Debates of Oct. 23rd, 2024

Reference to Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs

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

Madam Speaker, the House has been paralyzed and we have been unable to work for nearly a month now, as my colleague from Joliette said. In the meantime, we agree with the Conservative Party that to end this paralysis, the government needs to hand over the documents.

In his speech, my colleague said that we serve our constituents, that we represent them and they expect us to do our work. That spoke to me, and my question will be simple. I would like to know what the next move is for the Conservative Party.

If, tomorrow morning, the Liberal Party hands over the documents and ends this paralysis of the House, what is the Conservative Party's next step? Will it be to paralyze the House again through a new question of privilege or to get to work on passing bills that are important to Quebeckers and Canadians?

[Arpan Khanna, Conservative, Oxford, ON]

Madam Speaker, I think all of us in this House share that we have to continue to fight for the taxpayer, because that money is given to us on trust, and the government has broken that trust. Once the documents are given to us, we are going to keep on fighting for Canadians just like we have for the last number of years. We are going to keep fighting to axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime.

[Dan Muys, Conservative, Flamborough—Glanbrook, ON]

Madam Speaker, I know the hon. member for Oxford regularly visits businesses in his constituency and talks to farmers and small business owners, people who are trying to build the homes we talk about. What is he hearing from them? He alluded in his speech to their hard-earned tax dollars that are being stolen to line the pockets of Liberal insiders. Can he please elaborate?

[Arpan Khanna, Conservative, Oxford, ON]

Madam Speaker, I was just at one of the farms in my riding. It is harvest season right now, and some of the families have been making immense sacrifices to get food on our tables. They do not get days off or time off. They are up early in the mornings; they are working late, until about midnight some days, harvesting. Then, when they bring home the harvest, they are getting to keep less money.

The input costs have gone up. The taxes the government has brought in, the carbon tax, the capital gains tax, this tax and that tax, keep on destroying their powerful paycheques, which were once something we fought for in this country. We used to work hard and earn a decent living, but we are not seeing that anymore, because all the money the government takes goes into Liberal insiders' pockets.

Canadians are disappointed. They want an election and they want to send the Liberal government a message.

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Madam Speaker, I have listened to a lot of Conservative speeches over the last number of weeks. I certainly understand Parliament's role in this, and I support it. I think that role of Parliament, to send for papers, is a very clearly outlined power in our Constitution, and I know it is separate and apart from the RCMP.

What does my hon. colleague want to do if Parliament comes into possession of these documents? I ask because the RCMP has said it does have some concerns with this process. Does my colleague not want to get to a part where, potentially, the procedure and House affairs committee could have the RCMP come to the committee so Conservative members could ask the RCMP about the next steps it wants to take with these documents?

We cannot get to that critical step until the Conservatives stop filibustering their own motion and we get to the action stage. I support getting these documents, but at some point we want to get to a part where Parliament is acting instead of talking.

[Arpan Khanna, Conservative, Oxford, ON]

Madam Speaker, I strongly believe that we have to get to a point where we see all the documents before we move forward with our business. This could all end today if the government acted. It does not want to act. We can get back to our work if it stops hiding its documents.

What we want is to make sure that we hold those who are responsible accountable and for the money that was wasted and given to the Liberals' insiders to be given back to Canadians, because at the end of the day it is Canadians' money, not theirs.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Madam Speaker, this can end today if the Conservatives stop playing games. What the Conservative Party is asking the federal government to do is ignore what the RCMP is saying, what the Auditor General is saying and what the former law clerk is saying, all independent institutions.

The game the Conservatives are playing is very destructive. It is consistent with what I have challenged members opposite to tell Canadians, and it is a continuation of the Conservative leader's refusal to get the security clearance to become informed about foreign interference. Not one Conservative has stood in their place and justified to Canadians why he should be the only leader in the House of Commons who does not need clearance. I believe it is because of his past. What is in the leader of the Conservative Party's past that is preventing him from getting that clearance?

[Arpan Khanna, Conservative, Oxford, ON]

Madam Speaker, the Auditor General has said that $400 million was misappropriated by the government and that 186 conflicts of interest occurred under the Liberals' watch. That was the Auditor General. They talk about independence and that was her ruling. The Speaker has also ruled. Is the member saying that the Speaker is not independent? Are the Liberals questioning the ruling of the Speaker? It looks like it.

We are going to keep fighting. The Liberals can play all the games they want. They can distract as much as they want from this file. However, Canadians know what they want to see. They want to see the money the government stole from them.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Madam Speaker, I agree with my colleague from Oxford that the Liberal Party is corrupt to the core. We need only think back to the infamous sponsorship scandal.

