House of Commons Hansard #420 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was liberals.
Pablo Rodriguez LiberalMinister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are playing a very dangerous game. We know that the newspaper industry has been suffering for 10 years. We know that 41 dailies have closed their doors. We know that about 10,000 jobs have been lost.
The Conservatives think that all journalists can be bought. We totally disagree with that. We trust professional journalism. We are there to support them.
The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan
Order, please. I had no trouble hearing the question. I should not have any more trouble hearing the answer.
Andrew Scheer ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, none of the challenges facing the news industry justifies putting an openly partisan group on the panel to determine who gets funding.
Unifor has published tweets, calling itself the resistance to Conservatives. It is bankrolling partisan attack ads put out by third party groups run by high-level Liberal operatives.
Journalists who are actual members of this union agree that the government's actions have destroyed the credibility of this process and threatens to undermine the independence of the press.
Will the Prime Minister remove Unifor from this panel?
Pablo Rodriguez LiberalMinister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism
Mr. Speaker, again, this is a dangerous game. The Conservatives are saying that the journalists can be bought in our country and we strongly disagree with that.
Journalism is one of the pillars of our democracy. We should be there to support it, instead of attacking like the Conservatives are doing.
Government PoliciesOral Questions
Regina—Qu'Appelle Saskatchewan
Conservative
Andrew Scheer ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, the only dangerous game being played is by the Prime Minister putting partisan groups on a panel to hand out government money. That is what undermines the credibility of this process and threatens the independence of the media.
This is not the first time the Prime Minister has abused the power of his office. He has limited the amounts political parties can spend in the run-up to a federal election, while no limits have been placed on government spending announcements or travel in advance of the writ period.
Will the Prime Minister finally admit that he is abusing the power of his office to rig the system in advance of the next election?
Karina Gould LiberalMinister of Democratic Institutions
Mr. Speaker, Canadians were fed up with their tax dollars being wasted on blatantly partisan ads by the Harper Conservatives.
That is why Liberals moved quickly in 2016 to ban partisan government ads and establish third party oversight. We also banned government advertising in the 90 days that proceeded a fixed-date election and for any government program that was yet to be approved by Parliament.
By focusing government advertising on Canadians' needs instead of partisan objectives, we have been able to cut the government's advertising budget by half.
Steven Blaney Conservative Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC
Mr. Speaker, in their attempt to buy off the media before the election, the Liberals are getting their Unifor buddies to choose who will receive subsidies. Don Martin, from CTV, called this the greatest threat to freedom of the press. Academic Andrew Potter called it a disaster.
Why does the government want to destroy the media's reputation by trying to buy them off with taxpayer money before the election?
Why is the government trying to rig the election?
Pablo Rodriguez LiberalMinister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism
Mr. Speaker, the real threat is the Conservative Party and what we just heard. The threat is the suggestion that journalists can be bought. These people built their careers on integrity, professionalism, neutrality and facts. The Conservatives are saying that these people can be bought. We completely disagree. Journalism is a pillar of democracy and we will defend it, unlike the Conservatives.
Steven Blaney Conservative Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC
Mr. Speaker, if the minister listened to journalists, he would realize how ridiculous his scheme is. If he does not kick Unifor off his panel, Canadians will have yet another reason to kick the Prime Minister out of office in October.
Taxpayers' money should not be used to fund the Liberals' election campaign and their schemes. All this move does is further undermine confidence in the media. That is according to the federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, Aaron Wudrick.
Will the minister step up and kick Unifor off the panel, yes or no?
Pablo Rodriguez LiberalMinister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism
Mr. Speaker, when the panel was created, including representatives from across the industry was essential. The panel is made up of people from newsrooms, newspaper owners, worker advocates, journalists, ethnic media and francophone communities. It is a balance.
That is not the real question, though. Here is the real question. Why are the Conservatives attacking Canadian journalism? Why did they sit idly by for all these years? Why would they rather see Canadian journalism die than stand up for it?
That is the real question.
Jagmeet Singh NDP Burnaby South, BC
Mr. Speaker, the health minister spoke recently at a pharmacare forum that was one sided and stacked with industry and insurance insiders. Progressive medical groups and health researchers were not even invited. Under the Liberals, it seems that better is possible for their wealthy and elite friends, but everyday Canadians are told again and again that they have to settle for less.
Will the Liberals stop this rush to a one-sided, industry-first approach and instead agree to the New Democrat plan for pharmacare for all?
Ginette Petitpas Taylor LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, I receive a lot of invitations to speak about the good work that this government is doing to lower the price of medication, and I always have the same message.
