Debates of Feb. 5th, 2020

Justice

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the federal government is giving $125,000 to the Montreal English School Board, which has an annual budget of $350 million. The criteria for the court challenges program are clear: To be eligible, the organization must be in need of financial support to make their case.

Why is the government funding this initiative? The truth is that Ottawa is funding this initiative quite simply because it supports it.

Why is the government going against the clear will of Quebeckers?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I get the impression that I will be repeating this often in the House today: Administration and delivery of the court challenges program is carried out completely independently from the government.

That may be why the Stephen Harper government wanted to abolish this program. It is administered independently from any decision or political will of the Canadian government.

Public Safety

[Nelly Shin, Conservative, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, 14 years after an individual violently murdered his partner, he murdered another woman because his parole officer permitted him to seek the service of sex workers. The parole officer facilitated a murderer to repeat his offence and take another innocent life by enabling him to satiate his criminal appetite.

Will the government amend Bill C-5 to require Parole Board members and parole officers to receive new sexual assault training so vulnerable women like Marylène Levesque will not die tragically because of bureaucratic incompetence?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, this was a terrible story and we have deep sympathy for Marylène Levesque's family and friends. We have questions. People have very difficult questions to ask, and that is why we are pleased that Correctional Service Canada and the Parole Board are launching a board of investigation into the circumstances that led to this tragic case.

I will highlight it was disappointing that we were not able to move forward with Ms. Ambrose's bill on judicial training because the Conservatives chose to play politics with it.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, Bill C-5 on the education of judges on matters related to sexual assault was introduced in the House.

I want to be very clear. We support this bill. Let's not forget that it started out as a Conservative Party bill. However, in light of the brutal murder of Marylène Levesque, we believe it is important to add an amendment to include the education of parole officers and Parole Board members.

Would the Prime Minister agree to such an amendment?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are pleased that Correctional Service Canada is launching an inquiry into the circumstances that led to this tragic situation.

It is a terrible situation, and we have tremendous sympathy for Marylène Levesque's family and friends. We all want answers to the very valid questions that we are asking ourselves about how this could have happened. We will wait for the results of the inquiry in order to better understand how this happened and how we can ensure that such a thing never happens again.

Infrastructure

[Doug Shipley, Conservative, Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Budget Officer recently released its report on infrastructure spending. Alarmingly, this report tells Canadians there is no way of tracking where money is being spent. The report went so far as to say the Liberals' infrastructure plan “does not exist”.

The House recently passed an important motion calling on the Auditor General to investigate these lost billions of dollars. Will the Prime Minister commit today to ensuring that the Auditor General has the resources he needs to do this important work?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we made historic investments in infrastructure in order to grow the economy and improve Canadians' quality of life. We remember that in the last campaign, just a few months ago, the Conservatives campaigned on 18 billion dollars' worth of cuts to much-needed infrastructure across this country. We choose to invest in infrastructure to grow the economy.

On the Auditor General, we have given more resources to the Auditor General, and I will highlight that it was the Conservative government that cut millions of dollars from the Auditor General's budget. We believe in and support our officers of Parliament and we will continue to.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister loves talking about politics. He loves talking about transparency and openness. However, he led the Liberals in voting against our motion calling for the Auditor General to investigate the Liberal infrastructure fiasco. The House spoke, and the Prime Minister lost.

If the Prime Minister is not afraid to defend his track record and is truly open and transparent, will he commit to giving the Auditor General the resources he needs, instead of encouraging Mastercard by handing it $50 million?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it was actually the Conservatives who cut the Auditor General's budget. We collaborated with the Auditor General to increase his funding in 2018-19. Thanks to that increased funding, his office was able to add the equivalent of 38 full-time employees.

It is nice that the Conservatives are finally taking an interest in the officers of Parliament, because it was their party that cut $6.4 million from the Auditor General's budget. It was their party that fired auditors and forced the Parliamentary Budget Officer to go to court to obtain documents.

Indigenous Affairs

[Taylor Bachrach, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the issues surrounding Coastal GasLink and the Wet’suwet’en have been deeply divisive for communities in my riding. The world is watching, and no one wants to see last January's confrontation repeated.

The government's promises of reconciliation are on the line, and the chiefs have asked to meet with the Prime Minister. Why is he refusing to meet with them?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to a renewed relationship with indigenous peoples based on recognition of rights, respect, co-operation and partnership. We will continue to engage with leaders from across the country.

The Wet’suwet’en issue is with the provincial government. We would highlight that the former member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley, Nathan Cullen, has been hired by the Government of British Columbia to help with this process. We have full confidence in the NDP government in British Columbia to move forward in the correct way. Why do the NDP members in the House not have the same confidence in the NDP government of British Columbia?

Housing

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the chiefs want to meet with the Prime Minister.