However, I do not agree with my colleague from Oxford about corruption in the Conservative Party. He says that his party is beyond reproach. Let me remind him of a few historical facts. Consider the “in and out” scandal of 2006, when the Conservative Party transferred funds between its local and national campaigns and in the process exceeded the spending limits set out in election laws. As a result, it was found guilty and fined $50,000 for breaking election laws. Then there was the robocalls scandal, pertaining to calls that were made to give voters misleading information. It resulted in a nine-month prison sentence. The Conservative Party was guilty.

I would like my colleague to explain how Quebeckers can be expected to trust this party, given its disastrous record.

[Arpan Khanna, Conservative, Oxford, ON]

Madam Speaker, when we take the oath of office, our job is to make sure we fight for the rights and interests of our constituents. That is the oath I have taken. It is what I try to live by every single day when I am in this chamber. That is what I try to believe, and my Conservative colleagues, and I hope all colleagues, believe in that. At the end of the day, that is what this is all about. It is about fighting for our constituents. That has been our job since day one and that is why we are not going to let this scandal go by.

As my hon. colleague mentioned, it is in the Liberals' DNA. It is not their first time doing this. Every month almost it is a new scandal. If it were not for the Conservatives prosecuting them every step of the way, fighting battles in committee and raising these issues, we would not be here today.

I want to congratulate our great team, which is fighting hard for Canadians. We are not going to stop doing that until we get our money back.

[Scot Davidson, Conservative, York—Simcoe, ON]

Madam Speaker, I am thankful for the opportunity to speak to this privilege motion regarding the failure of the government to produce documents pertaining to Sustainable Development Technology Canada. I look forward to offering my insights and to speak up for and on behalf of the hard-working people of York—Simcoe. This is their House, just as it is the House of all Canadians. It is not the Liberal government’s House, no matter how much it wishes that were true.

Peace, order and good government are the defining principles of our nation and have been since Confederation. For 157 years, these principles have underpinned the very promise of Canada, a promise that if people work hard, they can have a great life in a safe community. However, after nine years of the Prime Minister, that promise is broken because the Liberal government has disregarded these fundamental principles and its obligations to Canadians.

There is no peace as Canadians suffer from skyrocketing crime and chaos in every community across the country because of the Liberals’ insane catch-and-release policies, policies that are putting dangerous repeat violent offenders, as well as hard drugs, back onto our streets.

There is no order as Canadians suffer from the economic vandalism the government has wrought on this country, as our people face rising costs, fewer jobs and smaller paycheques. At the same time, more taxpayer dollars are now being spent on servicing Liberal debt than on meaningful health care and infrastructure investments.

There is no good government, as the Liberals have shown time and time again that they are not concerned about what is best for our citizens. They are only preoccupied with improving their own political fortunes and lining the pockets of their friends.

A case in point is the matter before us now, a matter that has seized Parliament for weeks. The Liberal government has failed to turn over documents to the RCMP regarding a $400-million scandal that saw Liberal-appointed executives funnel money to their own companies, implicating them in 186 conflicts of interest. The Auditor General issued a damning report on this matter. She called out the former Sustainable Development Technology Canada agency for “significant lapses” in its oversight and management of taxpayer dollars. Once again, we are seeing the Liberals disrespect taxpayers to benefit other Liberals. The Liberals are blocking the legally ordered production of documents and dismissing the supremacy, will and authority of Parliament.

The government was given a choice, but instead of being accountable, respecting the work of Parliament and respecting the interests of Canadians, the Liberals have chosen to cover up the evidence involved in this scandal. The greed, corruption and conflicts of interest by Liberal appointees in this scandal are absolutely staggering, as are the lengths the Liberal government will go to cover it up.

This is truly shameful, but it is not a surprise. After all, we have seen this many times before. There was the Aga Khan scandal, the cash for access affair, the SNC-Lavalin affair, the WE Charity controversy, clam scam, ArriveCAN and now the green slush fund.

Time and time again, the Liberals have been found guilty for unacceptable ethical failings that have led to the inappropriate waste of significant amounts of public funds. Where does the blame lie for these failings? Certainly, every single Liberal across the way needs to take a good long look at themselves and what their “sunny ways” government has become.

