Debates of Oct. 22nd, 2024

Reference to Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I do not want to belabour the point but what has happened here is that a statement I made about the Israeli lobby has been taken by the Conservatives and made to be as though I am anti-Semitic. That is a false statement. You may think that is parliamentary but that is a false statement. It is also, given the dark history—

[The Deputy Speaker, Chris d'Entremont]

I said I would go back and review it.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Deputy Speaker, Chris d'Entremont]

I have the microphone and I said I would review it. I would maybe caution the member for Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley to complete his comment and to be careful.

The hon. member for Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley.

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

Mr. Speaker, I made my point. I would like to table this, though. Do we have consent?

[Some hon. members]

No.

[The Deputy Speaker, Chris d'Entremont]

The hon. member for Bow River.

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I know, from my hon. colleague's background and history, that tracking of accounting, tracking of documents and following the money are really critical aspects of this particular case. I know, from his background, how thorough he is and how he would understand this.

I just would like him to make a comment on how critical this issue is, in terms of following the money.

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

Mr. Speaker, that is what this is all about. There were Liberal appointees at SDTC, the green slush fund, who literally directed hundreds of millions of tax dollars to themselves. The only way we can find out exactly what happened is for the government to produce the documents that the House called for and that the Speaker ordered. Until we receive those documents, we will never know. It just begs the question, that it must be really bad for the government to not give up those documents so that we can actually see where hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars actually went.

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

Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the member is aware that the individual the Conservatives consistently bring up as a Liberal-friendly appointment was actually a Conservative adviser to Brian Mulroney, Stephen Harper and Jim Flaherty, all Conservatives. Not only that, but she donated literally thousands of dollars to the Conservative Party and yet they want to call her a Liberal insider giving Liberal grants.

That might have been the case in the days of Stephen Harper, and the way he treated appointments and so forth. That is not the way that has been taken here. When the government found out about the information, it took swift action to shut the thing down and actually ensure that we could continue moving forward in getting to the bottom of the issue.

Why does the Conservative Party continue to mislead Canadians, speech after speech, when Conservatives know it is just not true?

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

Mr. Speaker, the bottom line is that there were people appointed to SDTC under the current government's watch who directed hundreds of millions of dollars to themselves. That is the point.

The other point is that the Liberals can say they shut SDTC down, but they are not taking the next step. When someone is a victim of a crime, they call the police. If they are a perpetrator of a crime, they want to avoid that at all costs. I will allow people watching the debate to decide which one it is.

[Warren Steinley, Conservative, Regina—Lewvan, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I find it quite amazing that the Liberals try again and again to mislead the public. There were 186 conflicts of interest found by the Auditor General in SDTC. There was $390 million given to Liberal insiders. Therefore I think that a huge problem now with the Liberals is that they will not release the documents to show the actual facts with respect to who got rich, which was most of their friends, and they will not release the names of traitors in Parliament. Why are the Liberals being so unaccountable, when in 2015 they promised to be the most accountable government in Canada?

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am rising on a point of order. I know that calling people anti-Semitic is okay. Now the Conservatives are calling people traitors. I ask you, Mr. Speaker, because the accusations are about members of his own party, that if he is going to call people in his own party traitors, he should at least have the—

[The Deputy Speaker, Chris d'Entremont]

The member for Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo is rising on a point of order

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

Mr. Speaker, I just wonder whether the member would like to apologize for his comment over the weekend. Let us—

[The Deputy Speaker, Chris d'Entremont]

I am not playing the game. We are done discussing it.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, just in fairness to my colleague, you have ruled that these are perfectly acceptable conversations, so I do not think I have to apologize for standing up for the rule of law in Canada. They need to explain why they are supporting—

[The Deputy Speaker, Chris d'Entremont]

We keep falling into debate, and I am almost done talking about debate.

The hon. member for Berthier—Maskinongé has the floor.

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, let us change the tone in here. I think it is time for someone calm and collected to take the floor. Let us come back to questions and comments to advance the debate.