The Liberals' national housing strategy was announced with much fanfare, yet they failed miserably. Saying they will end chronic homelessness in 10 years is just not good enough. People are sleeping on the streets right now.

In Vancouver alone, 40% of the homeless population is indigenous, yet their overall population is only 2%. So much for the Liberals' most important relationship.

We need to have a housing strategy for indigenous peoples and by indigenous peoples. Will the government increase the funding for housing to end the homelessness crisis in Canada once and for all?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we put in place a national housing strategy that is focused on ending homelessness and on working with communities to resolve the challenges facing urban indigenous populations. We are continuing to move forward in a meaningful way.

What have we achieved? We have seen almost a million Canadians lifted out of poverty and have achieved our poverty reduction targets way ahead of schedule. We recognize there is much more to do, and we will do that. We are focused on action on this side of the House, not just on rhetoric like the members opposite.

Justice

[Emmanuella Lambropoulos, Liberal, Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, victims of sexual assault deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. They need to know that judges hearing their cases will not be influenced by the myths and stereotypes that frequently surface during sexual assault cases.

Would the right hon. Prime Minister please tell the House what measures have been taken to support victims and strengthen public confidence in our justice system?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Saint-Laurent for her question and her hard work.

Canadians expect judges to have the training they need to understand the complex nature of sexual assault and the myths that all too often surround it. Canadians also expect elected representatives to work across party lines on these issues.

Yesterday, we introduced a bill to ensure that judges receive training on factors that can affect individuals' willingness to engage with the justice system. This law will boost confidence in our justice system and make the system itself more effective.

Public Service of Canada

[Tim Uppal, Conservative, Edmonton Mill Woods, AB]

Mr. Speaker, we can only address ongoing issues of racism when we allow people to speak freely about their experiences. The government recently fired a public servant overseeing anti-racism initiatives because she spoke out against the Prime Minister. Now the government is mandating “duty of loyalty” training for some government employees.

The government claims to care about diversity and then tries to silence dissenting voices. Will the Prime Minister cancel his duty of loyalty policy and protect the right of public servants to speak out about their experiences?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, over the past five years, we have put in place a merit-based appointments process that reflects much greater diversity within the public service, within the Government of Canada. We saw, for all too long, the appointments process be politicized or not reflect the diversity of Canada. That is why we have increased massively the appointment of women, the appointment of racialized Canadians, the appointment of indigenous peoples and the appointment of people with disabilities.

We recognize that there is more to do, and we will continue to work hard on that every day.

Health

[Rob Moore, Conservative, Fundy Royal, NB]

Mr. Speaker, last year, the House passed a bill by the member for St. Albert—Edmonton that would help jurors seek medical or psychiatric counselling for the horrific images and testimony that they deal with at a trial. The bill passed the House will all-party support. Since then, some provinces and territories have moved forward with their own measures to support jurors. Meanwhile, the government has failed to act.

When will the Prime Minister take action and address his responsibility to Canadians fulfilling their civic duty as jurors?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we recognize that there are more investments that need to be made in mental health support for Canadians, whether it is for PTSD for veterans, correctional services officers or policemen and women, or whether it is moving forward on greater supports for young people, indigenous communities or people who have experiences within our justice system.

We know there is more to do on fighting for mental health, which is why we actually made a commitment of billions of dollars more in investments in mental health for the provinces. We are looking forward to working on that.

Public Safety

[Ted Falk, Conservative, Provencher, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is attacking law-abiding firearms owners with actions that will do nothing to curb gun and gang violence.

Many folks in my riding are lawful firearms owners. They have taken the required rigorous screening and safety training. They take their privileges and responsibilities as firearms owners very seriously. I, too, very well know the process, having obtained my PAL and RPAL licences.

Is the Prime Minister able to explain to the House the process of obtaining a firearms possession and acquisition licence?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are committed to protecting communities and reducing gun violence in Canada. We strengthened controls on firearms through Bill C-71. We enhanced background checks. We required sellers to check licences of anyone who wants to buy a gun. We have invested over $327 million to address gun and gang violence. We will continue to strengthen our gun laws by banning dangerous assault weapons and working with provinces, territories and mayors to combat gun violence and keep communities safe.

It is very simple: We will strengthen gun control; Conservatives want to weaken it.

[Bob Benzen, Conservative, Calgary Heritage, AB]

Mr. Speaker, section 5 of the Firearms Act says that a person who has threatened or committed a violent crime, a crime related to harassment, drug crimes or has serious mental health issues is unable to have a firearms licence. A person without a gun licence cannot legally have a gun.

It seems that the Prime Minister's red-flag proposal is a solution in search of a problem. Is the Prime Minister's proposal different from what has existed for decades or was he simply unaware of the law?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be able to inform the member opposite of what we are planning to do.

There are many individuals who have a firearms licence and own firearms and who begin to present a threat to themselves or to their family. At that point, medical health professionals can alert them not to just take away the firearms, which exists—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!