Debates of April 27th, 2022

Ethics

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Conservative politicians want to continue manufacturing distractions on matters that were dealt with years ago, instead of talking about the economy, talking about the environment, talking about things that Canadians care about. What is clear is that they do not want to talk about making sure our economic recovery leaves no one behind. They do not want to talk about or even acknowledge the climate crisis. They definitely do not want to talk about making our communities safer by banning assault weapons. They want to talk about me, so while they stay focused on me, I will stay focused on Canadians.

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, in 2016, the Prime Minister of Canada broke four separate sections of the ethics act. In doing so, as we found out just in the last week, he may have broken criminal law. The Prime Minister likes to break the rules; we know that. It all started with that illegal holiday, but it has continued with his illegal activity and interference with the SNC-Lavalin trial and his illegal benefits from the WE foundation, just to mention a few.

This is a Prime Minister who is always pushing the boundaries of ethical conduct and coming as close as he can to breaking the law. He seems to get away with it, but maybe not this time. Is the Prime Minister above the law?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, what the Conservative Party members are making very clear is that they do not want to talk about investments in child care. They do not want to talk about how to close the infrastructure gap between indigenous and non-indigenous communities. They do not want to talk about investments in green infrastructure. They do not want to talk about making sure that the wealthiest pay their fair share. They definitely do not want to talk about protecting a woman's right to choose. While they focus on personal attacks on me, we will stay focused on the things that matter to Canadians.

Official Languages

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister used the word “flabbergasted”. He was upset and I am glad to hear it.

Canadian National has its headquarters in Montreal and so does Air Canada, and he is upset that no one at CN speaks French. He should be upset that none of the board members can speak French because they are in Quebec.

On June 16, 2021, 281 elected members here in the House voted to recognize that French is the only common and official language of the Quebec nation.

Will the Prime Minister require members of boards of directors whose headquarters are in Montreal or Quebec to have a basic knowledge of French?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, both official languages are at the heart of our identity. Every Canadian deserves to be served in the official language of their choice by federally regulated businesses, including CN.

The lack of francophone administrators on CN's board of directors is unacceptable, and we expect CN's management to lead by example.

As part of our modernization of the Official Languages Act, we are giving the Commissioner of Official Languages the tools he needs to ensure that CN meets its official languages obligations.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's indignation is a little selective.

Air Canada's CEO does not care about French, and a vice-president from CN spoke to the Standing Committee on Official Languages in English only, even though both of these companies have French roots. That is a little worrisome.

How can the Prime Minister say he is flabbergasted? Does he not realize that by appointing a governor general and a lieutenant-governor who do not speak French, he is signalling to everyone that his government thinks French is just a quaint curiosity?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Governor General is the first indigenous person to serve in that role. She was born in northern Quebec in the 1950s, a time when French was not taught there, unfortunately.

It is important for our leaders to set the example, and our Governor General has been taking intensive French courses since she was appointed.

Ms. Simon is determined to learn French and recognizes the fundamental importance of knowing both our official languages in order to represent all Canadians to the best of her abilities. By making it a priority to learn French, she has demonstrated the importance of protecting French across the country.

Climate Change

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the environment commissioner made it very clear that the government's plan for pricing pollution lets the biggest polluters off the hook while hurting indigenous communities and small businesses. The Liberals also have no plan for workers impacted by the climate crisis, which should come as no surprise when they have a plan where they take advice from big oil and gas instead of from climate scientists.

When will this Prime Minister understand that delay on climate action has the same outcomes as denial of the climate crisis?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the commissioner's report recognizes that putting a price on carbon pollution is critical to reducing Canada's emissions. The reports acknowledge that our price on pollution cuts emissions and fights climate change. We have strengthened our benchmark and standards, addressing many of the issues the commissioner identified, and we will continue to hold provinces' and territories' feet to the fire to meet these new targets. We will use these reports to keep delivering what Canadians expect: a healthy environment and a healthy economy.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, not only does this government have the worst climate record in the G7, but the commissioner of the environment says its emissions reduction plan is nothing but a fairy tale. It is based on overly optimistic estimates and non-existent policies.

When will this government stop pretending and actually do something about the climate crisis?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the commissioner for his latest reports. His work shows how far we have come and what more we can do.

After a decade of inaction under the former Conservative government, we have made tremendous progress, whether it is building the green economy of the future, putting a price on pollution across Canada, or protecting an unprecedented amount of our lands and waters.

We are ready to do even more to keep our air clean, create jobs for the middle class and grow a strong economy.

Ethics

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Prime Minister admitted he never gave himself permission to accept an extravagant vacation gift valued at $215,000 from a lobbyist. What was unknown to the RCMP during its original investigation is now known. This morning, I wrote to the RCMP commissioner asking her to reopen the investigation into the Prime Minister committing fraud on the government.

Will the Prime Minister co-operate in this RCMP investigation?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are watching the Conservative Party of Canada engage in an act of political theatre on a matter that was dealt with years ago. Conservatives will stop at nothing to distract from their support of the illegal blockades that cost our economy, put people out of work and made people feel unsafe in their own communities. Let us talk about the real things that matter to Canadians, from the cost of living to Putin's illegal war in Ukraine. While the Conservatives continue to focus on me, we will stay focused on the things that matter to Canadians.