As I think all members in the House know, I like to spend my time on Lake Simcoe in an ice hut, and I can tell them, from plenty of experience in being out there, that a fish rots from the head down. In this case, the head is the head of the government, the Liberal Prime Minister. It is the Prime Minister who is ultimately responsible for his office, his staff, his ministers, his departments and the direction and policies of his government. It is the Prime Minister who has had to apologize on multiple occasions for breaking the law and for ethical violations. Members will remember when he said “it sucks” when he got caught, but his government does it time and time again. In doing so, the Prime Minister and his Liberal government have made a mockery of our conflict of interest laws by repeatedly flaunting them, with no consequences. By refusing to respect the will of the House and turn over documents related to the green slush fund, the Liberals are only further compromising the trust that Canadians have in our institutions and the entrenched processes we have here.

It is no wonder the Prime Minister's record-low popularity has coincided with a historic distrust in our institutions among Canadians. According to a Leger poll released yesterday, the record-low trust in our institutions tracks with similar reports from the Edelman Trust Barometer, which has tracked low and declining trust in government for some time.

It is no wonder Canadians have such little faith in government and other institutions. Canadians are hurting, and they are disillusioned with the state of our country, a country where a healthy meal, a decent home, a safe community and a good quality of life are now out of reach for so many. When we see the lengths this government will go to entrench its Liberal insiders and friends and cover up wasteful spending, all while families can barely afford to make ends meet, they are absolutely incensed.

This reminds me of my by-election in February 2019. The Prime Minister and his Liberal strategists thought they could flip York—Simcoe, and he made two well-publicized appearances at a chicken restaurant in Keswick. However, at that time, folks in York—Simcoe were very upset with the Prime Minister for his direct involvement in pressuring Jody Wilson-Raybould in the ongoing SNC-Lavalin affair. I had heard that at just about every door.

I remember a little story from after my win. When I was being sworn in, it was the first time I had ever met the Prime Minister. I was outside these very doors here and was very excited to represent the people of York—Simcoe. My colleague from Abbotsford was excited. My colleague from Huron—Bruce was excited and high-fiving me. When I was standing outside the doors, our leader at the time, the member for Regina—Qu'Appelle, was there. He said I would probably meet the Prime Minister and could shake his hand or not. I remember the leader of the NDP pacing back and forth; he wanted to go first, and I said I was just happy to be there.

Lo and behold, there came the Prime Minister, who walked up to me and said, “Scot, you have a lot of good people in York—Simcoe.” I said, “Mr. Prime Minister, we have some beauties.” He then said, “I was at a chicken restaurant twice in your riding”, and I said, “Mr. Prime Minister, I was trying to get you back a third time.” He asked why that was, and I said, “Because every time you came, I got 500 lawn sign requests.” Then he looked at me and I said, “Just kidding, Mr. Prime Minister.” Anyway, we had a laugh. However, all joking aside, five years on, the sentiment we felt in York—Simcoe then has now spilled out and is shared by folks on every street and town from coast to coast to coast.

Canadians want accountability. They want transparency. They want their government to act in the interest of Canadians. I truly believe that, right now, they are disappointed in the Liberals' conduct, their involvement in the green slush fund and other scandals, and their blatant efforts to cover it up.

The unpopularity of the Prime Minister and the Liberal Party as a whole can be traced right back to their contempt for Parliament and disinterest in the needs of Canadians, as well as the lengths they will go to look after their own and cover it all up. The green slush fund epitomizes all these things. The claim by the Liberals that the order to provide relevant documents to the RCMP would somehow compromise the investigation is absolutely bogus. If someone came to a police officer with information related to a crime, the police would not turn away and say, “No thanks, we are going to have to come about that on our own.”

RCMP officials, once in possession of the full, unredacted, unabridged documentation with regard to this matter, can assess for themselves its admissibility and relevance to their investigation. They can do this just as they have done with documents already received as part of this order.

Surprise, this is Parliament doing its job. This is our national police force doing its job. Unfortunately, wedged in the middle, we have the corrupt Liberal government intent on covering the whole thing up. The degree to which members opposite have sought to gaslight and mislead Canadians on the green slush fund is disheartening, to say the least.

The Liberal government has attempted to invoke the charter when defending its indefensible position not to produce these documents. That is a joke. The Liberals were actually found in violation of the charter when they invoked the Emergencies Act in the winter of 2022. They were positively gleeful when trampling over the rights of Canadians back then, and now they want to suggest that enabling the RCMP to do its job through the production of documents somehow encroaches on the rights of individual citizens.

I spoke earlier about a fish rotting from the head down. This is one of the biggest fish stories I have ever heard, if I ever heard one. Speaking of fish stories, by the way, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, whose department was responsible for the scandal-ridden Sustainable Development Technology Canada, claimed to Conservatives that they just need to move on from the scandal. He called it a political drama that was putting the clean tech sector at a disadvantage.

