Debates of Nov. 19th, 2024

Ethics

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, it is a real shame to hear so many falsehoods uttered in so little time in the House. It is a real shame that the Conservatives are investing so much of their energy in falsehoods that lead the House astray, skew opinion and distract the House from what really matters, which is working for Quebeckers and Canadians.

One thing we still do not have an answer to is why the Conservative leader, who is usually seated next to the member, did not go get his security clearance so he could protect her and all members of Parliament in time for the next federal election.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, if the minister does not know where to find these individuals, perhaps he can ask the other Randy, who is still very much in contact with those partners.

Even the Liberals are taking note of this humiliating and fraudulent affair, Liberals like Jody Wilson-Raybould, who called it, “So shameful and extremely destructive!” The Prime Minister fired the first indigenous attorney general, but kept the first fake indigenous employment minister. That is some version of reconciliation.

When is the Prime Minister going to fire the employment minister and the other Randy?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the minister has addressed those issues. He has stated that what the member opposite said is false.

What we want to know is why the Leader of the Opposition is silencing his members of Parliament. Why will he not allow his members of Parliament to speak on behalf of their constituents and advocate for their communities? All we hear from the Leader of the Opposition is the silencing of his own members of Parliament. Why will he not just let them speak?

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Edmonton, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Employment is embroiled in allegations of fraud. He almost certainly violated the Conflict of Interest Act. He got caught pretending to be indigenous in an effort to steal government contracts from legitimately indigenous-owned businesses. We have now learned that the minister has a business connection to a cocaine trafficker.

In the face of all that, why is he still in cabinet?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the member is cobbling together all sorts of falsehoods in an attempt to make this story make sense. The minister has repeatedly responded to these questions and false allegations. What we still do not know is how the member who just asked the question is going to protect himself from foreign interference in the next election if the Conservative leader refuses to get his security clearance.

How will he know that he is protected from foreign interference in the next federal election?

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Edmonton, AB]

Mr. Speaker, one must ask why the Prime Minister has not seen fit to fire the minister. Could it be that the Prime Minister violated the Conflict of Interest Act not once but twice? Could it be that the Prime Minister is a cultural appropriator, having worn blackface more times than he can remember?

Is it not the case that if the Prime Minister were to fire the minister, he would have to fire himself?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, what Canadians are witnessing today is very disturbing. On many occasions, questions were asked and answers were provided, but the real issue that Canadians are asking at home is why the leader of the Conservatives will not get a security clearance, will not get a briefing and will not do his job. That is what Canadians are concerned about.

Get the clearance, get the briefing and do your job.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I would invite all members to ensure they speak through the Speaker, whether they ask questions or give answers.

The hon. member for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Official Languages said he was indigenous so he could get money from programs for indigenous businesses, even though it is clear that he is not indigenous. He also says that he is not the notorious Randy who runs his own business, but we know that only one Randy works there. This minister is a fraud and a fake. He is corrupt.

Beyond all the smiles at the G20, is—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I have asked all members several times to be very careful about the language they use. This time, the language being used is aimed directly at another member of the House. I invite the hon. member for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles to withdraw his comments and ask his question again.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Official Languages said he was indigenous so he could get—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I would ask the member to first withdraw his comment, which contained offensive words. Then he can ask his question again.

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

I can withdraw my comment about the minister being a fraud and a corrupt person. Instead I will say that he committed fraud and engaged in corruption.

Does that work?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

No, that does not work.

I invite members to follow the lead of the other members who asked questions yesterday that were entirely acceptable.

I invite the hon. member to withdraw his comments. Then he can reword his question. Otherwise, I will move on to the next question.

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

Mr. Speaker, I mentioned that the minister was a fraud and that he was corrupt. I will instead say that there were allegations of fraud and corruption against this minister and I am calling on the Prime Minister to kick him out of cabinet.

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, our colleague from Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles seems to be having a hard time expressing himself today. There is something we would like his thoughts on, and that is the narrative of his Conservative leader, who claims that the agreement we have with the Government of Quebec seeking to build 8,000 social housing units is not currently allowing any social housing to be built. There are several dozen units in his own riding, including those in the Monterosso project, that are being built right now.

When will he invite his Conservative leader to go see for himself that the housing projects in his riding do actually exist?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am not having a hard time expressing myself today; the minister is simply trying to create a huge diversion. What we do know is that the official languages minister pretended to be a successful businessman and journalist during the 2015 and 2019 elections. He even claimed to work for CBC/Radio-Canada and a newspaper called Les Affaires. We know this is not true. What is more, he made people believe he is indigenous in order to try and get funding from programs for indigenous businesses. This minister no longer deserves to be in cabinet.

Will the Prime Minister show him the door?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, the minister has already responded to this slew of falsehoods.

What we still have not heard is the opinion of the Conservative MP for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles. The Monterosso project is in his riding. Dozens of affordable housing units are being built thanks to the agreement we signed with the Quebec government exactly one year ago. However, his Conservative leader says these units do not exist.

When is he going to invite me and his Conservative leader to visit the magnificent Monterosso housing project, which, according to his leader, does not exist?

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I am going to ask the hon. member for South Shore—St. Margarets, for the second time today, to not take the floor when he is not recognized. I would not like to remind him a third time.

The hon. member for Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia.

Public Safety

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

Mr. Speaker, the federal government has once again dropped the ball when it comes to passports. Just as the federal government is being questioned about its border plan in response to Donald Trump's deportation threats, Radio-Canada is reporting that the federal government issued a passport to a criminal human smuggler known to the authorities, a repeat offender involved in human trafficking at the border. He was involved in the deaths of nine migrants in the river last spring. This is the man Service Canada issued a passport to.

How can the government be so dangerously incompetent?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, if the allegations are true, that passport should not have been issued. I am checking internally with Service Canada and the security agencies. I will be happy to report back to the House at the appropriate time.

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

Mr. Speaker, is it any wonder that we are worried about the federal government being unprepared to deal with Trump's deportations? The federal government says that everything is just fine at the border, but we have learned that it issued a passport to a notorious human smuggler. Again, when it comes to border management, the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. It is maddening.

How many human smugglers with brand new passports are freely crossing the border?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, as I said very clearly in my previous response, I will be pleased to address the House in due course and explain exactly what happened. If the allegations are true, that passport should not have been issued. We will conduct internal checks before speaking about this issue publicly.

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

Mr. Speaker, the human smuggler in question was arrested in 2008 for possessing two Canadian passports that were not in his name. He was arrested again in 2017 for human trafficking. He was arrested again in 2021, and that is when the federal government confiscated his passport. After all that, he applied for a new passport and the government issued him one in 2023.

How has no one noticed that these human smugglers are calling the shots at the border right under the federal government's nose?