Debates of May 1st, 2019

Foreign Affairs

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. The hon. Leader of the Opposition.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, it is not exactly sending a strong message to China that the only response the Prime Minister is capable of finding is something the Conservatives asked for days ago. He could show the Government of China that there are consequences for detaining Canadian nationals—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

We should also be able to hear the question.

Order. The hon. Leader of the Opposition has the floor.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, why would Canadians expect the Prime Minister to stand up for the interests of China? Why would we expect the Government of China to take the Prime Minister seriously after showing such weakness on the world stage, after backing down to Donald Trump time and time again, after clowning around in India and angering our trade partner? Why will the Prime Minister not stand up for Canadian interests when it comes to the Government of China?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about the facts. The Conservatives wanted us to capitulate to the Americans on NAFTA, and we got the right deal for Canadians. We were the ones able to close the deal on CETA, which the Conservatives had dead in the water. On the CPTPP, we fought and got a good deal for Canadians and we did that by holding strong.

The Conservatives have been asking us for days to do something on canola. We have been working on it for weeks, including with our partners out west, like Premier Scott Moe.

We are going to continue to deliver for Canadians. We are going to continue to fight for Canadians.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, we do not need a drama production; we need action for Canadian interests around the world.

It was the Prime Minister who signed a deal that was shoved down his throat and still kept steel tariffs in place. It was the Prime Minister who capitulated on dairy and pharmaceuticals. It was the Prime Minister who angered our trade partners when it came to CPP talks.

Now that Canadian nationals have been unlawfully jailed and Canadian exports are not moving, he has done nothing to stand up for this country. When will the Prime Minister finally do something—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The right. hon. Prime Minister.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, for 10 years the Conservative failed to get anything done to get reasonable growth for the economy. Indeed, Stephen Harper and the Conservatives had the lowest growth record of any prime minister since R. B. Bennett in the depths of the Great Depression. We turned that around.

We have created 900,000 new jobs across the country. We have the lowest unemployment in 40 years. On international engagement and trade, we are now the only G7 country that has a free trade deal with every other G7 country. Two-thirds of the global economy is accessible to Canada now because of the work that this government has done.

Government Priorities

[Brigitte Sansoucy, NDP, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, three months ago, 46% of Canadians were $200 away from insolvency. That figure rose to 48% last week.

While half the population struggles to make ends meet, the Liberals continue to subsidize oil companies and give multimillion-dollar handouts to Loblaws.

The Prime Minister is completely out of touch with reality. We need a government that is on our side, not on the side of the ultra rich.

When are the Liberals actually going to start working to save half the population from financial insecurity?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the first thing we did after being elected was to lower taxes for the middle class and raise them on the wealthy. Next, we brought in the Canada child benefit, which benefits nine out of 10 families and has lifted 300,000 children out of poverty. The NDP voted against those two measures.

We succeeded in lifting 800,000 Canadians out of poverty in our first two years in office. We continue to meet our commitments by investing in infrastructure and our communities and by helping families, students and seniors directly. We are going to continue with our approach.

Justice

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is showing a disturbing willingness to undermine the independence of the Canadian judiciary, from trying to help corporate friends in a bribery case in his riding, to the allegations of leaking information about the Supreme Court nomination, to the fact that the Prime Minister is now vetting potential judges through a Liberal donor base that includes information right down to the size of their lawn signs.

Is that how small his vision is, wanting to know what they have done for the Liberal Party rather than what they will do for Canada?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Party has always believed in the independence of the judiciary and the importance of standing up for the independence of our institutions.

Indeed, all judicial appointments now follow our new, open, independent, transparent and merit-based process. This process replaced the old opaque system that was in place under the previous government.

Political activity or donations have no impact on a person's candidacy or selection for judicial appointment. Our government has appointed people who have donated or been involved with parties of all political stripes.

Indigenous Affairs

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

His new open list, Mr. Speaker, is more like the grotty old rum-bottle politics on the Rideau for which the Liberals are infamous.

Speaking of broken promises, prior to the budget the Prime Minister made two promises, one to Kashechewan and one to Grassy Narrows. In that budget, he broke those promises. It took hundreds of children coming from the evacuation centres yesterday for the Prime Minister to even acknowledge the disastrous Kashechewan flood.