We know who wants to move on. The green slush fund happened right under his nose, and they have been found out for their role in this very concerning matter. The fact that legitimate businesses involved in reducing environmental impacts are being affected by this shows the real consequences of Liberal corruption and mismanagement in this country, never mind the amount of taxpayer money that has just been misspent and wasted by the Liberals. This has had a catastrophic impact on the environment far beyond just this one industry.

I will remind members here tonight that the Lake Simcoe cleanup fund was cancelled by the Liberals in 2017, and they promised to bring it back. The Deputy Prime Minister stood on the shores of Lake Simcoe for this big announcement in 2019 and committed and promised $40 million. We all know it never happened. We all know the same old line: promises, promises, promises.

Instead, I have had to spend the last five years telling people involved in the grassroots efforts to clean up and restore the lake the sad truth. The Liberal government will not support their efforts like the previous Conservative government did, because the government would rather ensure the money only flows to its Liberal friends. That has not stopped the grassroots community members from continuing the work as best they can for the lake.

I am also proud of the residents of York—Simcoe who have planted over 1,000 trees, which I have given out over the past five years at my Canada Day barbecue celebrations. The ordinary people of York—Simcoe are truly extraordinary. What a contrast to Liberal insiders who have been making good money through the grifting and self-dealing enabling by the government.

All of this shows just how much contempt the Liberals have for Parliament and the role of the House of Commons in our democracy. The Liberals think the House, the people's House, is an inconvenience to be bypassed and ignored. They do this all the time. Ministers frequently refuse to appear before committees. When they do, questions are deflected to bureaucrats instead of the minister responsible.

The Liberals tried to give themselves unlimited spending and taxation powers during the pandemic. They took the Speaker to court over the release of the Winnipeg lab documents. They routinely use their appointed flunkies in the Senate as a workaround to defeat and gut bills duly passed in this place, such as my current bill, Bill C-280, a financial protection for fresh fruit and vegetable growers from coast to coast to coast.

There is an overall disregard for our institutions. The reluctance on the part of the government to produce documents related to the green slush fund is very concerning to say the least, especially since Parliament and its officers are examining multiple other scandals and ethics violations in addition to this one. There is an ongoing affair with the employment minister's continued involvement with a company dealing with government grants and contracts, which is a violation. We all know about the arrive scam app, an absolutely insane boondoggle.

What excuse will the Liberals conjure up to try and get out of being accountable on these matters? They voted against allowing the Auditor General to investigate GC Strategies. They refused to provide the documents on this occasion. What lengths will they go to, to cover up these scandals when Parliament tries to shine a light on them? Canadians see this and the determination by the Liberals to block investigations into corruption within the government.

As the official opposition, Conservatives have been focused on improving the lives of Canadians. However, by paralyzing Parliament, the government has made it impossible for anyone here to address issues like the doubling of housing costs, Liberal food inflation, and crime and chaos. I have been prevented from speaking on local issues as well, such as the illegitimate Georgina aerodrome, the unfair rural carbon tax rebate, the no-show Lake Simcoe clean-up fund and many more.

People in York—Simcoe are truly on the outside looking in. I am calling on the Liberals to finally submit the documents as ordered. If they have nothing to hide, they should give the files to the RCMP. If there was no criminality or wrongdoing, they should just allow justice to take its course and hold those individuals responsible. Enough is enough.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Madam Speaker, in the closing remarks, the member said to let justice take its course. The proper course of justice is not for Parliament to produce evidence to hand over to the RCMP; it is for the RCMP to obtain its own evidence. There are ways that RCMP members can get this information. If they get a warrant, for example, they can get the information. They do not need Parliament to force anybody to do anything; they have the tools.

However, it is not just me saying this; it is the RCMP that said this. The RCMP has said that it does not need Parliament to help and that it has the tools it needs to do a proper investigation. Why will the member not just let justice take its course, as he said?

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Carol Hughes]

Order.

Members on both sides of the House are speaking out of turn. They have not been recognized, and I hope they will respect the ruling and, if they have any questions or comments, will wait until the appropriate time.

The hon. member for York—Simcoe has the floor.

[Scot Davidson, Conservative, York—Simcoe, ON]

Madam Speaker, they started heckling me right away. What are they hiding when they heckle me right away?

The order has been given and we need the documents. If the Liberals produce the documents, this will all be over.

