Debates of April 24th, 2023

Labour

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has increased the cost of the public service by 50% in eight years. He has been unable to manage its growth.

Now Canada Revenue Agency employees are on strike in the middle of tax season. This is a difficult time for millions of Canadians. Many are waiting patiently for their tax refunds so they can pay their bills.

Does the Prime Minister realize that Canadians are fed up with his incompetence, and will he act now to ensure that refunds are not delayed?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, we will take absolutely no lessons from the Conservatives when it comes to negotiating with unions or providing services to Canadians. Canadians well remember the decade of darkness under Harper. The Conservatives cut services, muzzled scientists and tried to crush the labour movement across the country. After all that, they want to come and give us lessons. They should save themselves the embarrassment.

Canadians have not forgotten, nor will they ever forget, that the public service under the Conservatives was all about cuts. It was “chop, chop, chop”.

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

Mr. Speaker, when I talk about this government's incompetence, the Minister of National Revenue is the perfect example: She is talking nonsense. Under the Harper government, as she likes to say, there were no strikes. Employees worked and everything was fine.

That said, we see this government's mismanagement and the increase in the public service. Nothing is working and they are striking. All federal services everywhere are broken, such as passports and immigration, and now it is tax time.

Can the government or the Minister of National Revenue give us an intelligent answer and confirm that hard-working Canadians will not have to wait for their tax refunds?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, this really feels like a bad movie. When we listen to the Conservatives, we hear them asking us to help Canadians, but then they vote against everything that we put forward to help Canadians. They criticize us for being here for Canadians and then they want to cut what we are delivering.

The Conservatives are experts at two things because they talk out of both sides of their mouths. They continue to give ridiculous advice about cryptocurrency. I want to tell my colleague that this is the best tax season we have had since 2015.

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians want to file their tax returns, but they do not know when they are going to be processed or when they are going to receive their refunds. In addition, the Prime Minister spent 50% more on the bureaucracy, but Canadians are receiving poorer services, and just outside these doors, we have the largest public service strike in Canadian history.

When will the Prime Minister take responsibility for the price that Canadian taxpayers have to pay and end this strike?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, for our government, it is important to make sure that we respect the right of workers to strike and we respect the collective bargaining process. We are doing just that because we believe that a good deal can be reached at the negotiating table, while we are also making sure that we are respecting Canadians and the price they are going to pay to ensure that we get a fair deal for Canadians as well as for workers.

I can assure the member opposite, and all members across the House, that for those who file their taxes online, their tax returns will not be impacted at all.

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the minister is responsible for the passport backlogs in the first place.

The Prime Minister had two years to negotiate an agreement, and he failed. In addition, he raised the cost of the public service bureaucracy by 50%. Canadians are receiving poor services, and outside these doors, we have the largest strike in Canada in the history of the public service.

Will the Prime Minister commit to providing the most basic services for Canadians and ending this strike?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, unlike the Conservatives, we actually respect workers' rights. We are taking an approach that makes sure that we respect the right to collective bargaining and the right to strike.

We believe, and we are committed to making sure, that the best deal will be reached at the negotiating table. Those negotiations are ongoing. We are going to make sure we get a good deal for both public servants and Canadians. We know how important it is to deliver core government services. We are going to get that deal.

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this is the largest public sector union strike in 40 years. Revenue Canada workers are off the job, and vital services have been halted. The tax-filing deadline is this week, and Canadians cannot even get their phone calls answered.

What will the government do to ensure continuity of service so that Canadians can get their most basic questions answered?

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

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague stated very clearly in this House that if Canadians file their taxes online before the deadline, there will be no impact from the PSAC strike that is going on right now. Let us be really clear: We believe in a negotiated settlement. We believe in working at the table.

Let us look at the contrast between nine years of economic stagnation on the other side, when the only playbook from the Conservative austerity caucus was chop, chop, chop. This included the status of women offices and veterans offices, as well as raiding EI. Canadians know what government has their back, and that is our Liberal government.

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, how can the government expect Canadians to file their taxes by the deadline if they cannot even get their questions answered?

The government knew when the contract was up. It knows when the tax-filing deadline is. How much money will it cost taxpayers for the government to end the strike?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are two-faced.

They say they care about Canadians but they voted against the Canada child benefit. They voted against the Canada workers benefit. They voted against the dental care programs. They voted against the housing programs.

I want to reassure my colleagues by stating that this is the best tax season we have had since 2015, because 95% of Canadians are submitting their tax returns electronically and there are no delays in payments.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Before we go to the next question, I would like to remind members that they must wait until they are called on by name to ask a question. Also, when referring to a member, we must use their riding name or title, but not their last or first name.

The hon. member for Trois-Rivières.