Therefore, cards on the table: What financial commitment will he make today to the people of Kashechewan to finally move them to higher ground?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we agree that 17 years of flooding in Kashechewan is absolutely unacceptable. That is why the minister met with the chief yesterday to continue the work that we have been doing since 2016.

Since 2016, we have been working in close partnership with Kashechewan on its request to relocate to higher ground. The community has identified the location to which it believes would be best to relocate. Work is right now under way to build a new road, to secure the land and to design the new community, but always and every moment in partnership with the people of Kashechewan.

[Brigitte Sansoucy, NDP, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the people of Kashechewan had to once again be evacuated because of flooding. This could have been avoided. The Liberals promised to relocate them to higher ground, but two years later that still has not happened. Yesterday, children and leaders from the community were here to remind the Liberals about their promises and ask them to keep them.

When will the Prime Minister finally keep just one promise?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, since 2016, we have been working in close partnership with the people of Kashechewan on their request to relocate their community. The minister met with the chief yesterday. The community has identified the site it believes would be best to relocate to. Work is under way to build a new road, secure the land and design the new community, always in partnership with the people of Kashechewan. For 17 years now, these people have had to evacuate every time there is a flood. The situation is unacceptable and we will work with them to fix it.

Ethics

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on August 5, 2016, we asked the Liberal Party and the Liberal leader about $110,000 in illegal donations they received. What did they do then? As usual, the Liberals refused to share any information.

Since the Liberal leader is so fond of claiming transparency, could he simply tell us whether his office or his employees have had any contact with the Chief Electoral Officer regarding these illegal donations, yes or no?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, those inappropriate donations were made to two political parties 10 years ago.

Under my leadership, we have raised the bar on transparency. We were the first party to voluntarily disclose its MPs' expenses, we opened up the Board of Internal Economy and we made all fundraisers with the prime minister, ministers, party leaders and leadership candidates open to the public.

We always fully obey the fundraising rules, and everyone who donates to the two political parties must do so, as well.

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this is another prime example of how little the Liberals have changed since the sponsorship scandal. It is in their DNA and in their culture.

The leader of the Liberal Party was found guilty, not once, not twice, not three times, but four times of ethics and conflict of interest violations. On top of that, now he is being investigated on the matter involving the former attorney general and justice minister.

What is the leader of the Liberal Party and Prime Minister still trying to hide from Canadians?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the House respect officers of Parliament and the work they do every step of the way to ensure that the rules are followed and Canadians know the truth, irrespective of partisanship and attacks across party lines.

Yes, we will always respect and work with officers of Parliament. They do important work, and we on this side of the House will always work with them.

Campaign Financing

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we cannot take the words of the leader of the Liberal Party at face value because, simply put, it has already been shown that he had very little respect for the Office of the Attorney General. Now we are talking about the Elections Canada commissioner. Here is the issue.

There were two opportunities for the Liberal leader to tell us who was on the list. Once was August 5, 2016, and one was most recently when the media asked him to provide the list and he refused to do so.

What is the leader of the Liberal Party doing? What is the leader of the Liberal Party hiding?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite is bringing up an issue regarding improper donations made to two political parties over 10 years ago.

Under my leadership, we raised the bar on openness and transparency. We were the first party to proactively disclose MP expenses. We opened up the Board of Internal Economy. We ensured that information regarding fundraisers with the Prime Minister, with ministers and with party leaders or candidates for leadership be publicly available.

We continue to do our fundraisers publicly and invite the media. The Leader of the Opposition does them in secret and keeps the media out.

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, what we are talking about is the fact that SNC-Lavalin, a dear friend of the leader of the Liberal Party, received a compliance agreement from Elections Canada for a scheme in which it legally donated $110,000 to the Liberal Party of Canada. We have asked why he did not disclose the names.

I would like to ask another question. Why, on May 9, 2016, did Mathieu Bouchard meet with SNC-Lavalin? Was it about the compliance agreement with Elections Canada?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are bringing up an issue from 10 years ago, before we made changes to the rules that we bring in a new level of openness and transparency to political fundraising, which we have embraced, however, the leader of the opposition has not.

We continue to hold our fundraisers in public, at public locations and we invite the media to be part of them. The Leader of the Opposition continues to hold his fundraisers in secret, refuses to let the media in and is continuing to have the kind of secrecy that we saw too much of during the Harper years.