Debates of April 24th, 2023

Labour

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, during a general strike, by law, passport services are not considered to be essential. If there are urgent or humanitarian cases, they will be processed. That information is available on the website.

However, I have grave concerns with the short-term memory loss of the Conservatives. They have forgotten that those investments that were made were there to help eight and a half million Canadians get through the biggest health and economic challenge of our time. Canadians understand that when they are in need, the government has their backs. We just do not know where the—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Windsor West.

Telecommunications

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are paying some of the highest prices in the world for telecom services, and the Rogers-Shaw merger approved by the government will only make things worse. Now it has been reported that the former industry minister is joining Rogers as executive in charge of public policy. This was a minister who allowed Rogers to raise cellphone prices through the roof. Former Liberal cabinet ministers landing cushy jobs in big corporations is nothing new, but this is unreal. We just cannot make this stuff up.

Why do Liberals seem more interested in jumping on the gravy train than bringing down costs for everyday Canadians?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, the one important issue for Canadians is to bring costs down. That is what we did in the last iteration that he is talking about. The way to bring costs down in Canada is to have more competition. The way to have more competition is to have a fourth national player. That is what we delivered for Canadians. We are always going to stand up for Canadians to make sure that prices go down in this country.

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I can assure everyone that the way to bring costs down is not by appointing Liberal insiders to executive positions at Rogers. The fact that the minister does not even know what the problem is just shows how out of touch Liberals are with Canadians. They green-lit the Rogers-Shaw merger even though the Competition Bureau said that it was a bad deal for consumers. Now the former industry minister gets an executive position at Rogers.

With this Liberal-Rogers merger almost complete, Canadians have a right to know which Liberal insider had influence and was involved in the approval process and when the last time was that the Prime Minister or the industry minister—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. Minister of Innovation.

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, let me provide a bit of background for the member. Actually, we denied the transfer of licence from Shaw to Rogers. This government stood up to big telco. We put 21 conditions in place. This has never been done in Canada's history. Does anyone know why? It is because Canadians have asked us to bring prices down. That is what we did. The way to get access to competition is to have a fourth national player.

Canadians know which side we stand on: We stand on their side.

Automotive Industry

[Majid Jowhari, Liberal, Richmond Hill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, economies around the world are striving to achieve a net-zero transition and adapt to green technologies for the future. Manufacturing of electric vehicles and batteries will play a key role in reaching these objectives.

Can the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry update this House on the historic announcement that Volkswagen is setting up shop in St. Thomas, Ontario, and what this means for jobs and investments for generations to come?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, this is a home run for Canada. We have attracted a $7-billion investment. This is a home run for the community of St. Thomas in southwestern Ontario. This is a home run for auto workers in Canada. This is a home run for the auto sector.

Unlike the Conservatives did in 2011, we will not let the sector go down. We invest in the sector. We have attracted the first car manufacturer in 35 years and the first European one. Let us celebrate this.

[Some hon. members]

Louder. Louder.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Order. I hear somebody shouting. Before we go to the next question, I want to remind hon. members that they each have an earpiece, and they can turn it up if they are having a hard time hearing.

The hon. member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan.

Democratic Institutions

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has been saying for weeks that he built a wall between himself and the Trudeau family's taxpayer-funded foundation. New revelations now show that the Prime Minister did not actually build the wall and that these claims are completely false.

The Trudeau Foundation hosted a meeting inside the Prime Minister's own office with five deputy ministers. Was there a wall down the middle of the room or something? Canadians deserve a full investigation into political involvement and foreign interference into the Prime Minister's taxpayer-funded family foundation. Will the government allow that full investigation to take place?

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

Mr. Speaker, the meeting in question was between public servants and the foundation. It did not involve the Prime Minister. It was in a building, yes, and there are many meetings that take place all over Parliament Hill.

This is what is going on: Again and again, the Conservatives are looking for any way they can to connect this when no such connection exists. I made it clear that no such connection exists. I will repeat that, day in and day out, and they will continue to try it with us.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, let us listen to the words the government House leader used. He said that, yes, it was in a building. Do they know what building it was? It was in the Prime Minister's own office. That is not just any building. It is of some significance.