I think the member for Kingston and the Islands listened to my speech very intently because I know he enjoys listening to me so much. I talked about transparency and accountability. Accountability is one of the most important things that Canadians are looking for. Have the Liberals started recovering the $400 million? I want to see that money back for Canadians. I would say the same thing for arrive scam and the $60 million.

There is never any follow-up. Did the government get the money back for the taxpayers of Canada?

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Madam Speaker, I am going to digress a bit from what we have been hearing for the past two weeks, which has been a bit of mud-slinging. I would invite my colleagues to regain the dignity we must show as we perform our duties.

I appreciated the speech by my colleague, with whom I have had the opportunity to speak on several occasions. It is always pleasant, and we all know how much he loves his lake.

My question is this. We know that money was used, let us say, by the fund to support a company whose owner was the chair of the board that decided whether or not to grant money. We know that. We also know that, to turn over evidence to the RCMP, for example, or the police, a search warrant is not required. If I find evidence somewhere and it could be related to a crime, I do not need to wait for the RCMP to get a search warrant.

Let us get back to the fundamental issue. Aside from the fact that the government refuses to comply with our question of privilege and assure us that the rest of the money was used properly, is the real problem here that public funds must no longer be managed by bodies that are not accountable to the House of Commons?

[Scot Davidson, Conservative, York—Simcoe, ON]

Madam Speaker, my colleague brought up the lake, and I am always happy to talk about Lake Simcoe. In my speech, I talked about the constituents of York—Simcoe being on the outside looking in. We were promised funds, $40 million, for Lake Simcoe, and it is so frustrating for the people in this great riding to see the waste from the government. We saw no money for the lake.

We can look at arrive scam, with $80 million absolutely wasted on an app. It could have been spent on Lake Simcoe or health care, for example. Were those funds recovered? This is the question I am facing at the doors in York—Simcoe.

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Madam Speaker, I am glad the member for York—Simcoe mentioned his bill, Bill C-280. It is a great piece of legislation. If any senators are listening to the House proceedings today, I would like to add my voice in urging them to pass that important bill because it would be very important for the Canadian Produce Marketing Association.

On the issue at hand, let me be very clear that I absolutely am in support of Parliament's right to obtain documents. That is a very clear rule that is solidly laid out in the Constitution. At the same time, we are being presented with an impasse right now. Every hour of House of Commons proceedings costs tens of thousands of dollars, and there are many bills that are not being looked at at this time. I think Canadians, at some point, are going to be looking at the House and wondering what the heck we are doing here.

The RCMP has raised some concerns, and we cannot ignore those. Would it not make sense for the Conservatives to stop putting up speaker after speaker so we could arrive at a decision to send this to the procedure and House affairs committee? Maybe then the Conservative members on that committee would have the opportunity to question the RCMP as a witness and we could come to some kind of an arrangement. Maybe the RCMP could explain what the procedure is and what kind of an investigation it is going through. I am just trying to throw out some ideas to get through the impasse here.

[Scot Davidson, Conservative, York—Simcoe, ON]

Madam Speaker, I am going to quickly answer that they need to hand over the documents and let us get the $400 million back. That is for sure.

I want to thank the member for his support for my bill, Bill C-280. This is what is so concerning about the government. We had every member of Parliament in the House, except for one, vote for Bill C-280. I know how important the bill is to the member for Winnipeg North's riding. To see the government now ask senators to actually squash the bill over in the Senate is extremely concerning. If that is its plan, I can tell members right now that, seeing what is happening over in the Senate, I now know that that side of the House is with the big banks, but on this side of the House, we are with farmers.

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

Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people of Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo.

I am always, how should I say it, pleasantly surprised by the heckles we get from the Liberals. They ask why we will not do this or not do that. Why will they not just hand over the documents? They say that the RCMP has a mechanism to do it. If somebody commits fraud at a bank, the bank does not generally tell the police to get a production order. It hands over the documents unredacted. I do not know if the government would hand over unredacted documents no matter what.

Parliament is authorized through the laws that govern, so this would be authorized by law. Therefore, why would we not simply hand over the documents to the police?

My hon. colleague gave a great and impassioned speech, but what are the Liberals hiding? They complain about the cost. What could be so damning in those documents that they are fighting so hard to keep them out of the public view?

[Scot Davidson, Conservative, York—Simcoe, ON]

Madam Speaker, that is why we are here tonight and why we have been here for the last two weeks. I thank my colleague for that question about ensuring transparency and accountability. This is a large amount of money.

I spoke about Lake Simcoe. Because this is about money and about people who are struggling right now, I have to talk about the rural top-up in my riding, which is the soup and salad bowl of Canada. Lake Simcoe is the ice fishing capital of Canada.

