Debates of June 22nd, 2021

Ethics

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the Conservatives will never let the facts get in the way of a good political attack, unfortunately. Canadians deserve better than that. Fortunately, we have a government that is entirely focused on that.

In terms of managing the needs of our constituents, MPs across all different parties use database management systems to support Canadians. I can assure members that we are following all the rules in keeping those databases separate and, indeed, ensuring that House resources are used for constituency business and not political purposes. The other parties cannot say that the same way.

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, once again, the Prime Minister is announcing measures at the border without thought to the consequences of his ad libbing.

This time, he is loosening health guidelines for people who are fully vaccinated, but not for their children, who will still have to quarantine. There is also no easing of restrictions for people who contracted COVID‑19 and who are not allowed a second dose, nor for vaccinated international travellers. From start to finish, it is confusion and ad libbing.

Has the Prime Minister learned nothing during the year and a half of the pandemic?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, what we have presented is a gradual and responsible plan to reopen our borders.

Starting July 5, we will allow every fully vaccinated traveller to forgo quarantine in order to facilitate a gradual reopening. We will have other measures to announce in the weeks to come, as Canadians get vaccinated, because our decisions are always based on the need to ensure, first and foremost, the health and safety of all Canadians—

[The Speaker, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Beloeil—Chambly.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is not terribly clear for those who did not have to quarantine.

The Prime Minister is telling us that everything he is announcing now will no longer be valid as of July 21. On July 21, in the middle of summer, when no one is watching the news anymore, Ottawa is going to again change the rules and the way the border is managed and create even more confusion.

We need clear rules. We need simple rules that have been agreed upon with Quebec public health. There are more variables in the way the borders are being managed than there are variants in the world.

Can the Prime Minister explain how he is making reopening the borders even more confusing than closing them?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I know that the leader of the Bloc Québécois wants simple answers, but we are in the midst of a complicated pandemic. We are going to have to look at how vaccination efforts in Canada are going, what is happening with the variants across Canada, the new cases that are cropping up in various regions and what is happening internationally.

We will continue to proceed with a responsible reopening plan in partnership with the provinces and territories to ensure that we keep Canadians safe and healthy every step of the way. That is what people expect.

National Defence

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the military ombudsman stated that vested political interests complicate his office's ability to do its work. This is outrageous.

He goes on to say that when the Liberal government refuses to listen to his office's recommendations in order to advance political interests, its self-preservation or career advancement, then members of the defence community suffer. Specifically, women suffer because there continues to be a climate that is conducive to sexual misconduct against women.

What is it going to take for the Prime Minister to fix this?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, since we arrived in power in 2015, we have been completely and totally committed to structural and cultural change in addressing sexual assault, all across Canada, including in the Canadian Armed Forces.

Recently we have taken concrete actions on top of previous actions to address this, including naming Lieutenant-General Jennie Carignan as the chief of professional conduct and culture, appointing Louise Arbour to conduct an independent review of the treatment of sexual misconduct, and committing over $236 million in budget 2021 to combatting sexual misconduct in the CAF.

We will do more. We will continue to work hard on this to end the culture of acceptance and tolerance of misogyny, and—

[The Speaker, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Burnaby South.

Taxation

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to talk about the choices that this government and this Prime Minister are making. In a few weeks, the Prime Minister is going to cut assistance for people who need $800 a month, but he is not doing anything to prevent tax evasion by the ultra-rich. That is a choice.

Why is the Prime Minister turning a blind eye to tax evasion by the ultra-rich while cutting assistance for people who need it?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, from the start of this pandemic, we promised Canadians that we would be there with all the help they needed for as long as it takes. That is exactly what we are doing.

We hope that the budget will be passed in the House by tomorrow so that we can continue to provide assistance to Canadians who need it in the coming months. I hope the NDP will support us.

We will continue our work to combat tax evasion and tax avoidance because everyone needs to pay their fair share of taxes.

Ethics

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have come to expect the same thing from the Liberal government: constant scandals and ethical breaches and that Liberal insiders will always get the inside track.

Now it has come out that Liberal MPs are funnelling taxpayer dollars to the Prime Minister's close friend Tom Pitfield, and for what? The Liberals do not even know. This could not fit the Liberal MO any better.

Who coordinated this scheme for Liberal MPs to cut cheques to the Prime Minister's buddy?

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

Mr. Speaker, is that the same guy who tried to shut down Parliament a couple of weeks ago? He is part of a group that refused to work longer hours to help Canadians. They filibustered important work we are doing for Canadians, and what are they doing now? They are just trying to change the channel. They should stop wasting time and help us help Canadians.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad the government House leader holds me in such high esteem that after he shut down Parliament during a pandemic and his members supported the prorogation and filibustered across all kinds of committees, he wants to talk about me instead of talking about the fact that he and his colleagues are funnelling taxpayer dollars to support Liberal Party back office and black ops. As we have seen before, whenever there is a racket to be run in the government, we can be sure that those closest to the Prime Minister are involved.

