Debates of Sept. 27th, 2023

Foreign Affairs

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has just said that he allowed the president of a war-torn country, who is perhaps the biggest target of false propaganda and potential assassinations, to be surrounded by hundreds of people who had not been vetted for their security background, the potential risks they present or, in this case, the massive diplomatic disasters they could have brought to the event.

Is the Prime Minister really saying he did absolutely nothing to protect the Ukrainian president from all those many risks?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the facts are well known here. The Speaker issued the invitation and delivered the recognition; he has taken full responsibility. The Leader of the Opposition knows that not one parliamentarian was aware, but the truth does not matter to him. He distorts, misleads and aims to confuse, all for partisan gain. It is all he knows how to do.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, again he deflects blame and responsibility for his personal failings.

It is the duty of the Prime Minister to protect our diplomatic reputation. Therefore, it was, his duty to make sure that his diplomatic intelligence and security forces ensured that no one who could potentially present a danger to either the reputation or the physical safety of the people was present at such a massive international event.

Today, he said he did none of those things. Instead, after he found out about it, he hid in his cottage for three days. Is that what taking responsibility means to the Prime Minister?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we all know how many years the Leader of the Opposition has served in this House, and we can certainly remember all the times he stood up to defend the honour, the rights and the privileges of parliamentarians. Now, in order to make partisan attacks, he is proposing that the government of the day have the ability to vet and oversee the rights of parliamentarians, and indeed of the Speaker, to include people in this House, to invite them into this House. I know that the Leader of the Opposition used to have more respect for Parliament than that, but he is busy making a partisan attack.

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

Better late than never, Mr. Speaker. I commend the Prime Minister for his decision to acquiesce to the repeated requests that he apologize to Parliament and well beyond. His description of the leader of the official opposition is not bad either.

However, I would like to know whether the Prime Minister personally called President Zelenskyy to apologize on his and our behalf and whether he has a strategy for working with our allies to counter the terrible propaganda campaign the Russians are currently waging.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it is indeed deeply distressing to see that the mistake made in the House on Friday is being used by the Russians to continue to spread their propaganda on why Ukraine is defending itself and why they wanted to invade Ukraine.

Here in Canada, we will continue to stand firm in the defence of Ukraine and the principles of territorial integrity and sovereignty. We have shared that solidarity with the President of Ukraine many times over the past few days.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is distressing because that was the first thing that should have been done.

I understand from the Prime Minister's response that he has not called President Zelenskyy, who is the biggest victim of this terrible mistake after Jewish communities.

Can he correct that mistake, call President Zelenskyy and make sure we counterbalance Russian propaganda? Also, can the government make an urgent effort, both in Canada and elsewhere, to embark on a healing process with Jewish communities?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have sent several messages directly to the Ukrainian people and to President Zelenskyy.

At the same time, we will continue to stand strong and firm against Russia's propaganda, disinformation and misinformation, as it invades a peaceful neighbouring country while attacking the rules-based international order. We will always stand up for international order and stand with Ukrainians.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister said that he was embarrassed about what happened in the chamber, but it is not about him. It is much more than that. Real damage has been done: real damage to the Jewish community, real damage to the war effort in Ukraine and real damage to Canada's reputation.

After three days, the Prime Minister has finally said something, but he has to take action. What is he going to do, in concrete terms, to clean up this mess?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as I pointed out, this was deeply embarrassing not just to all parliamentarians but to Canada as well.

We stand firmly with Ukraine. We will continue to stand against Russian aggression and Russian propaganda. We will continue to ensure, with the military aid, humanitarian aid, financial aid and diplomatic aid we are engaged with around the world, that we will continue and, indeed, step up efforts to counter Russian propaganda. We will continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes, with whatever it takes.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it took three days for this Prime Minister to say anything about what happened in the House. He has said that he was embarrassed, but it is not about him. Real damage has been done. Now we need meaningful action.

What is the Prime Minister going to do to clean up this mess?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, indeed, this has been deeply embarrassing for all parliamentarians and for Canada. The important thing is to continue to remain firmly on the side of Ukraine, to fight against Russian propaganda and arrogance. To date, we have invested nearly $9.5 billion in humanitarian, military, diplomatic and economic aid for Ukraine. We will continue to be there to support Ukraine with whatever it takes, for as long as it takes.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there were days of silence from the Prime Minister in the face of an international diplomatic crisis that has brought shame on this entire country: an actual Nazi honoured in this place.

Instead of taking personal responsibility, he blamed the Speaker, went into hiding and waited three days to even call for his resignation. The Prime Minister instructed his MPs to try to wipe the parliamentary record to forget it.

The Prime Minister is there for all the glory, but when he makes a mess, he is nowhere to be seen. Now he says no one was vetted. He owes it to Canadians to take personal responsibility. Will he stand up on his feet and just do it today?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the principle of independence of Parliament from the government of the day is well established. The government is always there to work with opposition parties or the Speaker if they have concerns or questions about any of the guests they choose to invite into this august chamber.

