Debates of Nov. 19th, 2024

Ukraine

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as Jacques Brel sang, we never forget anything, we just get used to it.

After 1,000 days, it unfortunately seems that people are getting too used to the horrific war that is decimating Ukraine. No one can forget the massacres in Bucha. No one can forget the bodies of civilians lying in the streets. No one can forget the bombing of the children's hospital in Mariupol. We will never forget any of that.

However, as terror continues to stalk the streets of Ukraine, where no civilian is safe, as women continue to be raped, as children are casually murdered by an army that has abandoned its humanity and is using every means possible to instill fear, as the words “third world war” once again become a reality, the sad truth is that we are getting used to all of it. We never forget anything, we just get used to it.

Not forgetting is not enough. We must refuse to get used to it. Let us commend the extraordinary courage of the Ukrainian people. Let us support them and repeat today, with the same conviction as 1,000 days ago, “Slava Ukraini”.

Ethics

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, today, Cree lawyer Leah Ballantyne, who is a survivor of the sixties scoop, was quoted as saying:

Identity fraud is fraud.... I think that somebody who has taken an oath of office to represent people in a level of government has an ethical duty to be honest to all constituents and all people in Canada, which in this case, [the Minister of Employment] has not done....

She is right. The Liberal minister falsely claimed indigenous identity. His company received government contracts using that stolen identity, apparently while consorting with cocaine dealers, and all while he was a sitting minister of the Crown. What kind of message is the government sending by allowing him to sit in cabinet? As Jody Wilson-Raybould said today, the Prime Minister is making a mockery of reconciliation and enabling “white people play[ing] ancestry wheel of fortune.” The fraudulent minister must resign, or the Prime Minister must fire him.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Order, please.

I was listening very attentively to the hon. member's statement, and most of the statement was within the bounds. The last sentence impugned a member directly, which is not permitted in this place. I am going to ask the hon member to withdraw that word so we can move on.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I was quoting a Cree lawyer who called the minister a fraud. He is a fraud, and I do not withdraw.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Order.

I am going to invite the hon. member to reflect on this. I see that she does not have questions coming up, and I will come back to the hon. member immediately following question period.

The hon. member for Brandon—Souris.

Retirement Congratulations

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Barbara McNish, who retires from her role as executive director of Samaritan House Ministries next month. For 28 years, Barbara has served in some way, shape or form with Samaritan House. Originally joining the organization in 1989 as a women's counsellor and coordinator, Barbara worked to support women and children escaping domestic violence. Over the years, she continued to serve in a variety of ways, ultimately becoming the executive director in 2020.

Under Barbara's guidance, Samaritan House grew to meet the rising needs of our community, from providing thousands of food hampers to offering critical services that empower individuals to have independence and hope. As Barbara steps into her well-earned retirement, her legacy of compassion and community advocacy is an inspiration to many. I am thankful to Barbara for her remarkable service. I send her my best wishes for rest, joy and new adventures in this next chapter.

Housing

[Arielle Kayabaga, Liberal, London West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we know the Conservative leader had a rough week. While he is busy defending his plan to cut housing funds, Conservative members got an earful from their mayors and their constituents about their leader's reckless plan. We know this because we spent the whole week reading about it in the media. It is no wonder that Conservative MPs are going behind their leader's back to plead for funding and complain to the CBC about the gag order he has imposed on them when it comes to representing their communities.

Meanwhile, in London, we added an extra 638 units for the people of London West who need it most. Conservative MPs are lucky to represent those who sent them here. They have a responsibility to stand up to their leader and to do it right in the House.

Ethics

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, day after day brings new sordid details about the employment minister's scandal. Yesterday, we learned that his company shares a mailing address with an international drug trafficker who has been busted for cocaine not once but twice. The minister has been caught out in falsehoods, caught faking indigenous identity to try to secure government contracts meant for real indigenous people, and his company is under investigation for nine fraud-related counts. Why on earth has the Prime Minister not fired this man?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday, I do not know the person referred to in that article. I have never met that person. It is stated in the article.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, let us recap the scandal so far. The minister said he was indigenous, even though he is not. He said his great-grandmother was Cree, even though she was not. He said there was another Randy working at the company, even though there was not. He said that he had nothing to do with the company while he was in cabinet, even though he did and his company got a contract while he was sitting around the cabinet table. In a normal government, any one of those scandals would be cause for dismissal. Therefore, why, in the current wacko Liberal government, does this man still sit in cabinet?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I ask members to be very judicious in their use of words.

The hon. Minister of Public Services and Procurement.

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

Mr. Speaker, the minister has already answered this question multiple times.

However, there is one question we have not yet received an answer to. Why is the Conservative leader refusing to get his security clearance in order to protect himself and his MPs and future candidates in the next election? What does the Conservative leader have to hide? What is behind his refusal to be briefed on the risk of foreign interference in the next election, which he spends his days preparing for?

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I would ask the hon. member for Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier not to speak until he has been recognized by the Chair.

The hon. member for Regina—Qu'Appelle.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, we do not know what it would take for this guy to get fired by this Prime Minister. We do know what will get someone fired. Let us remember Jody Wilson-Raybould. She was fired for telling the truth about the Prime Minister's attempts to interfere in a criminal case. Here is what she had to say: “A Prime Minister committed to true reconciliation would have removed [this minister] (and the other Randy) from Cabinet long ago. Instead we get to watch white people play ancestry wheel of fortune.”

How come, under this Prime Minister, a strong indigenous woman gets fired for telling the truth when a weak, fake-indigenous man gets to keep his job after lying?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Again, I am going to ask the hon. member for Regina—Qu'Appelle, who once sat in this chair, to withdraw that one word, which was directly used to another member, which would not be considered parliamentary.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I will withdraw the word “lying” and replace it with “telling falsehoods”.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I am going to ask the hon. member to withdraw the word “fake”, please.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Just for the Speaker to clarify, is it the word “fake”? The minister is now admitting that he is not indigenous, so he admitted to be someone very—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Colleagues, yesterday, a member was asked to withdraw that very same word, and the member did. Therefore, I am going to ask the hon. member if he could please do so.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I will withdraw the word “fake” and replace it with either “sham”, “imitation”, “counterfeit”—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

The hon. member—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I am going to ask all members, please, not to take the floor while the Speaker is addressing Parliament.

It has been the tradition of this place to ask very tough questions to keep government accountable. It is important for government, of course, to provide very clear answers, but we try to do this in a way that allows people to treat each other with decorum and respect.

The hon. member has sat in this chair in this position once before. Yesterday we asked a number of members to, when they were referring to a particular member, withdraw that same word that I am just asking for today. I just asked the hon. member to withdraw that word so we could just move on.