We have taken concrete steps to lower the prices here in Canada. We are in the process of regulating the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board. We have joined the pan-Canadian pharmaceutical alliance, and we have saved over $2 billion a year when it comes to price and medication. We have created the advisory council on the implementation of a national pharmacare program. We want to have a concrete plan because we want to get it right.
I will certainly not apologize to the member opposite.
Jagmeet Singh NDP Burnaby South, BC
Mr. Speaker, as we speak, people are being forced to choose between paying the rent and buying medication.
Instead of creating a universal pharmacare system, the minister is attending a forum dominated by groups that oppose universal drug coverage.
We have the courage to say no to insurance and drug companies and put people first. Will the Liberals support our plan for pharmacare for all?
Ginette Petitpas Taylor LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, unlike the NDP, we want to move forward with a pharmacare plan for all Canadians. That is why the first thing we did was take steps to lower drug prices.
We joined forces with the provinces and territories, and we have saved over $2 billion so far. We are going to continue with these measures, because we want to make sure Canadians have access to affordable medication.
Jagmeet Singh NDP Burnaby South, BC
Mr. Speaker, trade with the United States needs to be fair and work in the best interests of Canadians, but the Liberals have not made that happen.
Right now, the U.S. Democrats are working hard to secure an improved NAFTA to better protect our workers. Canadians expect the Liberal government to stand up for these progressive changes.
Will the Liberals wait before signing the agreement to make sure it truly works in the best interests of Canadians?
Chrystia Freeland LiberalMinister of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Speaker, we held out for a good deal, and that is what we got.
This deal will protect $2 billion per day in trade. The International Trade Commission has announced that once the new deal is in place, Canadian exports to the United States will increase by $19.1 billion a year.
Jagmeet Singh NDP Burnaby South, BC
Mr. Speaker, the reality is that this deal risks any Canadian jobs out of the country and drives up the cost of medication. While progressives in the U.S Congress pressure Donald Trump to improve the deal, the Liberals race forward to ratify a clearly flawed agreement. This is great news for multinational drug companies, but bad news for families who are struggling to make ends meet.
Democrats are actually working harder than Liberals are to protect Canadian jobs. Instead of helping Donald Trump, will the Liberals work with American progressives to fix this deal?
Chrystia Freeland LiberalMinister of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Speaker, let me urge the leader of the New Democrats, who allegedly speaks for working people, to talk to some actual Canadian workers, because that is what I do every day. Canadian workers are delighted that we have secured continued privileged access to the U.S. market, and they are delighted that we have succeeded in a full lift of the 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum.
The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan
Order. I would ask the hon. member for Windsor West not to be yelling when someone else has the floor.
The hon. member for Brantford—Brant.
Phil McColeman Conservative Brantford—Brant, ON
Mr. Speaker, to dedicate the memorial to our Afghanistan heroes and to exclude the families of the fallen from participating in that ceremony is not only insulting to those who gave their lives, it is cruel to the families and shameful.
The chief of the defence staff has already done the right thing and apologized, but the Minister of National Defence was at the secret ceremony and obviously knew of the details in advance. Why did he approve a secret ceremony for the Afghanistan memorial?
Harjit S. Sajjan LiberalMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to offer my heartfelt apologies to the families of the fallen. As the chief of the defence staff has already written a letter to all the families, we will direct the department to make sure that this hall and memorial will be made accessible to all the families. It will be done in an appropriate manner. We will always honour the families of the fallen.
James Bezan Conservative Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB
Mr. Speaker, it is too little too late. The chief of the defence staff is once again the fall guy for the Prime Minister and the defence minister. General Vance has apologized to insulted veterans and families of the fallen who were disrespected when the Afghanistan war memorial was dedicated in a secret ceremony. The defence minister knew exactly what was going on. He was there and he did not see anything wrong with it then.
Is the minister brave enough to look each and every one of those families in the eye and say that he is sorry to them personally?
Harjit S. Sajjan LiberalMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, I will stand up in the House, stand up in public, to be able to apologize for the insensitivities of that ceremony. As I stated, we have directed the department to make sure that the hall is accessible to all the families. I was able to meet with some of the families at the memorial when they visited Kandahar as well. We need to always honour the families of our fallen, and that is exactly what we are doing.
Richard Martel Conservative Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC
Mr. Speaker, the cenotaph from the Kandahar airfield, a monument dedicated to the memory of fallen soldiers from the war in Afghanistan, was moved to Ottawa and inaugurated on May 13 in secret, a move that showed a blatant lack of empathy. The families who lost loved ones in Afghanistan felt betrayed. The Minister of National Defence should apologize.
Why was the ceremony hidden from the media and, especially, from the families?