If there were a meeting that took place in my office, and then I claimed I had no idea that people were using my office, how would they have gotten in? Did I leave the key somewhere?

Could the government House leader provide us with a more serious explanation? If the Prime Minister did not know about this meeting, then how did the people get into his office?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure which building the member is in. Maybe he is in the Confederation Building, and now I know that he is aware of every meeting that takes place in the Confederation Building.

Come on. Let us be realistic here. The actual issue is that they are attempting to be—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Order. Are we ready to continue?

The hon. government House leader.

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax, ON]

Mr. Speaker, with respect to the underlying assumption that comes again and again, let us be very clear about what the Conservatives are trying to do. They are trying to paint a picture of the government, and it is offensive to suggest that any Canadian government would allow a foreign government to interfere or help make decisions. It is absolutely ridiculous. It attacks one of the fundamental tenets of our democracy, which each of us has here, and that is to protect our institutions.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister said, and I quote, “I made that decision 10 years ago to not engage with the [Trudeau] foundation and that is what we have all been consistent with.”

It appears that the Prime Minister has once again misled the House. We know that his cabinet was in contact with the Trudeau Foundation in 2016. We learned this morning that the Trudeau Foundation secured a meeting with the most influential deputy ministers of the new Liberal government just six months after the election. If what the Prime Minister said is true, then why was that meeting held in his office?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, here is what Chantal Hébert said this morning, and I am paraphrasing: I have been to the Langevin Block three times. All three times, it was for round tables organized by the Clerk of the Privy Council with deputy ministers. I have never met the current Prime Minister. It is entirely possible that the Prime Minister did not even know that the meeting with deputy ministers had taken place. It had nothing to do with him. It was not his political staff.

Are the Conservatives saying that Chantal Hébert is also part of the conspiracy?

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

Mr. Speaker, no, that is not what I am saying. What I am saying is, “Pass Go and collect $200,000”.

That seems to be how the Trudeau Foundation saw the 2015 election: donations from the regime in Beijing and access to the federal government's top mandarin. It was a jackpot for Liberal cronies.

As La Presse reported, the Prime Minister has been droning on for the past three weeks about how there is a wall between him and the Trudeau Foundation. Little did we know that he was referring to an actual wall in his own office.

I have a number of questions for the Prime Minister. Who requested the meeting? Who asked the deputy ministers to attend? Why was the meeting held in the Prime Minister's building? Last but not least, who gave the Trudeau Foundation such unprecedented access to the Prime Minister's staff?

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

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about the walls that protect our institutions. Let us talk about the CBC and Radio-Canada. Let us talk about the fact that the Leader of the Opposition wants to work with large tech giants to destroy the walls that protect those foundations.

Let us talk about the Bank of Canada, which he wishes to reach into to change its direction. This is the Bank of Canada, something that has been completely independent while protecting monetary and fiscal policy.

I wonder if, like when he was giving advice about cryptocurrency, he would apply that advice to the Bank of Canada and make the Bank of Canada listen to his political direction. It would have the same disastrous effect on all Canadians as it did on those who listened to his advice on cryptocurrency.

Labour

[Claude DeBellefeuille, Bloc, Salaberry—Suroît, QC]

Mr. Speaker, where is the Prime Minister in the labour dispute between his government and the public service?

After a weekend without any progress and given that the situation is likely to escalate, the Prime Minister must personally intervene. That is a formal request from the union and it is also in the interest of Quebeckers, who have everything to lose if the dispute drags on. Every hour that passes moves us further away from a desirable negotiated solution and leads us closer to an escalation of tensions.

Will the Prime Minister finally sit at the bargaining table?

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, we are currently at the table. We are negotiating with the Public Service Alliance of Canada. A great deal of progress has been made. We must remember that there were 570 demands at the outset. A few are remaining and we will get there.

We will reach a fair and reasonable agreement for Canadians.

[Claude DeBellefeuille, Bloc, Salaberry—Suroît, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister needs to get involved.

The union has said that, at this point, he is the only one in office that can resolve certain key issues.

If the strike drags on, some people will not receive their tax refund. Some will experience another passport crisis. Some people's employment insurance claims will not be processed. The only reason the strike is still going on right now is that the Prime Minister is refusing to take a seat at the bargaining table.

When will he step up to the plate?