Will the Prime Minister tell Canadians who gave the order for Liberal MPs to funnel taxpayer money to the PM's pal?

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

Mr. Speaker, there they go again: personal attacks on well-respected individuals. They keep doing that. Why? They want to hide their failure. They refuse to work. We remember a couple of weeks ago when it was 10 a.m., when people go to work, and the Conservatives decided they had worked enough and should go home. They refuse to work longer hours to adopt important legislation and they filibuster. If they do not want to help, they should get out of the way and let us help Canadians.

National Defence

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

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Defence is under fire again. This time, the military ombudsman, Gregory Lick, who reports directly to the minister, had this to say about the minister’s failure to act on military sexual misconduct: “When leaders turn a blind eye to our recommendations and concerns in order to advance political interests and their own self-preservation or career advancement, it is the members of the defence community that suffer the consequences”.

Will the minister face reality, quit putting his own career ahead of the women and men in uniform, do the right thing and resign?

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

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite continues to play political games. As he very well knows, from the time that I joined and the time that I left and currently, what I am doing is making sure we look after our troops. We know we have a lot more work to do. The work we began in 2015, we are going to get it done. Where the member opposite cut, when he was the parliamentary secretary for national defence when the Conservatives were in government, we invested. We have a lot more work to do, and we will get it done.

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

Mr. Speaker, we know there have been two military ombudsmen who have said the defence minister has failed, and the defence minister refuses to acknowledge the anger of the victims, military members and his own ombudsman. The ombudsman was clear about the defence minister’s role in fanning the flames of the current crisis. He said:

…the actions of the Minister of National Defence, senior government and military officials have bitterly proved this point. The erratic behaviour of leadership defies common sense or reason. The concept of Ministerial accountability has been absent.

Has the minister finally gotten the message? For the good of the Canadian Armed Forces, will he please, please resign?

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

Mr. Speaker, I got the message way back when I was serving during the previous government, when it cut the type of training that was absolutely necessary to prevent this type of work. When I got into politics in this party, we worked very hard to make sure that we can create an inclusive environment. It does not take just words; it takes actions, and we have been working very hard. We know that we have a lot more work to do. We are willing to get it done.

With the work that Madam Louise Arbour will be doing, and many others, we will eventually come to a place where there is absolute inclusivity. We know there has to be work, and I ask the member opposite to stop playing politics and support our work.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Defence is in hot water again.

The military ombudsman, Gregory Lick, who reports directly to the minister, had this to say about his failures to act on sexual misconduct in the Canadian Forces: “When leaders turn a blind eye to our recommendations and concerns in order to advance political interests and their own self-preservation or career advancement, it is the members of the defence community that suffer the consequences.”

The minister continues to put his own interests ahead of those of Canadian Forces members. When will he resign?

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

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite and his party can continue to play political games and continue their mudslinging and attacks. We will remain focused on survivors. We have a lot more work to do. As I stated, we have appointed former Supreme Court Justice Arbour to conduct an independent external review, with a mandate that includes looking at a more robust independent reporting mechanism that meets the needs of survivors.

We will get this done. We are not going to take any lessons from the member opposite or the previous government.

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

Mr. Speaker, the defence minister does not seem to grasp the seriousness of the problem. He refuses to even acknowledge the anger of the victims, the military and his own ombudsman.

The ombudsman was clear about the minister's role, saying that he is the one who has been fuelling the problem. According to the ombudsman, “The erratic behaviour of leadership defies common sense or reason. The concept of ministerial accountability has been absent.”

Does the minister understand that he has failed again? Will he do the right thing and resign?

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

Mr. Speaker, we will stay focused on supporting survivors. We know that we have considerable work to do, but we also have started a lot of work. We passed Bill C-77, whereas the previous government let it die on the Order Paper. We have also committed $236 million in budget 2021 to end sexual misconduct. We will get it done.

[Rhéal Fortin, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is both sad and striking to see that nobody on the other side of the House has the wherewithal to defend the minister.

The defence ombudsman lashed out today. He said he was fed up with the fact that reports of sexual misconduct in the army are being shelved. As he put it, quote, “When leaders turn a blind eye to our recommendations and concerns in order to advance political interests and their own self-preservation or career advancement, it is the members of the defence community that suffer the consequences.” The ombudsman added, “It is clear that inaction is rewarded far more than action.” He said that this cannot persist.

What will it take for the Prime Minister to fire his Minister of Defence and put him out of his misery?

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

Mr. Speaker, we look forward to a further review of the ombudsman's report. That said, we are taking further action to eliminate sexual misconduct, including committing over $236 million in budget 2021. As I stated, Justice Louise Arbour will be conducting an independent review to make sure that we create a more robust independent reporting mechanism that meets the needs of survivors. She will provide recommendations that we are committed to implementing. We know that we have a lot more work to do and we are willing to get it done.