The Liberal government put it in the budget. It promised to look at the rural top-up. It has classified my riding as Toronto. One cannot even see the CN Tower from my riding. We have been denied the rural top-up. That money is for the people of York—Simcoe. I am concerned for the government. When it gets an invoice from the people of York—Simcoe since 2016, when the rural top-up should have started, the bill is going to be absolutely staggering.

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Madam Speaker, as usual, I am very proud to rise this evening on behalf of the constituents of Oshawa to hold the government accountable for its Liberal corruption. I must say, though, that I am not rising with any pleasure this evening. I have been going back to my riding, trying to explain how the government has corrupted our institutions and corrupted how the government works. It really is a sad example of governance.

We all know that the Liberal Prime Minister could end this. He could end it by releasing the documents uncensored, so that Canadians could learn the truth about the $400-million Liberal green slush fund cover-up. We could be finished with this. However, the Prime Minister has continued the ongoing theme of corruption in his government by refusing to do so. More than 10,000 pages have been censored to cover up the most important information about the Prime Minister's hand-picked Liberal appointees to the green slush fund.

This theme of corruption has also been demonstrated by the Prime Minister's Liberal government through shutting down the rights of parliamentarians to receive certain information through Order Paper questions or through ATIPs. Our parliamentary privileges need to be protected. Our privileges are continually being breached by the corrupt Liberal government.

Today, I would like to address the importance of Parliament and parliamentarians receiving information that Canadians are demanding. The Liberals' scandals are too many to list. Liberal obstruction has become a rule instead of an exception. This past weekend, when I was in Oshawa, people were asking me how much longer they would have to put up with these continued scandals and misappropriation of their tax dollars. Their frustration is at a level that I have never, ever seen before. Oshawa wants to know where their tax dollars are going. Is the money being spent prudently? Are we getting the results that Canadians want and need right now? All we are asking for are the documents to show where the money went. We have all heard that if we want to understand what really happened, we have to follow the money.

Parliamentarians and Canadians have tools to hold our governments to account. One tool, as I mentioned, is access to information, or what people call ATIPs. This is where Canadians can ask for specific emails and follow the trail of money and how we spend their tax dollars. Sadly, the government routinely returns ATIPs sometimes fully redacted, covering up the information that Canadians have a right to know. A second tool that parliamentarians have is something called Order Paper questions, or OPQs. I have submitted several of these OPQs that were returned with incomplete answers and word salads that did not even make any sense. Third, as in this case, Parliament has rights and privileges. The House enjoys the absolute and unfettered power to order the production of documents that is not limited by statute. These powers are rooted in the Constitution Act of 1867 and the Parliament of Canada Act.

That brings us to our debate today. What brought us here? On June 10, the House adopted a motion calling for the production of various documents related to SDTC to be turned over to the RCMP for review. That is in the record. In response to the motion adopted, departments either outright refused the House order or redacted documents before turning them over, citing provisions in the Privacy Act or the Access to Information Act. Nothing in the House order contemplated these redactions.

In response to the failure to produce documents, the Conservative House leader raised a question of privilege, arguing that the House privilege had been breached, due to the failure to comply with the House order. On September 26, the Speaker issued a ruling on the question of privilege raised and found that the privileges of the House had, in fact, been breached.

Let us take a look at this. If this were a private affair and criminal activity were suspected, documents would be turned over and an investigation would be started. In this case, the Auditor General looked at a five-year period, and he found that an incredible 82% of the funding transactions approved by the board of directors were conflicted. This was only over part of the mandate; there could be more. Public office holders are entrusted to oversee taxpayer dollars and not to personally prosper from their work in government. Sadly, however, that is what happened, and the directors of the slush fund were unapologetic.

The minister had replaced the original chair because that chair was criticizing the program, and he put in his hand-picked director. One director was incredibly aggressive with the actions she took. This woman was appointed in 2016 by the Prime Minister, and her name is Andrée-Lise Méthot. She runs a venture capital firm called Cycle Capital in green technologies. Andrée-Lise Méthot's companies, before and during her time on the board, received $250 million in grants from SDTC. Some of that was before, and I will talk about that in a minute, but when she was on the board, $114 million went to green companies that she had invested in. During her time on the board, the value of her company, Cycle Capital, tripled because of getting an SDTC grant. This is a stamp of the Government of Canada's approval that allows for these companies to raise other funds. The House will never guess who her lobbyist was. Her in-house, paid lobbyist for 10 years was the current radical Minister of Environment, before he was elected. While he was lobbying for Cycle Capital, the minister got $111 million. That is incredible, but it is just the example of one director. According to the Auditor General, nine directors accounted for 186 conflicts.

