Debates of June 11th, 2021

Justice

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

Mr. Speaker, the minister should be hanging his head in shame and taking some lessons on how to make appointments that are not partisan.

The minister posted a tweet congratulating one of his buddies, one of his donors, on a recent appointment and then he had to take down the tweet because it turned out the approval was not official yet. Well, that is how Ottawa is run under these Liberals. If one donates enough to the justice minister or flies the Prime Minister's family around the world, one gets concierge service from the government.

Just how long have the Liberals been using their partisan supporter database to approve judges' appointments?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Minister of Justice]

Mr. Speaker, again, the presumptions made by the hon. member are completely false and I disagree with them. There was a mistake made in a tweet. That was corrected by the department and persons were contacted with respect to the mistake that was made. Again, I apologize for that mistake being made on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

We appoint quality candidates from all political backgrounds, all backgrounds, diverse backgrounds, through a process that is independent, through a process that focuses on quality, on talent and on diversity, and—

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

The hon. member for Saint-Jean.

Public Safety

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Liberals rejected a Bloc Québécois motion condemning the conflation of the horrific attack in London with a Quebec law.

The member for Mississauga—Erin Mills defended the rejection of the motion by conflating yet another issue. She said that Canada is a multicultural society where everyone should feel welcome, and that laws like that of Quebec do not help to create this kind of climate.

Obviously, the member feels that there is a connection between the attack in London and the Quebec law. Is that the government's position or will the member be admonished for that?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Minister of Justice]

Mr. Speaker, Quebeckers are well aware, they are defending their rights through the Constitution and we are going to continue to follow that process from close. Obviously, I express my condolences to the Muslim community in London and across Canada for this tragic and horrific act, and we will continue to move forward in that direction.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the motion that the Liberals rejected had three objectives.

It reiterated our condolences to the victims' families and friends and to the entire community of London because they are the ones we should be talking about today, not political parties and especially not Quebec.

The motion reiterated that everyone must denounce hatred and violence, and that misguided conflation must be avoided at all costs because this tragedy must not be used to play partisan or ideological politics.

How can the House possibly not be able to agree on that?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Minister of Justice]

Mr. Speaker, I cannot speak to why the House is not unanimous on this issue.

From the start, we have expressed our condolences to the victims' family and friends and to Muslim communities across Canada, particularly those in London, Ontario.

We are trying to combat Islamophobia. We will continue to do that because that is what we need to do to have an inclusive and, might I add, fair country.

The Economy

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the government has provided $750 billion in liquidity supports for Canada's big banks, it has provided billions to profitable companies that paid out dividends and executive bonuses and it has refused to put into place a wealth tax or a pandemic profit tax. For the government, the sky is the limit for the ultrarich.

With a potential fourth wave coming and families struggling, why is the Liberal government slashing supports Canadians desperately need to put food on the table? Why are Liberals slashing emergency benefits for Canadians nearly in half at this critical time?

[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 great respect for the hon. member, I take some umbrage at the question he has put. He knows fairly well that during this pandemic it was our government that was there for people in need. We advanced record supports to help families keep food on the table and help workers remain on the payroll.

Going forward, we have immense benefits we are rolling out to continue to support people and businesses through this pandemic. I will point out, before he continues to ride on his high horse, that when he had the opportunity to vote to cut taxes for the middle class and pay for them by raising them on the 1%, he voted against it. When he had the chance to stop sending child care cheques to millionaires to put more money in the pockets of nine out of 10 Canadian families, he voted against it too. Families should—

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

The hon. member for North Island—Powell River.

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, let us be real. The Liberals offered $1,000 for CERB and it was the NDP who moved them to increase it to $2,000, so I would remind the minister of that.

In the next three weeks, the government is cutting the CERB support to Canadians across the country almost in half. I am asking the minister how he expects people to buy food, pay their rent and cover their bills on $1,200. That does not pass the test in Canadian cities.

The government gives billions of dollars to oil and gas companies, refuses to tax the ultrarich, but is fine to nickel and dime everyday people. Instead of working for the ultrarich and huge corporations, when will the government step up and actually—

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

The hon. minister.

[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 would urge the NDP to tone down the rhetoric and stop trying to take credit for the measures that our government put in place to help Canadians in their time of need.