We will continue to stand unequivocally with Ukraine, but we will also, at the same time, defend the rights and privileges of parliamentarians.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has never been shy to use the Nazi label against his opponents, against Canadians. That he is not able to bring himself to take responsibility for an actual Nazi is something that Canadians will not forget.

The Prime Minister could have prevented this. He should have prevented it. He needs to fix it.

The world knows that, under the Prime Minister, a Nazi was honoured in this place. The question is this: Who speaks for Canada? If the current Prime Minister will not, is it not time for Canadians to have one who will?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, indeed, Canadians and the world are watching very carefully what has happened this week and the terrible error that happened on Friday.

However, they are also interested in seeing who is trying to make partisan hay out of this, who is trying to look for gains out of what was obviously a terrible mistake.

It is important that we learn from this, that we stand even stronger with Ukraine going forward and that we counter Russian propaganda.

[Marty Morantz, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Jewish community is horrified that Liberals allowed a Nazi to be honoured on the floor of this House and is demanding an apology from the Prime Minister.

He has embarrassed Canada on the international stage, caused a diplomatic disaster and handed the Kremlin a propaganda win. He has brought shame on the House and deeply offended the Jewish community.

Will the Prime Minister stand in the House today, finally take personal responsibility, do the right thing and personally apologize on his own behalf?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it was incredibly upsetting that this happened. The outgoing Speaker took responsibility and resigned, which was the right thing to do.

We recognize the deep pain this caused for Jewish communities and for all who were victims of Nazi atrocities, as well as their descendants. It was an embarrassment for Parliament and Canadians. It reaffirms the need to keep promoting and investing in Holocaust education, something our government has continued to support and always will.

[Marty Morantz, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the buck stops with the Prime Minister. That is simply not good enough, not one bit.

Not only did the Prime Minister bring shame on the House, but he also tried to bury this sordid affair with a motion on Monday to strike history from the record. Instead of learning from history, the Prime Minister wants to erase it. Conservatives said no. The Prime Minister has brought shame on this House and deeply offended the Jewish community. Its members are demanding a personal apology.

Will the Prime Minister stand in the House today to finally take personal responsibility and apologize to this community?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it is important to note that all parliamentarians agreed unanimously yesterday that the tribute to this individual would be withdrawn. That is what happened yesterday. We do not want that to stand in the future.

However, we also know that we need to continue to stand every day with the people of Ukraine as they fight against this illegal invasion by Vladimir Putin and as they stand for rule-based order and the principles of the UN Charter, which protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of us all. This government and this country will always stand unequivocally with Ukraine.

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

Mr. Speaker, for the past three days, Liberal members, ministers and the Prime Minister have all been piling blame on the former speaker, saying he alone is responsible for what happened on Friday, when the House of Commons applauded a Nazi.

However, it is impossible that officials from Global Affairs Canada, the Privy Council Office, the office of protocol and the RCMP could have failed in their duty to run background checks on the guests, especially the person presented by the Speaker.

Will the Prime Minister personally apologize to Canadians and to the international community, which is appalled by what happened in the House?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Conservative members are well aware that the independence of the Speaker of the House of Commons is critically important in our parliamentary system.

The government of the day has no veto power or control over the guests chosen by other parties or even by the Speaker of the House.

It is extremely important that we continue to unequivocally stand on the side of Ukraine and the international rule of law. We will always stand with the people of Ukraine and against Russia.

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

Mr. Speaker, I understand that the Prime Minister feels really bad about the situation.

However, the legislation enacted in 2015 clearly states that the RCMP is in charge of the operations of the Parliamentary Protective Service, which was put in place at that time in the wake of the 2014 attacks.

It is clear that the House must be protected. The members of the Parliamentary Protective Service are doing their job, supervised by the RCMP. When a state occasion takes place and the president of a country like Ukraine comes here to Canada, to Parliament, it is standard practice that the government and the Prime Minister oversee who is present in the House with our guests.

Will the Prime Minister personally apologize to Canadians?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we all recognize that the former speaker of the House made a serious mistake.

As we consider the election of the next Speaker of the House, we will want to determine how we can ensure that mistakes like this never happen again. The government will always be there to work with opposition parties or the Speaker to check the background of anyone who comes to the House, but it should not be a government violating the fundamental rights of parliamentarians.

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

Mr. Speaker, in 2020, a teacher was beheaded in the south of France and it took two weeks for the Prime Minister to call President Macron.

Is the same thing going to happen now or will he call President Zelenskyy? This is totally unacceptable.

If I may, I want to apologize to President Zelenskyy on behalf of Quebeckers and offer my collaboration. I will ensure that the message on behalf of Quebeckers gets to President Zelenskyy immediately.