Debates of Nov. 7th, 2024

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

I have the honour to inform the House that a communication has been received as follows:

Rideau Hall

Ottawa

November 7, 2024

Mr. Speaker,

I have the honour to inform you that the Right Honourable Mary May Simon, Governor General of Canada, signified royal assent by written declaration to the bills listed in the Schedule to this letter on the 7th day of November, 2024, at 5:06 p.m.

Yours sincerely,

Ken MacKillop

Secretary to the Governor General

The schedule indicates the bills assented to were Bill C-244, An Act to amend the Copyright Act (diagnosis, maintenance and repair)—Chapter 26; Bill C-294, An Act to amend the Copyright Act (interoperability)—Chapter 27; Bill C-284, An Act to establish a national strategy for eye care—Chapter 28; S-16, An Act respecting the recognition of the Haida Nation and the Council of the Haida Nation—Chapter 29.

The House resumed consideration of the motion, of the amendment and of the amendment to the amendment.

Reference to Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise today, in advance of Remembrance Day. At this opportunity, I would like to mention that my grandfather Jesse Pullin served in England during the First World War. He immigrated to Canada with his family, his wife and my mother and her sister, in 1925.

Then, because of his devotion to England initially and then to Canada, he actually went back and fought in the Second World War for Canada. He fought two different world wars for two different countries. I am very proud of him and of the honour he instilled in me.

Just imagine what $400 million could have done if it had made its way into the hands of hard-working Canadians who work day in and day out to bring home powerful paycheques. I start with that because it is the thought I want everyone to focus on as we continue the debate on the motion of privilege.

It is an honour to rise today as the representative of the good people of the North Okanagan—Shuswap. They go to work day in and day out trying to bring home paycheques that will get them a comfortable home, feed their family, keep the heat on and, with any luck, allow them to save up for their retirement.

I proudly rise to speak today on the issue of the question of privilege raised by my colleague, the hon. member for Regina—Qu'Appelle. For those Canadians who may be unclear as to why we are still debating the question of privilege, I will once again give a condensed history of the situation. I will quote my hon. colleague from South Shore—St. Margarets for the initial information, because he has been diligently digging up the breaches in conflict of interest on the file:

There is a foundation set up in 2001 called Sustainable Development Technology Canada, with the purpose of providing taxpayer financial assistance to green technology companies before they are commercialized. Since the government was elected, the foundation has received a billion dollars of taxpayer money. The result of probing by parliamentary committees is that we found that in 82% of the funding transactions approved by the board of directors during a five-year sample period that the Auditor General looked at, 82% of those transactions were conflicted.

On September 16, my colleague the hon. member for Regina—Qu'Appelle rose on a question of privilege, following notice under Standing Order 48, concerning the failure of the government to comply with the order that the House adopted on Monday, June 10. A majority of the House voted that day, June 10, to compel the government to produce a series of unredacted records concerning Sustainable Development Technology Canada, now known as the green slush fund, a body engulfed in one of the worst Liberal scandals in recent years. I say “one of the worst” because there have been many.

On September 26, six weeks ago, the hon. Speaker presented his ruling on the question of privilege raised by the hon. member for Regina—Qu'Appelle. The ruling said:

The procedural precedents and authorities are abundantly clear. The House has the undoubted right to order the production of any and all documents from any entity or individual it deems necessary to carry out its duties. Moreover, these powers are a settled matter, at least as far as the House is concerned. They have been confirmed and reconfirmed by my immediate predecessors, as well as those more distantly removed.

The Speaker further stated:

The Chair cannot come to any other conclusion but to find that a prima facie question of privilege has been established.

Here we are today, six weeks after the Speaker's ruling, debating the same motion, and the amendments to it, that the government produce the documents. It has thus far refused to provide them to the House. All other legislative debate has been halted until the Prime Minister and his government acknowledge the will of the majority of the members of the House that the documents be turned over. Time and again, member after member around the chamber has stated it: All that is required is to just produce the documents.

I have provided a condensed history of how we got to where we are today; it is now up to the Prime Minister to decide how we get through today, tomorrow and however many tomorrows it takes to break this impasse. After all these weeks of defiance, Canadians are asking what is so damaging in these documents that the government would put all other legislative process aside in an attempt to cover up what they contain. How bad could it be?

Could it be that the $400 million in question would have been better spent if it had reached the hands of those hard-working Canadians I opened with, instead of being used to line the pockets of Liberal insiders? Could it be so bad that the Prime Minister cannot find anyone else to throw under the wheels of the bus except himself or a close friend, so he is choosing to throw our democratic process and the purpose of this chamber under the bus instead?

We can imagine what could have been accomplished if the $400 million of this green slush fund had been allocated in a manner that helped Canadians and the communities they call home. Instead of creating yet another scandal, the Liberal-NDP government could have literally saved lives. Investing $400 million in addictions treatment could have saved lives in the ongoing opioid crisis that claimed at least 47,162 lives in Canada between June 2016 and this March. Under the current government, more Canadians have lost their lives to the opioid crisis than were lost in World War II combat. A total of 14,260, or 30% of those lives, were lost in my home province of British Columbia, including lives lost in my constituency of North Okanagan—Shuswap. These dark realities are a very important reason that the government must release the unredacted documents and let the green slush fund scandal be investigated.

