House of Commons Hansard #11 of the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was training.
Alain Therrien Bloc La Prairie, QC
Mr. Speaker, last night, Toronto police arrested a businessman who was operating an illegal casino in his home. The police seized a machine gun and $1 million. That businessman's name is Wei Wei.
Interestingly, Wei Wei is a loyal and generous Liberal Party of Canada donor. Among other things, he donated $1,200 in 2014 and attended an exclusive cocktail party in 2016 with the Prime Minister himself, whom he met with at least twice.
My question is simple: Does the Prime Minister know Wei Wei?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, our federal system has some of the strictest rules governing political donors. The Liberal Party's rules are even stricter. Our fundraising activities are all public, and we invite journalists to attend. Maybe the other parties should do likewise and open up their fundraising activities to journalists so Canadians can find out who they are getting their money from, rather than do it in secret like the Bloc, the Conservative Party and the other parties.
Alain Therrien Bloc La Prairie, QC
Mr. Speaker, he could take a lesson from the Bloc Québécois. He has a lot to learn in this particular area.
On May 16, 2016, the Prime Minister held a lucrative cocktail fundraiser with wealthy, prominent members of Toronto's Chinese community. Oddly enough, just a few days later, the Trudeau Foundation received $1 million. That is not all. A few weeks later, the Chinese bank Wealth One was granted its Canadian charter and, at the same time, the Prime Minister's riding received 80%, that is, $70,000 in funding. Mr. Wei Wei attended the exclusive dinner on May 16, 2016, so the Prime Minister does know him.
Did he promise him anything?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, all political parties in this country follow the rules of Elections Canada, and the Liberal Party has always followed the rules when carrying out fundraising. We decided to go even further by being completely open regarding our fundraising activities and inviting the media to attend. I would encourage all parties in the House to do the same, to stop holding fundraising events behind closed doors and to be open about who is donating to political parties.
Erin O'Toole ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States and Japan have already said that Huawei cannot be part of their 5G system. The United Kingdom announced that it had found a security flaw in Huawei's 5G system. Our Prime Minister is afraid to stand up to China. He prefers the status quo, which puts our security at risk.
When will the Prime Minister make a final decision about Huawei?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, informed security decisions are made by our intelligence services and security experts, and not for political reasons. With respect to our policies, we have always stood up against China on bringing home our two Michaels, condemning the treatment of the Uighurs, offering assistance to Hong Kong, being firm on respect for international rights and everything we must work on together as a multinational world that recognizes the values and rights we all have.
Erin O'Toole ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, our allies have realized that Huawei cannot be part of their 5G future. The government promised a decision before the last election. This week, Great Britain announced that it found critical weaknesses in Huawei's 5G infrastructure. Last week, it was Germany tightening restrictions on Huawei. Once again, under the Prime Minister, Canada is not back; it is hanging back and letting all our allies get the job done.
Will the Prime Minister finally rise today, get tough and ban Huawei from Canadian 5G networks?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, Canada will always put the security of its citizens and of its infrastructure first and foremost. We have done that every step of the way.
We deeply respect the work of our experts and intelligence services and are working with them to make the right decision. We will listen to their recommendations and move forward. We watch carefully what our allies are doing, and at the same time, we have consistently stood up for Canadian interests and values on the world stage, including against China.
Erin O'Toole ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister likes to talk about his feminist credentials, but today he failed to support the campaign by a Canadian woman to lead the IPU.
In July, when women's groups from across Canada asked the public safety minister to have a public inquiry on the largest mass killing in Canadian history, he ignored them. He only gave in when the entire province of Nova Scotia revolted.
It sometimes takes this Prime Minister two times to do the right thing, so I will ask him again: Will the Prime Minister support the candidacy of Senator Ataullahjan for the non-partisan presidency of the IPU?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, I will take no lessons on gender or diversity from the Conservative Party of Canada. As has long been the case, the government does not support candidates for roles in interparliamentary organizations like the IPU. That is for members in this House and parliaments of the world to decide, but we wish Senator Ataullahjan all the best in her candidacy.
Erin O'Toole ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, speaking of the horrible rampage in Nova Scotia, there were terrible warning signs with incidents of domestic violence ahead of that terrible attack. This is why dozens of women's organizations from coast to coast have asked for a public inquiry. Canadians want to know how many warning signs there were so we can avoid tragedies in the future. Will the Prime Minister commit today in this House to get that inquiry back on track for Nova Scotia and for Canadian women?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, we are committed to getting to the bottom of what happened in Nova Scotia in that terrible tragedy, including looking at and exploring all the different angles related to domestic violence. I am very pleased to hear the Conservatives express concern on gender-based violence. We have many initiatives we are putting forward to counter gender-based violence. We look forward to seeing their support on some very fundamental issues that they have not always been so great on supporting in the past. I look forward to that in the future.
Gord Johns NDP Courtenay—Alberni, BC
Mr. Speaker, tens of thousands of business owners are hanging off a cliff, forced into deep debt. The Liberals' flawed commercial rent assistance program has failed them and the communities they serve. Before they roll out another failed plan, will the Liberals confirm that this time the help will be tenant driven, set to the same loss-in-business standards as the wage subsidy and backdated, so that those who were left out by the Liberals the last time can get the help they so desperately need to keep afloat this time?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, from the very beginning of the pandemic, we promised to be there for Canadians, and we were. We supported all Canadians with the Canada emergency response benefit; then we moved forward to support workers and small businesses with the wage subsidy. We also created the Canada emergency business account, but we saw that Canadian business owners and workers were still struggling so we worked with the provinces to create the commercial rent assistance program, which has helped over 120,000 small business owners across the country. We recognize that there are better ways to do that, and that is why we are working very hard on being able to announce shortly more support for business owners through their fixed costs in an easier way than that.
