarin or Cantonese. I cannot say what this phrase might mean in the Chinese culture, but here we speak English and French. It certainly did not seem to be used as a compliment in the context. It seemed to me to be an insult, and I do not think insults should be used toward any member in the House. Those are the rules.

[Luc Thériault, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I believe if you seek it you will find the unanimous consent of the House for the following motion: That the House call on the government to publicly justify its decision to deny Carles Puigdemont's entry into Quebec.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Does the House give its unanimous consent?

[Some hon. members]

No.

Foreign Affairs

[Pam Goldsmith-Jones, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Consular Affairs)]

Madam Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the treaties entitled “Adjustment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer”, adopted at Quito, on November 9, 2018, and “Protocol Amending the Air Transport Agreement between Canada and the Swiss Confederation of 20 February 1975”, done at Ottawa on January 29, 2019.