House of Commons Hansard #118 of the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was genocide.

Topics

The EconomyOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

Conservative

Luc Berthold Conservative Mégantic—L'Érable, QC

Mr. Speaker, the problem is that the Prime Minister spent $200 million more than Canadians needed to get through the pandemic. He did not mention that.

We are getting used to the Prime Minister not answering questions. He hedges, deflects questions, and gives answers that are not related to the questions he is being asked. Citizens keep asking me whether the Prime Minister will answer a question one day.

I have a simple one for him today. Can he tell us who slept in that infamous $6,000 room in London?

The EconomyOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, while the Conservative Party is busy attacking the government and, apparently, our presence at Her Majesty the Queen's funeral, we will continue to be there to deliver real results for Canadians with a GST rebate cheque that will go into the bank accounts of 11 million Canadians in the coming weeks, with dental care assistance and help for low-income renters. The Conservatives are opposed to those last two initiatives.

Why are the Conservatives not there for Canadians?

The EconomyOral Questions

3:15 p.m.

Conservative

Luc Berthold Conservative Mégantic—L'Érable, QC

Mr. Speaker, I wonder how he can say that and also justify staying in a $6,000 room. Not many Canadians can afford to stay in a room that costs $6,000.

I misspoke earlier. It was not $200 million more that was spent during the pandemic but that had nothing to do with the pandemic. It was $200 billion. That is the reality. When will the Prime Minister stop blaming everyone else and start taking responsibility for his incompetence?

The EconomyOral Questions

3:15 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we all worked together to ensure that Canadians had the support they needed to get through the pandemic. From creating the Canada emergency response benefit to helping employers, small businesses and seniors, we all worked together, and our government provided a tremendous amount of help to get Canadians through those tough times.

Now that our economy is back in full swing, we can see that many Canadians are still having a tough time. That is why we are providing help for dental care and help for renters, but the Conservatives are against that.

Indigenous AffairsOral Questions

3:15 p.m.

NDP

Lori Idlout NDP Nunavut, NU

Uqaqtittiji, indigenous children have been torn from their families, communities and cultural practices for decades. Yesterday, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal reaffirmed our knowledge that the government continues to wilfully discriminate against indigenous children. The government must listen to advocates and make sure every child affected is eligible for compensation and leaves no one behind.

Will the government find solutions outside of the courts so that children do not have to wait any longer?

Indigenous AffairsOral Questions

3:15 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, exactly what we did was work directly with indigenous peoples, first nations and other indigenous peoples, to ensure that we were moving forward on supporting the people who needed it and on getting that compensation to those people who had been harmed by the practices of governments past.

We are continuing to stand with the AFN and Trout and Moushoom to make sure that we are working to deliver compensation to these kids as quickly as possible. We know that they deserve compensation. We want to be there for them, as we have always said we would be.

Oil and Gas IndustryOral Questions

3:15 p.m.

NDP

Lisa Marie Barron NDP Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC

Mr. Speaker, oil companies are getting rich off the backs of Canadians but the Liberals keep handing them billions of dollars in public money. These same companies are fuelling the climate crisis. A new report from the International Institute on Sustainable Development confirms that paying big oil to reduce their emissions is a bad investment. These handouts mean less investment in climate solutions that support workers.

When will the government stop subsidizing big oil and start making them pay what they owe?

Oil and Gas IndustryOral Questions

3:15 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, there has been a long-standing disagreement between the Liberal Party on this side and the NDP on that side about the use of investing, for example, in CCUS technology to ensure that we can decarbonize our oil and gas production, so that we can continue to deliver the energy that the world needs while we go through this energy transition at lower emission levels.

That is why we are working closely with industry on decarbonization measures. That is why we put a price on pollution, to give a clear price incentive for companies to reduce their carbon emissions. This is the kind of work that we are doing, because we know that we need to be there for workers and build a strong future—

Oil and Gas IndustryOral Questions

3:15 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

The hon. member for Brampton South.

