Mr. Speaker, when I sat in that chair, I heard the word “fake” being used many, many times—
House of Commons Hansard #371 of the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was goods.
House of Commons Hansard #371 of the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was goods.
Andrew Scheer Conservative Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK
Mr. Speaker, when I sat in that chair, I heard the word “fake” being used many, many times—
The Speaker Liberal Greg Fergus
I will come back to this issue at the end of the question period.
The hon. Leader of the Government in the House of Commons has the floor.
Karina Gould LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, I think that little display of disrespect for that place is ubiquitous in how Conservative members treat this place. It is the very fact that they are trying to distract and make a mockery—
The Speaker Liberal Greg Fergus
Colleagues, I am going to ask the hon. member for Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston to please not take the floor when he is not recognized to do so.
I do not know if the hon. minister had finished her answer, because I was not able to hear her, so I am going to ask the hon. minister to start from the top.
Karina Gould Liberal Burlington, ON
Mr. Speaker, I think this shameful display of disrespect from the Conservative members of Parliament for this place is on display today. It is exactly how they have been operating for the past couple of weeks. It is time for them to stop filibustering and obstructing the work of Parliament. It is time for them to start respecting this place and respecting the work we do here on behalf of Canadians. We have deposited up to 29,000 pages' worth of documents. The Conservatives need to stop these games and let everybody get back to work on behalf of Canadians.
The Speaker Liberal Greg Fergus
I am going to ask the hon. member for South Shore—St. Margarets to please not take the floor. To all colleagues, we are wasting a fair bit of time. To make sure that members get going, we might have to cut a couple of questions from today, so let us make sure that we follow up very carefully and we listen to the instructions.
The hon. member for Mégantic—L'Érable.
Luc Berthold Conservative Mégantic—L'Érable, QC
Mr. Speaker, what time is it? It is time for the Prime Minister to fire the official languages minister. He claims to be indigenous, but he is not. His claims about his Cree great-grandmother are false. He says he is not the Randy from the text messages, the one who runs Global Health Imports, but we now know there is only one Randy in the company. What is worse, the company in which he is a shareholder received a government contract while he was in cabinet. The official languages minister must do the only honourable thing: resign in shame.
Will the Prime Minister fire this fraudster?
Karina Gould LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, the minister has answered these questions. He said that what the member opposite is saying is completely false.
It is time for the Conservatives to put an end to these partisan political games that go nowhere. They need to respect the House and let it get back to work. We need to make sure we can all do the job Canadians sent us here to do.
The Speaker Liberal Greg Fergus
Again, I encourage everyone to be very judicious in their choice of words.
The hon. member for Mégantic—L'Érable.
Luc Berthold Conservative Mégantic—L'Érable, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Official Languages is not just a fake, he is a chameleon. He lets nothing get in the way of advancing his own interests. All of a sudden, he is a journalist and political commentator for Radio-Canada and Les Affaires, even though he has only ever written a single article, and then there are all the other Randys: the indigenous Randy, the Randy who is not him, the Randy who is a business partner, the Randy—
The Speaker Liberal Greg Fergus
I do not want to interrupt the hon. member, but he is skating on thin ice by using a minister's first name. I know he is referring to that hon. person. Referring to him five times is not okay.
I invite the hon. member to find another way to ask his question.
Luc Berthold Conservative Mégantic—L'Érable, QC
Mr. Speaker, there is a very simple way to get us to stop using the name Randy in the House of Commons and to use the name of the other Randy. The Prime Minister just has to fire the Minister of Official Languages.
When will the Prime Minister put an end to this charade and fire all the Randys? He can actually get rid of them all in one fell swoop by firing just the Minister of Official Languages.
Will the Prime Minister fire this fake, the Minister of Official Languages?
The Speaker Liberal Greg Fergus
You are putting me in a very difficult position.
The hon. Leader of the Government in the House of Commons.
Karina Gould LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, what the Conservative members are doing today is unbelievable. They are demonstrating their total lack of respect for this place, for Canadian democracy and for what you are saying as the Speaker of the House.
Canadians see the circus that the Conservatives are creating in the House. They know that the Conservatives are turning this very important place into a joke. This is the seat of our democracy. What they are doing and how they are acting today is shameful.