Ethics

[René Villemure, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, three years after the PM supposedly cut ties with the Trudeau Foundation, we learn that said foundation is holding a meeting at the Prime Minister's Office, directly in the Langevin Block, with five deputy ministers.

How many charitable organizations hold meetings at the Langevin Block with deputy ministers? None. Let us recap. The Prime Minister's Office calls the foundation about the donation from China. The Prime Minister's Office invites the foundation to the Langevin Block.

How are we to believe that the Prime Minister cut ties with the foundation 10 years ago when there are still ties between his office and the foundation?

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

Mr. Speaker, that is a good conspiracy theory. It is interesting, but not factual. It has nothing to do with reality.

I am not sure how many times we have to say this, but it is absolutely clear that there have not been any ties between the foundation and the Prime Minister for more than 10 years. I understand that the Bloc Québécois really wants there to be a connection for partisan reasons, but no such connection exists.

Democratic Institutions

[René Villemure, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals think that the pursuit of truth is a conspiracy.

Obviously, this foundation, which was established in honour of the Prime Minister's father, is very influential. Given the meetings at the Prime Minister's office, the fundraising follow-up calls from the Prime Minister's employees and the ties with the Prime Minister's family and close friends, we get the distinct impression that China bet on the right horse when trying to get into the government's good graces. If one wants to get closer to the Prime Minister, one has to make a donation to his father's foundation.

We will no longer believe anything the Liberals say about this file. There is too much secrecy and never any truth. What are they waiting for? When will they set up an independent public commission of inquiry?

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

Mr. Speaker, David Johnston, the former governor general who was appointed by Stephen Harper, is responsible for looking into the matter at this time.

I hope that the member opposite is not calling into question Mr. Johnston's character and who he is as a person. He is responsible for the matter. It is of the utmost importance, not just for the House of Commons but also for Canadians across the country, that this investigation be independent.

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

Mr. Speaker, this morning the Auditor General announced that she would not be investigating the Chinese regime's donation to the Trudeau Foundation.

This means that the only ongoing, supposedly neutral, investigation into Chinese interference is the one the Prime Minister personally asked David Johnston to conduct. He is a friend and a former member of the Trudeau Foundation who will report directly to the Prime Minister.

Who will shed light on Chinese interference, if not the commissioner of an independent public inquiry?

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

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Johnston is responsible for that.

I will state clearly that I fully understand that the Bloc Québécois wants to make a connection, but there is no connection to be made. I find their efforts odd, given that the Bloc Québécois knows full well that Parliament's institutions are the best in the world. They are very accountable, and they oversee our system and the integrity of our system.

The Bloc Québécois claims there is a problem because the Auditor General is saying there is no need for an investigation.

Labour

[Michelle Ferreri, Conservative, Peterborough—Kawartha, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after endless passport delays over the past year and $20 billion more spent on bureaucracy, along with the biggest public sector strike in more than a generation, the minister in charge of passports said, “My best advice to Canadians is not to make that application right now because it just simply won't be processed”. How low can the bar be set for customer service?

Canadians deserve better. They deserve competence. When will the Liberals fix what they broke? Most importantly, how much is it going to cost Canadian taxpayers?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, I understand that the Conservatives have an issue with the truth, but I am just going to tell it. The truth of the matter is that while there is a strike going on, I recommend that Canadians do not submit an application for a passport unless it is urgent. With the strike conditions, under law, those passports cannot be processed.

Unlike the Conservatives, I actually believe in telling the truth to Canadians.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I might have missed something, but I just want to say to everyone on both sides that they should be careful and judicious with their words.

[Michelle Ferreri, Conservative, Peterborough—Kawartha, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the truth is that the Liberals had two years to fix this before it happened. The chaos out on the streets, the misservice and the lack of customer service are on their backs, with 50% more bureaucracy and the worst customer service this country has ever experienced.

I ask one more time of the people across the aisle: When will they fix what they broke and how much is it going to cost Canadian taxpayers?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, I know the Conservatives have a short memory, but the public service was increased by 50% because we were delivering the Canadian emergency response benefit to eight and a half million Canadians. It is a fact that, at the greatest health and economic challenge of our time, this government was there for Canadians.

My big concern is not only that the Conservatives have forgotten this but also that they would not do the same thing to help Canadians in their time of need.

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

Mr. Speaker, during the pandemic, Canadians had to wait hours in line to apply for passports. With the delays, it then took four or five months for Canadians to obtain those passports, and by last August, the backlog had reached 340,000 Canadians. The pandemic ended, and Canadians thought things would finally get back to normal. However, they failed to take into account the competence of the government's ministers. Despite the largest expansion of the public service in recent decades and tens of billions of dollars spent on consultants, the government has managed to oversee the largest strike in the public service in decades. What is the minister's response? She says not to apply for a passport.

What travel documents are Canadians supposed to use?