I will speak about another board member who was hand-picked by the Prime Minister, Guy Ouimet. He admitted in committee that $17 million of green slush fund money went to companies that he had a financial interest in. He said it was a small amount of money. In Oshawa, we have people losing their jobs. We have people standing in lines at food banks, and the food banks run out of food before noon. We have seniors living four to a room. However, this hand-picked Liberal says $17 million is just a small amount of money. Our community finds that insulting. It may be a small amount of money to a Liberal elite, but it is not for most Canadians, and that amount of money went up 1,000% in value since the investment was made in 2019. It certainly pays to be a Liberal insider; unfortunately, Canadians, people in my community, are suffering now, and $17 million is not a small amount of money.

It is our job here in the House of Commons to expose the corruption and things we have authorized money for in Parliament. It is our job, and it is time the Liberals started caring about it. The challenge and the concern I have is that this corruption routine seems to have become ordinary business for the Liberal Party. It is why I feel that this is really a sad moment in Canadian history.

I would like to review a few things that Canadians may have forgotten about, some important things that have happened with the government that made Canadians start realizing that it was not business as usual.

We all remember the SNC-Lavalin affair. Unfortunately, the allegations of political interference led to criminal prosecution, and the Prime Minister's response and handling of the situation really impacted judicial independence and the rule of law. We will remember that when the Prime Minister's justice minister, Jody Wilson-Raybould, was asked to do something improper, she stood up to the Prime Minister and as a result was basically pushed out of cabinet and government. Ultimately, this resulted in a situation where three prominent female Liberals left. We are talking about Jody Wilson-Raybould, Jane Philpott, one of the more competent ministers of health, and my neighbour and friend Celina Caesar-Chavannes. She even wrote a book about it.

The way the Prime Minister interfered in this affair forced Canadians to look at their institutions and judge how they were functioning. The Prime Minister does not have a problem going on vacations, but what he wanted to do is cut a deal with SNC-Lavalin, granting a contract to a company that gave money to his family members and handing out billions of dollars to Liberal insiders and consultants. This is just one of a long list of instances of the Prime Minister using government funds to benefit himself and his friends.

We all remember the WE Charity scandal too, in which the Liberal government awarded a contract to WE Charity. This charity had huge ties to his family. There were huge ethical conflicts of interest, and there were parliamentary investigations and findings. One of the reasons I am saddened tonight is that it impacted the public's trust in the government. Despite the Prime Minister admitting he did something wrong and despite the Ethics Commissioner finding that he directed his staff to explore options for providing the money to WE, he was not found guilty. However, we know that his then finance minister, Mr. Morneau, had an entirely different experience with the WE Charity scandal.

I want to talk for a few moments about the COVID-19 response and the spending during that response, because many businesses in Oshawa went bankrupt. People lost their businesses and homes. There was huge criticism over the amount of money, how it was spent and how things were managed, but we still have not evaluated the government's support for these programs and how effective they were. There seems to be a lack of transparency in spending and accountability measures, and we have not looked at the public health implications and long-term effects. However, we do know that the actions taken were extraordinary and the amount of coercion and force the government utilized was unprecedented.

I am hearing over and over from Canadians that they should have the right to make personal medical decisions. However, as we saw, sadly, the government and the Prime Minister made deliberate decisions to go beyond guiding and protecting Canadians, to a point of punishing people who chose not to get COVID-19 vaccines, not because there was evidence that punishing them would make Canadians safer, but because he thought that scapegoating a small and unpopular minority of Canadians would make him more popular. The sad thing about that approach, as we remember from the election, is that the Prime Minister politicized a health issue. I want to give kudos to a Liberal member of Parliament, the member for Louis-Hébert, who stood up to the Prime Minister and stated on the record how disappointed and sad he was that the Prime Minister had decided to politicize Canadians' personal health decisions.

I want to bring to the attention of the House yet another example of the government obstructing parliamentarians and disrespecting our parliamentary privileges. Even today, we are trying to get information in regard to the pandemic response.

My colleague from Provencher asked an Order Paper question, Question No. 2745, in regard to Pfizer contracts and what Health Canada did not answer. All he wanted to know was when the former minister of public service and procurement, the former minister of health, Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada received the contract. He also asked when Health Canada, the Public Health Agency, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Health and the Minister of Transport were briefed on the contents. Unfortunately, he received no answer.

