Debates of April 26th, 2021

National Defence

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the minister has no tolerance, but he has taken no action.

The Prime Minister's stories keep changing on when he was aware of these allegations against General Vance, but the Clerk of the Privy Council knew, the Prime Minister's Office knew, the defence minister knew, the defence minister's office knew and the Prime Minister's chief of staff knew. It is impossible to believe that everyone around the Prime Minister knew, but somehow he did not.

Will the Prime Minister finally admit that he was aware of these allegations of sexual misconduct three years ago and explain why he failed to act?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, yes, we have absolutely no tolerance for misconduct of any kind. In this matter, we followed the process that has been laid out by previous governments. I instructed my staff to get in touch with the Prime Minister's Office and the Privy Council Office and for the Privy Council Office to take action in this matter. A similar path was taken in 2015 by the leader of the official opposition, who learned of a rumour and then had his staff reach out to the PMO and the Privy Council Office. Does it sound familiar? It is. It is beyond belief that the Leader of the Opposition cannot see this now.

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

Mr. Speaker, the former senior advisor to the Prime Minister, Elder Marques, testified Friday before a parliamentary committee that the Prime Minister's chief of staff was aware of the allegations of sexual misconduct against General Vance. He added, and I quote, “Everyone had the same information.”

The Minister of National Defence was aware, the former senior advisor was aware, military ombudsman Gary Walbourne was aware, and Katie Telford, the Prime Minister's chief of staff, was aware. Will the Prime Minister finally admit that he, too, was aware, and that he misled Canadians by saying he was not?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, we have always taken the process very seriously. We actually saw the same process in 2015 for the same individual as we learned from Prime Minister Harper's former chief of staff. The leader of the official opposition heard of a rumour of misconduct, told his staff, who then told the PMO, which then told the Privy Council Office. Perhaps the leader of the official opposition knows more than he has been willing to say.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Defence can reread his notes 42,000 times, no one believes him.

The other problem with the Prime Minister is that, when he talks about women, he always presents himself as a great feminist prime minister. No one who knows what he did with the former justice minister and with the former health minister believes him.

Can the Prime Minister please stop misleading Canadians, tell the truth and admit that he knew about General Vance?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, as I stated earlier, we have no tolerance for misconduct. The same process was followed as the previous government. When the leader of the official opposition heard of a rumour in 2015, he told his staff to contact the PMO, which then contacted the Privy Council Office to launch an investigation. It was the same process, and that is exactly what we did.

We are going to be taking greater action to make sure that we root out sexual misconduct from the Canadian Armed Forces.

Health

[Luc Thériault, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the federal budget does not include a recurring increase in health transfers for the next five years: not a penny for health for five years.

However, it contains $3 billion to create Canada-wide standards for long-term care homes. I wonder how many thousands of nurses we could hire with $3 billion. The federal government prefers using that money to produce reports and create more bureaucracy. Why will they not use the money to provide health care for people?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, every step of the way we have been there for provinces and territories during this pandemic and, indeed, we will be there after the pandemic, as the Prime Minister has committed. Nonetheless, let me run through the money with which we have supported Quebeckers and all Canadians through provincial and territorial transfers. There were $19 billion as the first down payment on the expenses for the pandemic, and then an additional $7 billion recently. Let me just say that we have provided all the PPE, all the testing, all the vaccines and, indeed, rapid response surge support with the Red Cross and other supports. We will be there now and after the pandemic.

[Luc Thériault, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government is making the same mistake with mental health, allocating $45 million to develop pan-Canadian standards. Once again, what the health system needs is workers and psychologists, not standards. What we need are people who provide care to people.

People who are experiencing mental health issues right now need to talk to health professionals, not Health Canada bureaucrats. Why is the government stubbornly refusing to increase health transfers now?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, let me take this opportunity to say that we understand that Canadians are struggling during this pandemic and, indeed, were before, but of course living through a global pandemic is incredibly stressful and very distressing. That is why we created Wellness Together, because we knew that provinces and territories would need additional support to reach people in their time of need. All Canadians have access to this amazing resource that provides direct support from a variety of different measures in both official languages and with translations into 60 others.

We will be there for Canadians and Quebeckers during this difficult time.

The Budget

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Ottawa wants to create universal child care, like the program we created in Quebec 25 years ago. Obviously, Quebec wants to receive its share of the funding with no stings attached.

Last week, the Prime Minister said he would impose further improvements on Quebec's program. Yesterday on Tout le monde en parle, he said that the agreement would be “pretty much unconditional”.

“Pretty much unconditional” is pretty much a useless thing to say that sets the stage for an equally useless fight.

Why not simply transfer the money with no strings attached?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, we see that once again the Bloc is picking a fight.

Quebec is a pioneer of child care, so much so that we are using Quebec as a model for the rest of Canada because the Quebec model works.

The Prime Minister was very clear yesterday on Tout le monde en parle: the government will not tell Quebec what to do and will discuss all the details with Quebec.

There is no dispute between the government in Ottawa and the Government of Quebec, no matter how much the Bloc Québécois would like to manufacture one to boost its poll numbers.

We are collaborating with Quebec, it is working, and we will keep it up.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Robert Asselin is a former aide to the Prime Minister. Commenting on the budget last week, he said that the government was adding $1 trillion to our national debt and had doubled our debt without creating any jobs or economic growth.