Rachel Blaney NDP North Island—Powell River, BC
Mr. Speaker, the veterans minister seems to be okay telling 45,000 veterans in this country that they can wait another two and a half years to see their disability applications completed. Last week, the PBO provided a plan to get this done in one year and make sure this never happens again to our veterans. Instead of focusing on helping them, the Liberals spent over $200,000 in legal fees defending a Liberal minister and attacking a veteran. When will the government stand up for veterans and make sure that it is spending the money on the people who stood up to protect us in this country?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, service delivery and support to veterans and their families has always been our priority. Since 2016, we have invested nearly $10.5 billion in new money for our veterans and their families. This funding was invested in new centres of excellence on chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder, increased financial compensation and more. We are the government that recognizes the sacred covenant we owe to our veterans, and that is why we have improved and invested in supports for them. There is still much more to do, but we have helped our veterans and we will continue to.
Emmanuella Lambropoulos Liberal Saint-Laurent, QC
Mr. Speaker, in my riding, Saint-Laurent, and throughout Quebec, the pandemic has highlighted the importance of having a safe and affordable place to call home.
This is a tough time for many Quebeckers, but we have made progress with the launch of the national housing strategy. Yesterday, we announced an agreement with Quebec on major investments in social and community housing.
Can the Prime Minister tell us what this agreement means for Quebec families?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Saint-Laurent for her important question and her hard work in her riding.
We are proud to have negotiated a bilateral agreement with Quebec as part of the national housing strategy. This 10-year, nearly $3.7-billion agreement will help protect, renew and expand housing in Quebec.
We will continue to work with the provinces and territories, including Quebec, to put an end to chronic homelessness. We must do better for those who need housing, and we will do better across the country.
Michael Barrett Conservative Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON
Mr. Speaker, on Monday, I asked the government about ties between senior Liberals like Joe Peschisolido and Raymond Chan and individuals charged in a gangland shooting with the Chinese Community Party. Now, we have learned that the architect of a heavily armed, illegal casino operation in Markham has twice had face time with this Prime Minister and, surprise, he also has ties to the CCP.
Canadians deserve to know. Is the Prime Minister's proximity to the Chinese Communist Party elites in Canada affecting his ability to protect Canadian interests?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, we have always followed all the rules around fundraising and we will continue. We actually went above and beyond that in making sure that all of our fundraisers are done in public spaces, that we invite the media to them and publish a list of people who attended. We encourage the Conservative Party of Canada to do exactly the same.
When will the Conservatives stop raising money in secret and instead be open with their fundraisers, invite the media to attend their fundraisers and actually demonstrate that they can have confidence in Canadians as they ask Canadians to have confidence in them?
Michael Barrett Conservative Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister should hope that Canadians do not judge him by the company that he keeps. He is just the latest Liberal with worrisome ties to the Chinese Communist Party: Chan, Peschisolido, Barton, McCallum.
These latest bad actors operating their illegal casino in Markham, just like the ones arrested this weekend in B.C., are helping arrest protesters in Hong Kong, but do not worry, they have donated millions of dollars to the Trudeau Foundation.
Why should Canadians trust this defective Liberal government complete with its made-in-China sticker?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, I have addressed that question, but, again, it points out that the Conservatives are focused on trying to score political points at a time when Canadians expect people to come together and work for them in this COVID crisis.
We will continue to focus on supporting Canadians in this second wave. We will be there for families, workers and small businesses. We will be there to support industries across this country as they are dealing with this unprecedented pandemic.
We made a commitment to Canadians that we would have their backs, and that is exactly what we are doing. Regardless of what the Conservatives want to focus on, we will stay focused on Canadians in this pandemic.
The Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota
I want to remind hon. members that the way it works is that a member asks a question and then gets a response. Members cannot keep asking questions. It makes it difficult for everyone to hear the response and the future questions, and I am sure we will get those assigned as we go on.
The hon. member for Carleton.
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON
Mr. Speaker, who would bet their own money on Gateway Casinos? Well, it turns out nobody. Of course, the company was just downgraded to junk status and its parent company lost 95% of its value on the stock market before being delisted altogether. In fact, financial experts in Toronto say that the company vastly overvalues its assets, but there is someone who would invest other people's money in it. The casino just got the jackpot of $200 million from this government. Would the financial genius over there who invested $200 million of our tax dollars in this failing casino firm please stand up?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, while the Conservatives play silly political games, we recognize the extraordinary situation that Canadians are facing. We are a few days away from Thanksgiving and people are worried about whether or not they are going to see their loved ones, how they are going to make it through this pandemic, whether or not we are going to be able to gather for Christmas. As a country and as the government, we remain focused on that. We are working with partners across the country, the premiers, the provinces and territories and continue to work with all orders of government as we deliver for Canadians through this pandemic. Let the Conservatives play games. We are focused on Canadians.