Debates of April 27th, 2023

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in committee, we found out that the former chief of staff to the past minister of defence provided a senator an altered official government document to bring Afghans to safety. We found out that the minister was copied on all communications. Shockingly, the minister said he was too busy at the time to check his personal government email account. Almost two years later, he says he still has not checked.

How is this even possible? Does the Prime Minister really think this is acceptable?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, the evacuation of Kabul was an absolute crisis situation. The response by the Government of Canada during that time saved thousands of lives. I am pleased to share with members of the House that, today, there are more than 30,000 vulnerable Afghan refugees who have received a second lease on life.

When it comes to the issuance of facilitation letters, we used those to move people through Taliban checkpoints. They were not intended for people to arrive in Canada. When we became aware of the use of inauthentic letters, we shared them with law enforcement to conduct an independent investigation. It was the responsible thing to do.

Transportation

[Taylor Bachrach, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow is the National Day of Mourning, a day when we remember workers who have been killed or injured on the job, such as Troy Pearson and Charlie Cragg. They were killed when the tugboat MV Ingenika sank near Kitimat.

It has been a month and a half since the Transportation Safety Board issued four recommendations to prevent similar deaths; every single day, workers board vessels just like the Ingenika up and down our coast.

Will the minister stand in the House and commit to finally implementing all four recommendations?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his constant advocacy on making sure that we increase the level of safety in our transportation industry.

I recently met with Ms. Cragg. I expressed our government's condolences to her for her loss. I looked her in the eye, and I told her that we are going to take action based on the recommendations of the Transportation Safety Board.

We are currently examining our options, but we will take action, because one loss of life is too many.

Air Transportation

[Francis Scarpaleggia, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians deserve to have access to a fair and efficient passenger airline sector and to travel with relative ease and without major inconvenience and disruption. Many travellers, however, have experienced delayed and cancelled flights over the past year. They deserve to be compensated accordingly.

Can the Minister of Transport inform the House on actions our government has taken to ensure that air travellers' rights are respected and protected?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his leadership.

Last year, we saw significant disruptions in the air sector as it was recovering from COVID. We promised Canadians that we would further protect passenger rights. This week, we delivered on that promise.

We are reversing the onus on airlines to make sure that compensation will be mandatory. We are putting into place new standards of service and new rules for delayed and lost luggage. Plus, we are simplifying the complaint process at the CTA.

Protections for passengers in Canada will be the toughest in the world.

Democratic Institutions

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

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of this Liberal Prime Minister, despite a series of disturbing and shocking revelations, the Prime Minister finds all sorts of tricks to avoid answering questions. This week, he continued to claim that he has no affiliation with the Trudeau Foundation, but the Trudeau Foundation held a meeting in the Prime Minister's Office. The person protecting elections from foreign interference, who the Prime Minister himself appointed, is the president and CEO of the Trudeau Foundation. The special rapporteur is a member of the Trudeau Foundation.

When it is time to get to work and tell Canadians the truth, why is the Prime Minister nowhere to be found?

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, let us be very clear on this issue. The member knows full well that the Prime Minister has had no direct or indirect communications with the foundation over the past 10 years.

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

Mr. Speaker, after eight years, we know that the Prime Minister likes travelling by private jet, attending New York high-society receptions, with an audience that is not fully aware of what is going on in Canada. The situation is bad. The Trudeau Foundation, with help from the Prime Minister's brother, received $140,000 from the regime in Beijing. This morning, in committee, after several questions, the Minister of Public Safety could no longer deny Beijing's influence on the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister is going to run out of jet fuel if he keeps denying the evidence. When will he accept reality and get to work?

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, once again, I will reinforce this. To be perfectly clear, the Prime Minister has no direct or indirect communications with the Trudeau Foundation. That has been the case now for over 10 years.

Government Priorities

[Michael Kram, Conservative, Regina—Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, there is an old saying that “you can't win if you don't try”. In order for the Liberal government to resolve the PSAC strike, rescue hundreds of Canadians stranded in Sudan or answer basic questions of accountability about the Trudeau Foundation, the Prime Minister has to at least try. However, I do not think the Prime Minister is trying too hard to solve these problems if he is hobnobbing with celebrities in New York City.

When is the Prime Minister going to get back to work and resolve these—

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

We are running against this line. We continue to run against the line.

The hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs.

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I just want to set the record straight. It is important for Canadians to know that consular services helping on the crisis in Sudan right now are working 24-7. The strike is not affecting these services; there are 130 people right now at Global Affairs helping Canadians who are stranded in Sudan, and they will work until every single one of them is back.

Ethics

[Blaine Calkins, Conservative, Red Deer—Lacombe, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister would have us believe that a wall exists between him and the foundation that bears his family name. However, we know that the Prime Minister held a meeting with the Trudeau Foundation in his office, and the Prime Minister is still listed as a member of the foundation. His appointed election watchdog was the president and CEO of the Trudeau Foundation and his special rapporteur was a Trudeau Foundation board member until a few weeks ago. With walls like this, what is holding up the roof of his New York hotel room?

