Debates of Nov. 18th, 2020

Official Languages

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I do not need any lectures from a party that still refuses to commit to appointing only bilingual justices to the Supreme Court.

We have always done what is necessary to defend the French fact in Canada, including in Quebec, as we said in the throne speech. We know how important it is to promote the French language across the country and also to protect the French language in Quebec, in partnership with the Government of Quebec.

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the member for Saint-Laurent showed considerable contempt for francophones, but no Liberal members from Quebec have spoken out against that.

These members are doing nothing to defend the French language. No action has been taken on official languages in five years. Will the Prime Minister introduce a bill on official languages before Christmas, yes or no?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, if the Leader of the Opposition wants to show his commitment to the French language, will he promise today to appoint only bilingual judges to the Supreme Court of Canada? That is something he did not want to do and we will see whether he agrees to do that.

We will always be there to defend the French language and defend the French fact in Quebec and across Canada. That is why we deplore the comments made by the member for Saint-Laurent and that is why we are pleased that she apologized for what she said.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the united government of this country has not spoken so much French since the Quebec Act in 1774, when it was seriously afraid of French Canadians, as they were called at the time.

Over the past few days and weeks, we have seen the huge divide between Quebec values and Canadian values, or Quebec values and Liberal values. Quebeckers value freedom of speech, secularism and language. Let's try to make this clear for the Quebeckers and media representatives who are watching.

Does the Prime Minister of Canada believe, in his heart and in his soul, that French is in jeopardy—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The right hon. Prime Minister.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, our government has always been there for the French fact in Quebec and across Canada, and we will continue to be there.

As a Montreal MP and a proud Montrealer and Quebecker, I am concerned about the fact that many people cannot get service in French in Montreal. That is unacceptable. That is why we will keep working to defend the French language and stand by Quebeckers to defend our culture, our language and our identity, as well as the environment and economic growth. Quebeckers can count on our federal government to be here throughout the pandemic.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it will not be long until we get him to say the words “Bill 101”. We will keep pushing.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister dissociated himself from the Minister of Canadian Heritage. Today, he dissociated himself from the Liberal member for Saint-Laurent today. He punished her for being honest and saying publicly what many Liberals are thinking privately. Now he would have us believe that the Liberal caucus cares so much about French that its members probably keep a copy of Bill 101 on their bedside tables.

I would imagine the Prime Minister has spoken to his party president and the member for Saint-Laurent. Do both of them now also believe that French is under threat in Quebec?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, people might well be wondering why the Bloc Québécois keeps hammering us on this subject when we actually agree with them on it. We must continue to protect the French fact in Canada and in Quebec because, yes, the danger is real and the decline is real.

Why, then, is the member trying to pick a fight over something we agree on? It is because he does not want to admit that a federal government is delivering for Quebeckers, whether through the CERB, money for small businesses or the battle we are waging against COVID-19 in lockstep with the Quebec government.

It must be so awful for the Bloc Québécois to see a strong federal government.

COVID-19 Emergency Response

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, to be frank, things are not going well. There are COVID-19 outbreaks happening across the country, and the situation in Quebec is serious. Canadians and their families are scared. Everyone is frightened for our seniors.

However, we knew all this was coming. We knew that the second wave of COVID-19 would hit hard, yet there is less support for people now than in the first wave of COVID-19. We in the NDP are ready to work together to help people.

When will the Liberal government finally take action?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, since the beginning of this pandemic, we have been there to help Canadians, families, young people, seniors and workers. We have been there to help businesses, both small and large, and communities. We have been there to provide personal protective equipment and testing supplies to the provinces. We have sent the provinces more than $25 billion to help them get ready for this second wave, and we will continue to work with them.

We will continue to be there for all Canadians during this pandemic. For as long as it lasts, we will be there as a federal government.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, crowded homes in Nunavut mean the risk of the outbreak spreading is severe. In Manitoba, outbreaks in long-term care homes means we are losing seniors. In Ontario, hospitals are being overrun, yet, despite how serious the situation is right now in the second wave, there is less help in place for people than there was in the first wave. We, as New Democrats, are ready to work together to get help to people who are in need.

What is the government waiting for to act, now we are in the second wave?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have not waited. We are continuing to increase our supports to individuals, communities, first nations, the north and provinces. Every step of the way during this pandemic, the federal government has made this promise: We have Canadians' backs. That is exactly what we have done and what we will continue to do for as long as it takes, whatever it takes.

I look forward to working with all members of this House to make sure we are moving forward on getting Canadians the supports they need. Every step of the way, this government will be there for Canadians.

Natural Resources

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

Mr. Speaker, we all know the lengths the Prime Minister went to in his attempt to get a seat at the UN Security Council, including the money he spent, the political capital he used and the tenacity he showed. The Prime Minister, his ministers and even civil servants were relentless in the campaign for the Prime Minister's vanity seat. It did not work, but the entire world knew the Prime Minister wanted this.