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

Mr. Speaker, I know the Prime Minister thinks he is off the hook, but there is no statute of limitations here in Canada. He shockingly revealed yesterday that he did not give himself the authorization to accept the extravagant gift. There is now a cloud of suspicion hanging over the Prime Minister, and he is under a shadow of doubt when it comes to his own integrity and honesty.

When will the Prime Minister begin speaking to the RCMP about violating Criminal Code section 121(1)(c)?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Conservative politicians want to continue to keep manufacturing distractions on matters that were dealt with years ago, instead of talking about the economy, the environment or issues that Canadians care about. What is clear is that they do not want to talk about making sure our economy leaves no one behind. They do not want to talk about, or even acknowledge, the climate crisis. They definitely do not want to talk about making our communities safer with a ban on assault weapons. They want to talk about me, so while they stay focused on me, I will stay focused on delivering for Canadians.

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

Mr. Speaker, section 19 of the Criminal Code says that, “Ignorance of the law by a person who commits an offence”, which includes our Prime Minister, “is not an excuse for committing that offence.” Section 121 of the Code indicates that, “Everyone is guilty of fraud on the government if they, being an official, accept from anyone who has dealings with the government a reward”, such as a luxury illegal vacation, unless they have consent in writing from the head of the department.

If the Prime Minister did not give himself consent, will he admit that he is guilty of fraud?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said, we are seeing that the Conservatives do not want to focus on the things that matter to Canadians. They do not want to talk about workers. They do not want to talk about supporting seniors. They do not want to talk about supporting students. They do not want to talk about supporting veterans. They do not want to talk about the opioid crisis. They do not want to talk about reconciliation, and they do not want to talk about investments in clean and renewable energy. They just continue to want to try to make personal attacks and focus on me, while we, as a government, continue to remain resolutely focused on serving Canadians and delivering for them.

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we want to focus on his illegal, unethical acts. The current Prime Minister is the first and only Prime Minister found guilty by the Ethics Commissioner. The lavish, luxurious and illegal trip to the Bahamas was strike number one. Strike number two was our Prime Minister again being found guilty of ethical violations for his political interference in the SNC-Lavalin prosecution. This was followed by the WE scandal, the Winnipeg lab scandal and now the Emergencies Act invocation. Yesterday, his admission that he did not give himself consent to accept the trip was strike number three. He is out at bat and the game is over.

Why does the PM continue to conduct himself—

[The Deputy Speaker, Chris d'Entremont]

The Right hon. Prime Minister.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, two weeks ago in the House, we presented a budget that moved forward on supporting Canadians, whether by historic investments in housing, investing in green growth and good jobs, or moving forward on reconciliation. One would think that the House of Commons would talk about these things that matter to Canadians or challenge the government on the things that we did in this budget.

We all know that the Conservatives look forward to challenging and disagreeing with the government on a range of things. Are there any questions about the budget? No. Are there any questions about housing? No. The Conservatives just want to fling mud.

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

Mr. Speaker, I know that the Prime Minister is very uncomfortable with this line of questioning, and he will try to spin, spin, spin, but Canadians deserve to know that the Prime Minister is not above the law and in fact should be held to a higher standard. Yesterday, he admitted that he did not have consent to accept the vacation, and took it anyway. The unknown is now known.

Will the Prime Minister come clean and remove the cloud of suspicion and proactively speak to the RCMP about his unethical and criminal behaviour?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as I pointed out, these are issues that were brought up by the Conservative leader three Conservative leaders ago. The issue was aired. The issue was dealt with.

What we see today is a Conservative Party desperate to distract Canadians from its farcical leadership race, distract Canadians from the important work we are doing on the budget, and distract Canadians from the fact that it was busy supporting a convoy that shut down jobs and hurt Canadians across the country. These are things the Conservatives do not want to talk about. What they want to do is focus on me with personal attacks. We will stay focused on Canadians.

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

Mr. Speaker, I will tell the Prime Minister that the one thing Canadians are sick and tired of is a Prime Minister who acts with impunity and thinks he is above the law.

In the House yesterday, the Prime Minister gave the RCMP the missing clue it needed to begin a formal investigation into defrauding the government of over $200,000: He did not grant himself the permission to take this trip.

Will the Prime Minister face the consequences and make himself and his staff available to be interviewed by the RCMP, or is he just going to refuse to face the music?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, again, we see Conservatives trying to drum up acts of political theatre on a matter that was dealt with years ago, because all they have in their tool box is personal attacks and flinging mud.

One would think that a Conservative Party, a loyal opposition of Her Majesty, would be bringing up issues that matter to Canadians, whether it is growing the economy, whether it is issues around the cost of living, or whether it is the housing crisis faced by so many Canadians. We have answers to all of those things in our budget, and we will continue working on that. That is why they fling mud.

Official Languages

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

Mr. Speaker, we will get there yet.

On the Prime Minister's little cheat sheet, it says that it is not a question of speaking French, but rather of possibly learning to speak French in the future, or “at some point”.

At some point, though, could the Prime Minister not simply say that he will allow Quebec to apply the Charter of the French Language to businesses under federal jurisdiction, end of story?