The very first thing we did when we came to office in 2015 was raise taxes on the wealthiest 1% so we could cut them for the middle class. The NDP voted against it. When we had a chance to stop sending child care cheques to millionaires to put more money in the pockets of nine out of 10 Canadians families, the NDP voted against it. When we took initial steps to eliminate measures that benefit wealthy executives just in 2019, the NDP voted against that too.

Canadians should know that, from the beginning of this pandemic until its end, we will be there for—

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

The hon. member for Carleton.

Foreign Affairs

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, not only are millionaire corporate Liberals like Mark Carney refusing to source raw materials from the Xinjiang region of China, which powers its production of those materials with slave labour and coal-fired manufacturing, here the government is refusing to rule out partnering with companies like iFlyTek, which does AI research to help identify the voice of Chinese political dissidents and carry out that very same genocide. Will the government reverse course and stop partnering with technology companies that enable genocide?

[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, we will partner with folks on the international scene, but it is rich for the member to suggest that he is somehow more morally astute than the government.

Our focus, when it comes to the relationship with China, is securing the release of the two Michaels, the well-being of 300,000 Canadians in Hong Kong and the treatment of the Uighur population in Xinjiang.

We will continue to focus on Canada playing a leadership role on the world stage and defending the interests of Canadians abroad at every opportunity.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the member said he is concerned about the Uighur Muslim minority in China. He refused to condemn the genocide being committed against that very population and then he wags his fingers at us.

The question was very specific. The federal government is funding research at universities that are now partnering with companies like iFlyTek, which is using voice recognition technology that helps the Chinese government intercept the phone calls of the Uighur population to identify what they are saying and help carry out the genocide. If he is as moral as he claims, why will he not rule out any of those types of partners?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we have been very clear with respect to the treatment of the Uighurs in China and are gravely preoccupied with all of the very credible reports that have come out of China with respect to their treatment. That is why we have been calling for an open, unfettered, impartial investigation of the situation in Xinjiang and will continue to press for that with our international partners.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, speaking of our international partners, the U.S. State Department has blacklisted iFlyTek because of its role in supporting the genocide in the Xinjiang region. The Australians have recognized the company likewise, and recently the Alberta government has called for a national policy that bans technological co-operation with companies like this one that aid in the commission of genocide. Will the government announce today that there will be no more funding of partnerships with technology companies that help commit genocide?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we have been clear in recent months that co-operation with other countries, including China, that may involve a risk with respect to intellectual property, are to be taken into consideration when funding partnerships are proposed in our universities and other institutions. That is something that we are very conscience of and the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry has spoken about recently.

Public Safety

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, every day for weeks now we have been asking the government about the unfortunate events at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg.

The government's response is always the same. Unfortunately, the Liberals call us racist, and yesterday they accused us of being conspiracy theorists. This only confirms that insult is the weapon of the weak.

On CBC yesterday, two experts acknowledged that some very relevant questions need to be asked about these events, even talking about espionage.

Why does the government refuse to get to the bottom of this deplorable situation?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I think the Conservative member opposite knows full well by now that we have provided NSICOP fully unredacted documents. This is the appropriate committee to investigate these documents. I urge him to stop accusing the government of not being transparent, because, in fact, by providing fully unredacted documents, that is exactly what we are being, transparent.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that this Liberal government committee is a secret committee where no one can say anything. More than anyone, the Prime Minister seems to have the final say. It is not a parliamentary committee, it is a committee of parliamentarians created by the Liberal government. We actually voted against it when it was first created, precisely because it lacks transparency.

The best way to get to the bottom of things and respond to the concerns of the experts we heard on CBC yesterday would be to table those documents so they can be properly studied by a real parliamentary committee.

Why is the government getting in the way of that?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the opposition party is playing dangerous games with national security. The member knows fully well that, in fact, his party appoints candidates to the NSICOP. The documents are with the committee. They are fully unredacted. I encourage him to stop trying to mislead Canadians and play games with national security.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, these are the facts. What happened in Winnipeg?

First, two researchers were removed and escorted by the RCMP. Security clearance was given to a researcher with direct ties to the Chinese military. Two senior laboratory managers suddenly quit their jobs. In addition, two viruses were shipped from Winnipeg to Wuhan.

These are important issues and we need to get the whole truth not from a committee where the Prime Minister has the right to veto everything that will be released, but by a real committee of parliamentarians.

Why is the government hiding the truth from Canadians?