I want to congratulate the last member who spoke because his arguments were better articulated than anything we have heard in several days. He said that when someone is a victim of a crime, they call the police. They do not call a parliamentary committee. I would like to confirm what he thinks. Indeed, if something were to happen to me, I would call the police, not a parliamentary committee. We know how long it takes to get things through parliamentary committee and we know that the results are hit or miss.

We agree that the documents need to be submitted. Even though he says otherwise, it seems like the member for Winnipeg North is starting to come around because he has been talking about it for a long time. The issue was raised. It was a rather interesting comment. I would be curious to know how long the member in question spoke. It boggles the mind, the things he comes up with to run out the clock.

It would be nice if people stopped running out the clock. Can we work for the people who elected us? I am appealing to the people in the Conservative Party. We are ready to vote. We will vote and force the government to produce the documents. Then we could move on to something else. We have legislation to move forward, including the super interesting bill on old age pensions that the Conservatives support. When are we going to vote?

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

Mr. Speaker, there is a lot there, and I have a great deal of respect for the member. I do think it is just common sense for the government to turn over the unredacted documents to the RCMP. The commissioner has said he is receiving documents already, so the argument that it cannot be done for some reason just is not true. The government should just get it done so we can get to the bottom of this mess.

[Lianne Rood, Conservative, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after nine long years of hardship from the NDP-Liberal government, Canadians are tired of being confronted again and again with undeniable evidence of corruption, mismanagement and a complete lack of regard for accountability. The negligent Liberal government, propped up by its NDP accomplices, has consistently failed Canadians, leading us down a path of rising costs, crime and scandals.

The time has come for us to question the integrity of the elected people who choose to benefit themselves instead of doing their duty to serve the public. We must face the truth: The NDP-Liberal government is not only unreliable but also fundamentally untrustworthy. We as Canadians deserve leadership that serves the people, not leadership that serves itself. We deserve transparency and accountability, not a government that uses its power to cover up its misdeeds. We deserve a country where the priorities are affordable living, public safety and honest governance, not one plagued by scandal after scandal.

Let us take a moment to reflect on how damaging the past nine years have been. One of the most blatant examples of the government's betrayal of public trust is why we are holding today's debate: the $390-million corruption scandal tied to Liberal appointees in Sustainable Development Technology Canada, SDTC. The Auditor General's report uncovered 186 conflicts of interest in which Liberal insiders used taxpayer dollars to enrich themselves through various companies. Members should let that sink in. Through the green slush fund, there were 186 separate instances in which people in positions of trust exploited public funds to line their own pockets. That is not mere incompetence; that is corruption at its absolute worst.

In response, what has there been from the Liberal government? There has been deflection, obstruction and a refusal to accept responsibility. It has paralyzed Parliament by refusing to hand over unredacted documents to the police for a criminal investigation. The Speaker of the House has ruled that this refusal is a violation of parliamentary privilege. It has even been revealed that, despite the Speaker's ruling, the Liberal government is still withholding and censoring information. I am not going to sugar-coat this. The Liberals even lack the integrity to follow the rules made by one of their own members, yet the NDP-Liberal coalition continues to obstruct justice, protecting its friends while Canadians suffer.

The government is more focused on safeguarding its own interests than on addressing the real issues that are crippling Canadian families right now. This pattern of scandal and corruption runs deep. The government has continuously attempted to bury its wrongdoings, not only in this case but also on over 15 other occasions in the past nine years. The integrity of our democracy is at stake when those who are in power believe that they are above the law. Canadians deserve better, and they will get that when they elect a Conservative government.

The current $390-million corruption case is just one scandal in a long line of Liberal misconduct since the Prime Minister took office in 2015, from the SNC-Lavalin affair to the WE Charity scandal and to invoking the Emergencies Act without cause and freezing citizens' bank accounts. The NDP-Liberal government has demonstrated time and again that it is willing to break the rules to serve its own interests.