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the member knows full well that the foundation actually met with public servants. The Prime Minister did not have a meeting, as has been suggested by the member, and he knows that.

Labour

[Louise Chabot, Bloc, Thérèse-De Blainville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, eight days have passed since the public service strike began, and people are still looking for the Prime Minister.

The union has formally asked him to join the negotiations. The invitation has been made, but it is being snubbed by the Prime Minister. Eight days is unusually long for a dispute of this magnitude. The Prime Minister knows that he cannot do without the 150,000 workers who provide services to Canadians.

When will he answer the workers' call instead of prolonging the labour dispute?

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

Mr. Speaker, the public servants represented by the Public Service Alliance of Canada provide important services to the Canadian population, and, of course, the government values their work.

For the last three weeks, we have been in mediation with the union to try to come to an agreement that will be reasonable for Canadians and fair to workers. We have a good deal on the table, but we cannot act in a way that will disrupt the services we offer Canadians. We will get there.

Foreign Affairs

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, CBSA just clued in about the violence in Sudan.

Ottawa finally decided yesterday to stop the deportation of asylum seekers to that country, to avoid putting their lives in danger. Some may say that it is better late than never, but when we are talking about people's lives, what we should be saying is, “the sooner the better”.

Ottawa should have done that automatically on compassionate grounds from day one. Sudan has been in total chaos since April 15. It was only yesterday that deportations were halted, and not until this morning that the first Canadian plane evacuated nationals.

Did the government learn nothing from the debacle in Afghanistan?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, getting Canadian residents and Canadians out of Sudan is absolutely our priority.

Just a few days ago, the UN Secretary General called Sudan one of the most dangerous places in the world, so we are operating in a very volatile and very difficult environment. At this point, 200 Canadians have managed to leave the country. Two planes have left Sudan. The goal is to help all the Canadians who have reached out and are asking for help. At this point, that is about 800 people. We are in contact with all of them. Some of them want to leave by land and some by air.

Of course, we are doing everything we can to communicate with the countries around Sudan to negotiate safe passage.

Public Safety

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

Mr. Speaker, after eight years under this Prime Minister, violent crime is up 32% and gang-related killings are up 92%. It is shocking, yet this Prime Minister and his Attorney General continue to ignore the demands of police chiefs begging for bail reform in this country. After months of empty talk and no action, our communities feel less safe because repeat violent offenders are continually being released.

What is the Prime Minister doing about it? He would rather hang out with Liberal elites in New York City. When will he and the government finally get back to work?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have a right to feel safe, and they have a right to be safe. That is precisely why we are working with the provinces and territories and with provincial and territorial attorneys general. We are proposing to amend parts of the Criminal Code to strengthen the bail regime and work with the provinces so that they can also better administer the bail regime with adequate resources. We all have to work on this problem together. It is complex, given the structure of Canadian federalism and the assignment of responsibilities, and we are doing just that.

The Environment

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, just in time for Earth Day, this government approved a devastating, nature-killing project, massively expanding the Port of Vancouver at Roberts Bank.

It is also a job-killing project, because the head of the longshoremen dock workers union says that it will be devastating, but wait, I am going to anticipate the minister's answer and save him some time. He is going to tell us that there are 370 legally binding conditions. Here is my favourite: 14.7.1, the construction cranes will be painted in a colour that matches the nature they are destroying.

How does he make this match up to the COP15 commitments to protect nature?

Shame.

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, as I announced in the House of Commons here last week, the Minister of Natural Resources and I informed Canadians that we have declared that the Roberts Bank terminal expansion is in the national interest. We have obligated the port with 370 conditions. I know the member opposite has read the entire number of conditions and how strict they are and how focused they are in ensuring that we are protecting the environment.

We have committed to Canadians that the best way to develop and grow our economy is having an environmental plan.

We are showing Canadians how the economy and the environment go hand in hand.

Justice

[Frank Caputo, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Mr. Speaker, 32%, the increase in violent crime, 92%, the increase in gangland slayings; and police and premiers are begging for bail reform.

Where would the Prime Minister rather be? Not in Kamloops looking at boarded windows from break and enters. Not in Vancouver, seeing failed Liberal bail policies. Not in Toronto, where broken bail policies have led to crime.

When will the Prime Minister get back to work on bail so that Canadians can feel safe, rather than jet-setting?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, as I have already said to the House on numerous occasions, we are working with the provincial and territorial attorneys general on bail reform. I have committed to doing that and tabling it in the House before the end of this session.

We are on track to do that. While I am up, let me tell the hon. members across the way and in the House and Canadians across Canada that yesterday we tabled, in the Senate, our government's response to fixing the sexual offenders registry, parts of which had been struck down by the Supreme Court of Canada.

We have created a presumption in favour of registration, as well as other measures to strengthen the sexual offenders registry.