Will the Prime Minister use that same focus, determination and zeal in his fight to ensure that Keystone XL, a project that will create thousands of real jobs for Canadians, gets built?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I have supported that project for the past seven years. I actually went down to Washington, D.C., to speak to a room full of Democrats before I was Prime Minister to talk about how important that project is for Canadian and American energy security.

I will continue to bring that up. We continue to work on it. I brought it up in a conversation with President-elect Joe Biden. It was in our very first conversation. We will continue to work together on fighting climate change, ensuring energy security and building a better future for all of our citizens.

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

Mr. Speaker, the problem is the Prime Minister has said so many negative things about Canadian oil and gas, and done so many things to kill jobs in the Canadian energy sector, that nobody believes him or trusts him to do anything to stand up for these jobs in Canada. Conservatives do not trust him, and I promise members, Canadian families and energy workers do not trust the Prime Minister.

Will the Prime Minister stand up today and guarantee that he is as committed to Keystone XL pipeline getting built as he was to his vanity UN seat?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, here is the problem that Conservatives face: Any time someone talks about doing right by the environment, or building a greener or cleaner future, they think it is an attack on workers, the oil sands and the energy industry, when, indeed, moving forward on protecting the environment is the best way to ensure jobs and security for our energy workers and our energy industries.

We know that international investors and consumers are looking for people with plans, with resolve and with a lower carbon future. That is what we are working on building right across the country. Energy, environment and economy go together.

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, here is the problem that Canadians face: The Prime Minister had a state dinner with President Obama, but Obama cancelled Keystone XL.

The government is running a whole-of-government campaign to find Bill Morneau a retirement job at the OECD. The Prime Minister toured the world meeting with despots for his UN Security Council bid, but only one phone call for the thousands of jobs that rely on Keystone XL.

Will the Prime Minister commit today to meeting with as many American officials as possible to get this project done, help western Canada and help all of Canada?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, this is what Conservatives simply do not understand. We cannot get projects built, and we cannot move forward to create good jobs for Canadians, if we do not have a plan for the environment at the same time, and if we are not committing to fight climate change.

That is where Conservatives are stuck in ideologies of decades past. Canadians know that the only way forward with Americans and people around the world is to show real leadership on climate change, the kind of leadership we have shown over the past five years.

When will Conservatives wake up and realize that to protect jobs, they need to fight climate change?

Justice

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I asked questions about the government blindly trusting compromised information.

It seems that the Liberal government is not very concerned about compromised institutions. Today, Democracy Watch announced that it has filed a lawsuit against the government's judicial appointment system, which is politically biased and compromises the impartiality of the courts. The minister refuses to comment.

What does this silence say about this government's transparency?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, in 2015, we brought in a merit-based process for judicial appointments.

After years of Conservative patronage for its friends and allies, we put in place a system for appointing judges based on merit and on independent recommendations. Now these judges reflect the geographic, ethnic and political diversity of our country. It is important for our judiciary to reflect the reality of our country.

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in May 2019, Democracy Watch gave this very government an F in transparency.

The president of the Canadian Bar Association has asked that changes be made to the judicial selection process to prevent partisan manipulation. The minister's office refuses to comment because it knows that he has significant influence over the process.

Does the government intend to follow the organizations' advice and revise the selection process for judges?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again, several years ago, we put in place an independent, merit-based process.

Thanks to our process, high-quality judges with diverse interests, backgrounds and political histories have been appointed across the country. We selected a record number of women and a record number of people from diverse communities. We are improving the judicial appointment process. We will continue to ensure that judges of indisputable quality are appointed across the country.

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, he mentioned a merit-based selection process.

The media reported that this government was interfering in the judicial appointment process. Democracy Watch said it, as did the Canadian Bar Association. The Prime Minister and his minister are the only ones who disagree.

When will the Prime Minister admit that he is interfering in judicial appointments?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again, we brought in a robust, independent, merit-based process that helps us get quality judges to the bench across the country.

The leader of the official opposition referenced the media and Democracy Watch, but just look at what the Conservatives did to these two groups when they were in government. The process was completely botched under Harper, and our improvements have made Canada's judiciary more diverse.

Official Languages

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, what the Prime Minister somewhat simplistically refers to as the French fact is Quebec's national and official language.

Every speech, most Supreme Court of Canada rulings, and federal money are being used to challenge and gut Bill 101. Does the Prime Minister regret spending Quebeckers' money to oppose the French language? Will he acknowledge that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms was used to gut Bill 101 before the Supreme Court? Does the Prime Minister of Canada believe that Bill 101 oppresses English speakers in Quebec?