Will the government finally realize that what Canadians need are paycheques, not more national credit card debts?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, with respect, the hon. member neglects the importance of the measures that we have put in place to keep businesses and households afloat through this pandemic. As we move forward, we are going to continue to make the kinds of investments that will specifically target job creation and economic growth, including hiring incentives for business owners, low-cost financing that will allow them to boost productivity, and other measures that will ensure that businesses and communities across Canada can take their place in the market to create jobs right here at home. The hon. member can rest assured, going forward, that our plan will support Canadian businesses and workers as long as it takes.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister has been making the bizarre claim that back during the debt crisis of 2008-09, the big mistake countries made was not adding enough debt. In fact, the countries that did what she suggested and what she is doing now, including France, Spain, Greece and Italy, all experienced massive double-digit unemployment because they kept piling up debts in the middle of a debt crisis; whereas, Canada, Israel, Switzerland and Germany, which had small deficits and returned to balanced budgets, kept unemployment low. Will the government not admit that the best way to get people back to work is to have strong finances for the nation?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, from the very beginning of this pandemic, I have been taking questions on our support for Canadians, and every single time the Conservatives ask a question, they seem to be focused on the dollars we spend rather than the people we have helped. From the very beginning, we have advanced benefits that have supported nine million Canadians to help them keep food on the table. Over five million workers have kept a job because of the wage subsidy.

I will not apologize for being there for Canadians in their time of need. As we go forward, we will continue to do what it takes so those same Canadians have the opportunity to take part in the economy and earn a paycheque to support their families.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary secretary should apologize for such a terrible record on jobs, with the highest unemployment in the G7 for most of this crisis. Canadians want paycheques, not more national credit card debts.

Robert Asselin, former aide to the Prime Minister, agrees. He said:

A budget that needs 700 pages of (red) ink says a lot about government motivations....

After doubling our federal debt in only six years, and spending close to a trillion dollars, not moving the needle on long-term growth would be the worst possible legacy of this budget.

Would the parliamentary secretary agree with his former adviser?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I will not take lessons on economic management from the member who was part of a government with the single worst economic growth record since the Great Depression. The reality is we have been there to support Canadian workers and businesses from the beginning, and we will continue to be there for Canadian workers and businesses through to the end of this pandemic.

The one thing for which the Conservatives can be counted upon is to oppose any measure that seems to support households and businesses throughout this pandemic as our leader continues to do today.

Labour

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, since 1872, workers have had the right to organize and to use pressure tactics to defend their working conditions. It is a system that works well when there is a balance of power between the parties.

The Liberals have upset this balance in the Port of Montreal strike. As usual, the Liberals have threatened workers with special legislation even before the strike gets under way. It takes some nerve to do that before the strike even happens.

The Liberals are showing their true colours. How can they be the party of the middle class when they are trampling workers' fundamental rights like this?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the Port of Montreal is essential to the economy not only of Montreal, but also of Quebec and Canada. This issue is affecting industries that have been suffering as a result of COVID-19, the first strike and the rail blockade. Many jobs are extremely fragile. The port has suffered tremendously.

There is a clear consensus in Quebec, Ontario and elsewhere that operations at the port cannot be interrupted. We need the Port of Montreal. The Government of Quebec, businesses and workers all agree. We need to deal with this issue. The NDP could help.

National Defence

[Lindsay Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the government claims to be a feminist one, but actions speak louder than words.

A feminist government would not sit on the Deschamps report since 2015, or the Auditor General's Report of 2018, which both highlighted the urgent need to address the toxic culture within the armed forces.

The Minister of National Defence would not refuse to hear sexual misconduct allegations if he was a feminist. A feminist Prime Minister would not allow his office to bury reports and drop files regarding sexual misconduct. A minister of this feminist government would not say, “Oh, we were just following a former process.” He would fix the process.

Canadians can no longer tolerate people in positions of power and privilege who refuse to act honourably. When will they take the action necessary?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, a lot more has to be done, and it will be done. When it comes to sexual misconduct, when it comes to Madam Deschamps report, we know that greater action needs to be taken.

More will be said in the coming weeks. We are working towards an inclusive environment for all Canadians who serve and to rooting out all types of sexual misconduct.

Foreign Affairs

[Yvan Baker, Liberal, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, seven years ago, Russia invaded Ukraine and annexed Crimea.

Canada has been very supportive of Ukraine through a number of measures, including through public statements that repeatedly state that Canada's support for Ukraine's sovereignty is “unwavering”.

Recently Russia amassed 80,000 troops on Ukraine's borders and continues to be a threat to invade at any time. An invasion would have consequences, not just for Ukraine but for Canada and our allies.

Could the Minister of Foreign Affairs tell us what Canada is doing, and will do, to defend Ukraine's sovereignty?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Etobicoke Centre for his question and his advocacy.

Since 2014, we have provided over $800 million in international assistance to Ukraine, as well as military training and institutional-level defence reform support via Operation Unifier. We have also sanctioned more than 440 Russian individuals and entities.

We are aware of reports that Russia has ordered the withdrawal of troops from the area, and we continue to follow these developments very carefully. Canada will always remain a steadfast friend and ally of Ukraine.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Iran has just been elected to the UN Commission on the Status of Women, where it will be able to join Saudi Arabia in contributing to international discussions on advancing the rights of women and girls.

This elevation obviously makes a mockery of the important work that the commission should be doing. What is the position of the Government of Canada on the appropriateness of Iran's leaders holding a seat at the UN Commission on the Status of Women?