Let us start with the SNC-Lavalin affair of 2019, one of the most high-profile scandals in recent memory. The case involved allegations of the Prime Minister and his staff when they attempted to pressure the then attorney general, Jody Wilson-Raybould, to intervene in a criminal prosecution of the Quebec-based engineering firm SNC-Lavalin, which was accused of bribery in Libya. When Wilson-Raybould refused to comply, she was removed from her position.

That scandal sparked outrage, leading to Wilson-Raybould's resignation from the cabinet. The Ethics Commissioner ultimately ruled that the Prime Minister had violated ethics laws by exerting undue pressure, showing a blatant disregard for the rule of law in Canada.

Then there was the WE Charity scandal in 2020. The Liberal government awarded $912 million in student grant contracts to WE Charity, an organization with very close ties to the Prime Minister and his family. It was later revealed that both the Prime Minister and the then finance minister, Bill Morneau, had family members who received payments from WE Charity for speaking engagements. In the face of conflict of interest, the contract was cancelled and Morneau resigned. While the Prime Minister was cleared by the Ethics Commissioner of any wrongdoing in this case, Morneau was found guilty of breeching ethics rules. Once again we saw a Liberal government mired in scandal and corruption.

Then there was the Aga Khan vacation scandal of 2017, yet another example of the Prime Minister's personal disregard for ethical governance. The Prime Minister and his family accepted a vacation on the private island of the Aga Khan, whose foundation receives millions of dollars in taxpayer money through federal funding. The trip was paid for by the Aga Khan, and this led to the Ethics Commissioner's ruling that the Prime Minister had violated four sections of the Conflict of Interest Act, making him the first sitting Prime Minister in Canadian history to be found in violation of the act.

Who can forget the blackface scandal of 2019? During the federal election campaign, multiple photos and videos surfaced of the Prime Minister wearing blackface and brownface makeup at various events. Although the Prime Minister issued a half-hearted public apology, Canadians were left questioning his judgment and values.

The list of scandals does not stop there. In the trip to India controversy in 2018, the Prime Minister's official trip to India turn into an international embarrassment when it was revealed that Jaspal Atwal, a convicted Sikh extremist, had been invited to official events with the Canadian delegation. The trip was widely regarded as a diplomatic failure, and questions were raised about the Prime Minister's judgment and the government's vetting processes.

Then there was the cash-for-access fundraising scandal of 2016, in which wealthy individuals paid large sums of money to attend exclusive fundraising events where they were gaining personal access to the Prime Minister and senior Liberal ministers. This scandal was so blatantly corrupt that it prompted changes to Canada's political financing laws and raised concerns about the integrity of the Liberal government's dealings with donors.

There was also the issue of former governor general Julie Payette. She was a Liberal appointee who created an environment of toxicity and harassment and needed to be fired for her gross misconduct. What else would we expect from a friend of the current Prime Minister? Of course we cannot forget the reckless spending; despite racking up expenses while in her role, she went on to cause over $277,000 in additional legal expenditures. Ultimately, the lack of scrutiny in making government appointments, and the problems this causes, is a very common theme for the Liberal government.

In the Winnipeg virology lab scandal in 2021, the Liberal government came under fire for refusing to provide Parliament with unredacted documents about the firing of two scientists from a high-security virology lab. The case remained shrouded in secrecy, with concerns about potential security breeches and the shipment of dangerous viruses to a Communist Chinese military research facility. The government's refusal to comply with House orders has raised serious questions about transparency and national security.

More recently, in 2023 we learned about the McKinsey contract scandal, in which the federal government awarded $209 million in contracts to McKinsey & Company without proper and adequate oversight. Many of these contracts were awarded on a non-competitive basis, raising concerns about the government's procurement practices and the potential conflicts of interest. Once again the Liberals were giving away Canadian taxpayer dollars to their friends. It was remorseless corruption to the core.