Alain Therrien Bloc La Prairie, QC
Mr. Speaker, Radio-Canada obtained documents proving that the Canada Revenue Agency has known for months that, when it comes to fraud, it is about as watertight as a sieve. It has known since November 2023 that scammers were receiving bogus tax refunds. Instead of sounding the alarm, the CRA is covering up the problem. The CRA is hiding it from taxpayers, who have been robbed of more than $100 million this year. It is keeping them in the dark about the fact that 31,000 of them had their personal information stolen.
Instead of trying to fix this, it decided to investigate its own employees to silence the whistle-blowers.
Will the minister clean house?
Marie-Claude Bibeau LiberalMinister of National Revenue
Mr. Speaker, what my colleague is saying is false. We did not hide anything whatsoever.
I can assure the House that as soon as a tip comes in about potential fraud, we take the situation very seriously. The people concerned are called immediately. Their account is frozen immediately. Checks are done to identify the fraudsters, and our systems are tightened up accordingly.
We duly report all incidents to the Treasury Board, to the Privacy Commissioner and in the public accounts.
Alain Therrien Bloc La Prairie, QC
Mr. Speaker, that is impressive.
When it comes to crisis management, the Canada Revenue Agency is an example of what not to do. Here is the CRA approach to not solving a fraud problem. First, cover up the crisis until it makes the news. Second, conceal thefts of personal information from the Privacy Commissioner. Third, hunt down the whistle-blowers, not the scammers. I could not make this up.
In short, the CRA directors are more interested in avoiding blame than solving the problem. Their number one priority is to cover their butts.
Is the minister going to set them straight on their priorities?
Marie-Claude Bibeau LiberalMinister of National Revenue
Mr. Speaker, I am willing to do whatever it takes. We are already doing that. My colleague's claims are false. They are completely false. We did not cover up anything.
As soon as the system is breached or an attempted fraud is detected, the account is frozen. The affected individuals are notified. We find the scammers and report the incident. Yes, we report the incident in accordance with our procedures. We now provide quarterly reports to the Treasury Board, to the Auditor General and in the public accounts.
Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC
Mr. Speaker, the cost of living is going up, rents are going up and the price of groceries is going up. The Liberals have let everyone down. The Conservatives are going to make cuts everywhere, and that is going to make life even more expensive.
Quebeckers deserve better. They need a break. The NDP is proposing that we get rid of the tax on groceries, children's clothing, heating bills, the Internet and cell phones. For once, we are going to make rich CEOs pay.
Will the Liberals have the guts to do it?
François-Philippe Champagne LiberalMinister of Innovation
Mr. Speaker, for once we agree with the NDP. It is true that the Conservatives' economic plan is to make cuts. They will cut health care, day care and the help we have provided for businesses. We know the Conservative plan.
If there is one thing people watching from home know, it is that, on this side of the House, we believe in investing in Canadians. We believe in investing in families. We believe in investing in health care, because confident countries invest in their citizens.
We will continue to invest in Canadians.
Leila Dance NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB
Mr. Speaker, Manitoba families are paying more and getting less at grocery stores. Prices are going up on everyday items, and the size of packaging is getting smaller. Families need a break. They need relief now.
The Liberals are letting people down, and people in my riding know that Conservatives will cut and gut the important things we need, costing families thousands of dollars. The NDP will help families by removing the GST off essentials like groceries, kids' clothing and diapers.
Why will the government not give families the break they need and remove the GST now?
Jenna Sudds LiberalMinister of Families
Mr. Speaker, our Liberal government has been working to help families put food on the table and in their kids' lunch boxes. We know the Conservative leader would pursue dangerous cuts. The difference could not be more stark. While Liberals work to ensure kids have food, Conservatives would cut the programs that Canadian families are relying on. I do not know what the Conservative leader's obsession is with these dangerous cuts.
Melissa Lantsman Conservative Thornhill, ON
Mr. Speaker, it seems that either the employment minister or the other Randy may be moonlighting as a magician. We know he says he is indigenous, even though he is not. We know he stole from indigenous Canadians. We know he said he was not involved in his company when he was in cabinet, but he was.
Today, perhaps as a magician, he has made his business partners disappear. Shawna Parker and Felix Papineau have disconnected their phone numbers and deactivated their emails and are nowhere to be found, to avoid the scrutiny of Parliament.
Will the minister stand up, wave his magic wand and tell his business partners to show up here?