Public SafetyOral Questions

3:15 p.m.

Liberal

Sonia Sidhu Liberal Brampton South, ON

Mr. Speaker, handguns have ripped our communities apart. We have seen this first-hand in Brampton and in the greater Toronto area. The Toronto Danforth shooting, the Quebec City mosque attack and the Edmonton shooting all involved senseless handgun violence that claimed loved ones too soon. While Conservatives are trying to make assault weapons legal again, the Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety are taking swift action to protect Canadians.

Could the right hon. Prime Minister please share with the House how the handgun freeze will protect all Canadian communities?

Public SafetyOral Questions

3:15 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from Brampton South for her hard work and advocacy on this matter.

We are taking the strongest action in a generation to keep communities safe from gun violence, including a national freeze on handguns, because it is time to get handguns off the streets, out of abusive homes and out of the hands of criminals.

We will never apologize for acting with urgency to protect Canadians from gun violence. We will let the Conservative Party explain for itself why it believes that weapons meant for the battlefield should remain in our neighbourhoods.

Public SafetyOral Questions

3:20 p.m.

Conservative

Stephen Ellis Conservative Cumberland—Colchester, NS

Mr. Speaker, in the audio file Commissioner Lucki states, “the Minister wants to speak with me...once again, I dropped the ball.”

It goes on: “I have apologized to the Minister; I’m waiting for the Prime Minister to call me so I can apologize”.

The former minister of public safety needs to stop the deception, fiction, fabrication and disinformation. He needs to respect Nova Scotians and resign for his actions and political interference in the investigations of the deaths of 22 Nova Scotians and an unborn child.

Will the Prime Minister accept the resignation of this minister?

Public SafetyOral Questions

3:20 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, as always, our thoughts are with the families as they continue to grieve, and my efforts are focused squarely, as they have been since day one, on supporting them.

As the commissioner and the minister have clearly stated, the decision on what information is released and when is that of the police alone, and that was fully respected.

Public SafetyOral Questions

3:20 p.m.

Conservative

Raquel Dancho Conservative Kildonan—St. Paul, MB

Mr. Speaker, with this Liberal RCMP political interference scandal, the minister continues to avoid accountability by using very specific legal words concerning ministerial directives to the RCMP. We are not asking about legal directives. We are asking about political interference.

Did the minister, his chief of staff or anyone from his office discuss the forthcoming Liberal gun control legislation with the RCMP commissioner or her staff between the dates of the Nova Scotia mass murder and the April 28 press conference? Did they politicize the deaths of 22 people, yes or no ?

Public SafetyOral Questions

3:20 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, Canadians expect their government to respond quickly and effectively to crises, and answer their questions, but it is interesting to see how Conservative politicians are changing their tune. I will remind the member that her colleagues from Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes and West Nova asked on at least three occasions, between May 20 and May 28, 2020, when all of this information would finally be made transparent and public.

I am focused on supporting the families affected by this tragedy and taking action to ensure that it never happens again.

Public SafetyOral Questions

3:20 p.m.

Conservative

Raquel Dancho Conservative Kildonan—St. Paul, MB

Mr. Speaker, new evidence of this cover-up is coming out every day. We just learned that the RCMP director of media relations, who also happens to be a former Liberal staffer, is being investigated for covering up the audio recording that is at the centre of this entire scandal. That same audio recording has the commissioner directly contradicting the minister. There are lies here.

Who is getting fired, the minister, the commissioner or both?

Public SafetyOral Questions

3:20 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, as all Canadians know, when an emergency arises, accurate and timely information is crucial.

As the commissioner stated:

Keeping the government informed through timely and accurate information sharing is not interference. It's standard procedure, and these situational updates are provided without compromising the operational integrity of an investigation.

Canadians rightfully have questions about the public communications that occurred during and after our country's most devastating mass casualty. That is why it is a focus of our inquiry.