We also have the ArriveCAN controversy, or should I say arrive scam? Corruption was evident throughout the entire saga of the NDP-Liberal government's $60-million arrive scam app, which could have been developed for a fraction of the price. It ended up enriching GC Strategies, a shady two-person IT company that did no actual IT work but had strong connections to officials in the Liberal upper ranks.

The Auditor General has confirmed that they will be conducting a performance audit of all contracts and payments related to GC Strategies and other companies incorporated by the founders. This will have an impact on all departments, agencies and Crown corporations that had dealings with the group.

Labourers' International Union of North America

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, gratitude and pride were the two themes that permeated the opening of LiUNA Local 183’s headquarters in the city of Vaughan. There was pride in the official opening of the new state-of-the-art headquarters, representing 70,000 members strong and their families. There was gratitude for those 400 workers who, in 1952, formed Local 183, as well as the members who have followed and fought for better working conditions, better benefits and a better and brighter future for us all.

On this remarkable occasion, I extend my warmest congratulations to business manager Jack Oliveira, as well as the LiUNA Local 183 executive board, staff and members. I thank LiUNA international vice-president and Canadian director, Joseph Mancinelli, for his ongoing leadership. I also join the strong LiUNA family in honouring two giants who helped pave the foundation of LiUNA and the industry: Enrico Mancinelli and Julio Oliveira Sr.

I extend my gratitude and best wishes, always, to the LiUNA members, who keep Canada moving forward. To them, I say “feel the power”.

Capital Experience

[Jamie Schmale, Conservative, Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, ON]

Mr. Speaker, each year, two students from each of the seven secondary schools in my riding are selected to participate in a program called the “Capital Experience”. It was started 19 years ago by my predecessor, Barry Devolin. During the past three days in Ottawa, they have learned about the various career opportunities that await them.

I would like to introduce this year's participants: Calvin Smith and Evan Lane from I.E. Weldon, Sofia Entzin-Telford from Fenelon Falls, Sadie Evans-Fockler and Trevin Bain-Gross from Haliburton Highlands, Sara Woychesko and Daniel Patterson from St. Thomas Aquinas, Ella Wilson and Becca Lang from LCVI, Bronte Weber and Tyler Pettit from Brock, and Allison Carroll and Brayden Boughton from Crestwood.

I would like to thank the sponsors: the Lions clubs, Rotary clubs and local legions. I would also like to thank the guest speakers for their ongoing support of the program. It is my hope that these students will be inspired as they consider their future.

To that end, I invite my colleagues to welcome these young leaders to Ottawa.

New Brunswick Provincial Election

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the winds of change have blown through New Brunswick. Last night, New Brunswickers voted for change and helped make history too. New Brunswick has elected its first female premier.

Susan Holt led her Liberal team to a solid majority government, bringing an end to six years of Conservative rule. Even Premier Blaine Higgs lost his seat in the red tide of change. The final tally is 31 seats for the Liberals, 16 for the Conservatives and two for the Greens, including the Green Party leader, David Coon.

It is a new day for my home province, and under the leadership of premier-designate Holt, I am confident that New Brunswickers have put their faith behind someone who will listen, lead with authenticity and put their best interests at the centre of every decision she makes.

I say congratulations and go team Holt.

Sylvie Bolduc

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

Mr. Speaker, today I want to acknowledge Sylvie Bolduc, general manager of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation in the Laurentians for the past 15 years.

She is stepping down to take her well-deserved retirement. I want to highlight her remarkable contribution to the development of many large-scale economic projects in the Laurentians that have had a tremendous impact.

She set up Synergie Économique Laurentides, an organization dedicated to the circular economy. It is now a leader in its field.

Sylvie Bolduc has contributed to and made a difference in the economic landscape of the Laurentians and brought a female face to regional economic development. She was one of the pioneers who cleared the way for those women with an entrepreneurial spirit.

On behalf of her collaborators and economic and community partners, I wish Sylvie a happy and long retirement and thank her for her unifying leadership.