In the United States, there is a different system. Quite often, they go to the courts. Here in Canada, we do not have the same type of system. Canadians expect us, as parliamentarians, to use our privileges to get answers for them. Sadly, the government gives word salads or returns redacted documents.

I would like to take a moment to talk about the ArriveCAN scandal. ArriveCAN is something that was also implemented during the pandemic. I remember talking with the Privacy Commissioner in committee; he had extreme concerns about implementing something along the lines of the ArriveCAN app because of privacy issues.

We talk about the situation and the amount of money that was wasted on ArriveCAN; this is just part of it. There are huge controversies surrounding the effectiveness of this app, including privacy concerns and, of course, the costs associated with it. I remember that the Privacy Commissioner basically said, “Well, this is something that could be utilized for a very short-term period.” However, the government continued on and on, even though the evidence showed that the vaccine and the government's approach was not actually stopping the transmission of COVID-19. The Privacy Commissioner recommended that the data collected should be destroyed, but the Public Health Agency continues to utilize it.

Canadians are worried about their privacy, and here we have an app that not only cost way more than it should have but also affected Canadians' ability to travel. We have to look at this in case there is another pandemic or emergency. In that situation, the Prime Minister had no problem continuing with his family vacations. This demonstrates the perception of elitism and privilege toward the public health message, and his own adherence to the rules. In other words, it was something that he wanted Canadians to follow, but he did not want to follow it himself.

Another really important incident, where there was a similar situation to that we have today, was the Winnipeg lab scandal. I still do not think we have gotten to the bottom of this.

We have to say, “When does it stop?” The Conservative leader is calling for a carbon tax election because it is not going to stop. The Liberals are at a point now where they do not even realize any ethical breaches. It has become the regular way of doing business. The response is basically saying, “Gee, I am sorry”, and then going on and doing it again and again.

In the Winnipeg lab scandal, we saw officials from the Communist Party of China having access to some of our most vital biosecurity materials. We see that how the government handled it affected our relationship with China. Canadians are now very aware of Chinese interference, which, I guess, will be another speech that we have to manage.

It is a sad but appropriate day. Parliament needs to do its job because that is what is expected.

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

Mr. Speaker, to be blunt, that speech was absolutely all over the map. I mean, it covered everything but the failure to produce sustainable documents, so I am not quite sure what the member opposite was trying to get at in his speech.

To be perfectly honest, I come to Ottawa each and every week to try to get work done on behalf of my constituents. I want to talk about housing. I want to talk about the fact that the Bank of Canada rate dropped again. I want to talk about how inflation is dropping and all the great things that are happening. However, we cannot do that because we are stuck in this circle, which is a complete waste of time.

I do have a question for the member opposite, but first I will read from a letter from the commissioner of the RCMP. He wrote:

...the RCMP's ability to receive and use information obtained through this production order and under the compulsory powers afforded by the Auditor General Act in the course of a criminal investigation could give rise to concerns under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It is therefore highly unlikely that any information obtained by the RCMP under the Motion where privacy interests exists could be used to support a criminal prosecution or further a criminal investigation....

There is significant risk that the Motion could be interpreted as a circumvention of normal investigative processes and Charter protections.

Could the member opposite comment on the RCMP commissioner's comments?

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I cannot believe that question. This is very simple. If the member wants this to end, they just need to provide those documents.

To respond to the member, my speech was about the record number of scandals of any government we have ever had in Canada, and it was too hard to list them all. However, I will answer his question with what Andrew Coyne said in an article in The Globe and Mail. It reads:

Liberals have always been prone to being corrupted by power, but the current crop of Liberals are unique for being corrupted by their own virtue.

The preening moral vanity that is a signature of the...Liberals - the gratitude, as in the Pharisee’s prayer, that they are “not like other men” - is not, alas, an act. They truly believe it, to the point that they are literally incapable of conceiving of themselves doing wrong.

It isn’t only that they are surrounded by people like themselves, in other words: They are surrounded by people who think like them, and whose first thought at all times is that whatever it is they are thinking must be for the good.

The Liberals do not even recognize ethical breaches anymore. That question was evidence that the member did not listen to my speech.

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his speech, but I do wonder about the Conservatives' true intentions. We have been grappling with this question of privilege for several weeks now.

Let us say that, tomorrow morning, the government decides to finally table the documents in the House. What strategy would the Conservative Party use next?

Would it be willing to take another look at the agenda and work on the various bills that are before the House, or would it come back with another question of privilege on a different subject?

What are the Conservative Party's intentions? Does it want to paralyze the House as much as possible to show that the government is not capable of governing? Is that the real intention here?