Debates of April 17th, 2023

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Rechie Valdez, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last week, my colleagues and I had the privilege of welcoming a charter flight of 353 Afghans who arrived in Toronto. These are Afghans who supported Canada's mission in Afghanistan, family members of former interpreters and privately sponsored refugees. Although some may have found refuge in Canada, many continue to face risks in leaving Afghanistan or simply making their journey under the Taliban.

Can the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship update us on our work to get them to safety?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague not just for her question but for being on hand to welcome that charter flight, which marks the arrival of the 30,000th Afghan refugee in this country.

To put this into perspective, I live in a town with less than 10,000 people. Repeat it three times over: that many people have been given a new lease on life. However, we know that there are thousands of people who remain trapped in Afghanistan, who are being persecuted today at the hands of the Taliban. We are going to continue to do everything we can to get them to safety and we will not waver until we successfully meet our goal of resettling at least 40,000 Afghan refugees by the end of this year.

Democratic Institutions

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Edmonton, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's chief of staff told committee that the Prime Minister reads everything. We know that the Prime Minister received a February 2020 memo that, according to Global News, alerted him of an election interference network by Beijing involving at least 11 candidates and the clandestine transfer of funds. The Prime Minister has repeatedly claimed he knows nothing about this. However, given that he reads everything, we now know that this is not true.

Why is the Prime Minister misleading Canadians? What does he have to hide?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, to my great regret, I am afraid it is my colleague who is misleading this chamber and Canadians. It is the Prime Minister and the government that have continually said that we take foreign interference seriously. This is why we have put in place the people, the resources, the authorities, and in addition to that, the transparency to shine a light on the way in which we are protecting our institutions, our economies, and most importantly, Canadians.

I encourage my colleague to support the budget, which will also include more resources for the RCMP and other law enforcement agencies to protect Canadians from foreign interference. I look forward to that day when he supports the budget on this side of the House.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Trudeau Foundation accepted a gift of $200,000 from an agent for Beijing's dictatorship, and senior PMO officials were made aware of the gift and where it came from. The Prime Minister's chief of staff told committee that the Prime Minister is briefed on everything and nothing is withheld from him.

On what date did the Prime Minister become aware that the Trudeau Foundation accepted a $200,000 gift from the Communist dictatorship in Beijing?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I have already made it clear in this House that the Prime Minister, over the last 10 years, has not had any involvement with that foundation.

The member opposite is asserting, and let us go with the heart of what he is asserting, that this government would welcome the interference of a foreign country. That is absolutely absurd. The fact that it would be clapped for is disgusting. Every single member of this House is dedicated to ensuring Canadian democracy. The member opposite, myself and every member has firmed themselves to protect and defend Canadian democracy, and every member of this House will continue to do so.

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

Mr. Speaker, let us just be clear. The Trudeau Foundation is government-funded, and Liberal governments have in the past, and the Liberal government still has the ability to, appointed members to the foundation. It must be a coincidence that after Beijing's gift to the Trudeau Foundation, the Prime Minister met with the front men who signed the cheque on behalf of the Communist dictatorship and gave them a meeting where they had direct access to influence the Prime Minister.

Why are shady deals and influence opportunities for dictators the priority for the Liberal Prime Minister?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, what is clear is that the priority of the party opposite is to attack not-for-profits, independent organizations, the CBC, the media—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I am just waiting for everyone to calm down. Order.

The hon. government House leader has another 25 seconds.

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on the floor of the House of Commons, members are protected by privilege. They have the opportunity to say anything they wish. However, when they are swinging their bats aimlessly for partisan advantage, they are attacking not-for-profit or non-partisan foundations, they are attacking organizations like the CBC and they are attacking free and independent media. They seem to have no care whatsoever over what or who they attack for their partisan ends. It is not becoming of this place.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, here are the facts.

The Communist regime in Beijing feels that it can influence the Prime Minister by using its money and front men. Clearly, it is a master at it. Two directors at the Trudeau Foundation are appointed by a minister in the Prime Minister's cabinet. The Prime Minister himself is still a member of the foundation, according to its most recent annual report. By accepting a contribution from a front man, the foundation directly contravened the Income Tax Regulations.

Will the Minister of National Revenue open an investigation into the use of front men at the Trudeau Foundation?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the only interest the other side has is a partisan interest. It is also clear that the goal is to keep playing politics, which certainly does nothing to help our economy or our democracy.

Obviously, each and every one of us here, including myself and those on the other side, are loyal to Canada. Obviously, this is our primary responsibility as members of Parliament. That is why I am here and that is why the members opposite are here.