Public SafetyOral Questions

3:20 p.m.

Conservative

Richard Martel Conservative Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC

Mr. Speaker, the former emergency preparedness minister politicized the criminal inquiry into the largest mass killing in Canada's history. There is no use denying it, the evidence is there. It is serious. He put pressure on the RCMP commissioner to disclose sensitive information so he could advance the Liberal agenda, although he was advised that it could hurt the investigation.

Today, I have the following question for the Prime Minister: When will he fire him?

Public SafetyOral Questions

3:20 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, first, our thoughts are with the families who are still grieving. We are focusing our efforts on the assistance to give them.

The commissioner and the minister have reiterated many times that it is up to the police to decide what information is to be disclosed and when. This principle was fully respected in this situation and in all other situations.

Public SafetyOral Questions

3:20 p.m.

Bloc

Rhéal Fortin Bloc Rivière-du-Nord, QC

Mr. Speaker, at the Rouleau commission, three police forces confirmed that the Emergencies Act was never needed to end the truckers' occupation in Ottawa.

The RCMP, the Ontario Provincial Police and the Ottawa Police Service all told us they did not need it. The RCMP even warned the feds, hours before they invoked the act, that they had not yet exhausted all available tools.

Can the Prime Minister explain why he invoked the Emergencies Act against the RCMP's advice?

Public SafetyOral Questions

3:25 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, invoking the Emergencies Act is not a minor affair. It is a big deal.

When the act is invoked, a public inquiry must take place in order to provide an update and clarify everything that happened, all the decisions that were made and the justifications for why it was done.

That is why this public inquiry has been launched. I look forward to being there to share my thoughts on this so that Canadians can understand why it was necessary and so that they can understand that it was done in a responsible manner.

Public SafetyOral Questions

3:25 p.m.

Bloc

Rhéal Fortin Bloc Rivière-du-Nord, QC

Mr. Speaker, I too am looking forward to the Prime Minister's testimony.

Today, Inspector Robert Bernier of the Ottawa police confirmed that it was not the emergency measures that helped end the siege. The police operation was developed the day before, on February 13, by police officers who, at the time, were unaware of the federal government's intentions. Mr. Bernier confirmed that police forces carried out the operation as planned regardless of the emergency measures, because they already had all the necessary powers to act.

Once again, can the Prime Minister explain why he invoked the Emergencies Act if there was no need for it? Was he just trying to follow in his father's footsteps?

Public SafetyOral Questions

3:25 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, I know that no Canadian will be truly surprised to learn that those who opposed the use of the Emergencies Act at the time are still opposed today. Those of us who believed it was necessary still believe that.

That is why a public inquiry was launched. It will clarify all the reasons and justifications so that Canadians can be assured, through a non-partisan and impartial process, that it was the right thing to do, that it was done in a limited and proportionate way, and that it worked to end the illegal occupation.

TaxationOral Questions

3:25 p.m.

Conservative

Tim Uppal Conservative Edmonton Mill Woods, AB

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are completely out of touch with the economic crisis that Canadians are facing because of their reckless spending.

Interest rates went up again today. The cost of groceries is at a 40-year high, forcing too many Canadian families to use a food bank. It is becoming a luxury to heat a home in this country. On top of that, the Liberals will be raising the carbon tax, making everything more expensive.

Will the Liberals cancel their plan to raise the carbon tax?

TaxationOral Questions

3:25 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives continue to point out that we were there in too large a measure for small businesses, for families and for workers who struggled through this pandemic. We disagree with them on that, because we saw our economy recover faster than just about any of our allied countries. On top of that, the Conservatives continue to say they are concerned about the issues facing Canadians in their day-to-day lives, and yet they continue not just to stand against but to attempt to block our help for Canadians on dental care and support for low-income renters.

Why do the Conservatives continue to stand against support for Canadians?