Infrastructure

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the ice storm ruined Easter for many Quebeckers, either because they had no power or they were working around the clock to restore it. The Bloc Québécois stands in solidarity with all those who have suffered loss and damage.

The Prime Minister has offered federal assistance and we thank him for that. However, we must point out that Ottawa made the same commitments during the ice storm 25 years ago, but the money was never paid out. Ottawa still owes us $484 million.

Will the Prime Minister start by paying what Ottawa already owes us?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, the disaster financial assistance arrangement, which is organized and managed by the federal government, works very closely with all of the provinces. We worked with the Province of Quebec, in particular, on a number of the disasters that have impacted that community. We have always been there for it. When those receipts are submitted to the government for reimbursement, we have been able to act expeditiously in every case.

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Quebec and its towns are still adding up the cost and compiling a list of the damage caused by the ice storm. There is no need to wait, because Ottawa already owes $484 million from the last crisis.

At the time, Ottawa refused to compensate Hydro‑Québec, claiming that Crown corporations were not eligible for disaster relief. That has become an embarrassing excuse, since the federal government invested billions of dollars in Muskrat Falls in Newfoundland and Labrador. Quebec is only asking for its fair share to repair the damage from the ice storm.

When will the federal government pay the $484 million it owes us?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we obviously share the sentiments of our colleague when it comes to the gratitude we have for the men and women who worked so hard in Quebec and in other provinces to restore power after the ice storm. We are obviously concerned about those who have suffered losses. There is an agreement between Canada and all the provinces to help recoup money and reimburse costs eligible under the agreements that have been in place for decades.

We are working with the Government of Quebec. We understand the urgent need to take action. That is precisely what we will do in partnership with the Government of Quebec.

Canadian Heritage

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, based on Bill C-11 and Bill C-18, we know the government is abundantly committed to censoring what people can see, post or hear online. However, what we just learned is that the Prime Minister actually got a head start. According to government documents that were tabled in the House of Commons, the Liberals actually pressured social media companies a total of 214 times over the period of 24 months. Talk about heavy-handed. Why is the government so committed to censoring speech?

[Chris Bittle, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, we cannot spell conspiracy without “CPC”. It is another day, another conspiracy theory.

Once again, the Conservatives choose to abandon our creators. They stand up for big tech companies and turn their backs on our culture, but we choose to stand up for it. We believe foreign tech giants should do more for our creators. Canadians have the best stories to tell, and this is supporting hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs. We will always stand up for creators and artists on this side of the House.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, what we know for certain is that the government will do all it can to dodge or deflect questions that it does not want to answer. There is nothing conspiratorial about a document that was tabled right here in the House of Commons that shows the government pressured social media platforms 214 times within 24 months to remove content the government simply found embarrassing or did not want the public to be aware of.

I will ask again: Why is the government so hell-bent on censoring freedom of speech in the country of Canada?

[Chris Bittle, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, the suggestion that the hon. member is making is absolutely preposterous. The Conservatives want to protect the status quo. They do not think foreign tech giants should stand up for our culture and pay into Canadian culture, but we disagree. We believe tech giants should do more for artists, more for creators, more for our local media and more to protect our children online. We are open to criticism and we are open to changes, but we are not open to doing nothing, which is what the Conservative Party of Canada suggests.

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

Mr. Speaker, as a result of a written question tabled by the member for Niagara West, we learned from documents tabled here in the House that, over the course of two years, the government asked web giants on 214 occasions to take down content posted by Canadians. That is direct action by the government to censor Canadians.

My question for the government is very simple: Why were Canadians censored 214 times online?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, it is completely irresponsible to suggest that the government censors Canadians' questions and comments. What is true is that we will be there to defend families, protect children online and ensure that web giants pay their fair share into the Canada Media Fund. We are there for creators and Canadians, but not for this so-called Conservative mantra of freedom of speech, which is unacceptable.

Finance

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Speaker, like other people around the world, Canadians are feeling the pinch from the global rise in inflation. Although Canada's inflation rate has continued to fall in the past eight months, it is still too high.

Can the Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance tell the House how budget 2023 is going to help Canadian families make ends meet?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Halifax West for her question and for all her hard work on behalf of Canadian families.

The new grocery rebate is going to help 11 million Canadians cover the rise in costs by putting hundreds of dollars in their pockets. It will help make sure they have a little extra money to meet their family's needs.

As disappointing as it is to see that the Conservatives will be voting against the budget and this important support, we will keep on fighting for Canadians.