When I am connecting with citizens of North Okanagan—Shuswap and I hear them talk about the needs and priorities of their communities, I do not just listen; I carry their voices to Ottawa to advocate on their behalf. I have repeatedly written to the Minister of Finance to convey the need for the government to initiate actions to fight the availability of illicit opioids and non-prescribed controlled opioids. I repeatedly wrote and advocated for federal resources to prevent opioid addictions and to assist those who are attempting to overcome addiction. I never heard back from the minister or the government. We know who did hear back: the characters who doled out $400 million in the green slush fund scandal. The Liberal-NDP government seems to have unlimited dollars for its friends, but it will not even respond to the pleas from elected representatives of Canadians. That $400 million could have saved the lives of many Canadians lost to the opioid crisis, as well as preventing so much pain and the grief of parents, families and loved ones.

Canada's housing crisis has also played out in North Okanagan—Shuswap. This is another burning issue that I have repeatedly conveyed to the government, which is more concerned with helping its friends than with helping Canadians.

For instance, eight years ago, in 2016, I hosted round tables in North Okanagan—Shuswap to discuss the matter of housing with representatives from local governments, first nations, social services, construction, real estate and organizations assisting Canadians facing challenges in securing housing. Following these engagements, I wrote to the finance minister and shared great opportunities for the government to recognize the existing willingness of private investors and developers to construct new rental stock and to mobilize this willingness with reasonable incentives.

I wrote the minister again in 2018 and stated, “Many...Canadians below or near the poverty line exhibit determination to work hard to improve their positions but the absence of affordable housing undermines their aspirations and efforts.” Again, I received no response.

This government did not take up the actions suggested. Its response was inaction, and it actually made the housing crisis worse by driving up costs, rents, and housing and rental stock scarcity with out-of-touch policies.

That $400 million could have gone a long way in helping to unleash construction of new homes for Canadians; instead, it was allocated to the shady insider dealings of the green slush fund scandal, which the government must stop covering up. It could have provided Canadians with water security, had the money been allocated for water and waste water treatment systems, which I have repeatedly advocated for to the government over the years.

In 2017, I wrote the finance minister on behalf of the Skwlāx te Secwepemcúl̓ecw, or Little Shuswap Lake Indian Band, which had identified to me the need for $300,000. This was required to extend water service for up to 20 homes. At that time, I also raised the needs of the Splatsin First Nation for a sanitary sewage system for homes that were, on average, 40 years old and lacked access to treatment services. I told the minister how the reserve was subject to regular boil water advisories and needed support from Ottawa to establish a waste water treatment plant. The minister never did respond.

In the same correspondence, I advocated on behalf of the Okanagan Indian Band, which also required support to establish water and waste water treatment systems to meet the government's requirements. Over the years, I have also delivered urgent requests to the government to support water and waste water treatment systems for the Neskonlith Indian Band, the Adams Lake Indian Band, the City of Salmon Arm, the Village of Chase and the communities of Falkland, Scotch Creek, the North Shuswap, Sorrento, Blind Bay and the South Shuswap.

Again, I never received a response saying that the government had resources for these essential projects. Again, friends of the Liberal-NDP government over at the green slush fund did receive a response. They heard back from the government, and they received $400 million. Self-interest and political interest eclipsed the needs of these communities, which needed support to protect their community, their health and our waters. This is another reason we are here today, calling on the government to release unredacted documents, finally, so that the $400-million green slush fund can finally be investigated.

Over the years, I have also conveyed to the government many other needs and priorities of North Okanagan—Shuswap that could have been supported with the $400 million that needs to be investigated in the green slush fund. In 2016, I sought government support for the $5 million required to connect the communities of Seymour Arm and Shuswap Lake to hydroelectric service.

In the same year, I identified the need for federal support for assessments of biofuels and renewable energy in the Sicamous area and biomass heating systems in Enderby. In 2018, I advocated for support for a natural gas line to supply the Adams Lake and Little Shuswap Lake indigenous communities. All of these projects could have delivered benefits for citizens and communities. The government did not respond to my advocacy with support, but it did make sure there was $400 million for the green slush fund.

Since 2016, I have been pleading with the government to prioritize the removal of unexploded explosive ordnance, or UXO, from the lands of the Okanagan Indian Band. UXO are a lingering legacy of wartime training ranges on the lands of the Okanagan. Economic development, and the jobs and prosperity that economic development could bring, continues to be stymied because the government has not ensured the UXO are cleared.

Just this morning, I received correspondence from the Okanagan Indian Band administration on this very issue, which persists because the government has not prioritized resolving the matter. This is yet another example of what good could have been achieved if $400 million had not been sent to the green slush fund.

Canadians have no choice but to pay taxes. Canadians deserve to know what their tax dollars are being spent on and to have those tax dollars spent in a manner that results in equitable, meaningful benefits. The Liberal government and its NDP accomplices continue to deny Canadians transparency and value for spending. My Conservative colleagues and I will continue to fight to expose what happened to the $400 million that clearly should have been allocated for the benefit of Canadians, not the benefit of insiders.

As I have said before, parliamentarians, at least on this side of the House, take their roles very seriously. Members of His Majesty's loyal opposition have a job to do, and that is to hold the government of the day accountable. It is part of making sure the people back home in North Okanagan—Shuswap, and across Canada, get to bring home the paycheques they work so hard to earn.

I want to take us back a few years to 2013, when this was stated:

Political leadership is about raising the bar on openness and transparency....

As a Member of Parliament, as a Leadership Candidate, and now as Leader of my Party, I have taken every opportunity to raise the bar when it comes to openness and accountability.... As Leader of my Party, I made raising the bar on transparency and openness my first major policy announcement, so that Canadians can better hold their leaders accountable.

For me, transparency isn’t a slogan or a tactic; it’s a way of doing business. I trust Canadians. I value their opinions. And now that I’ve heard them, I’m going to act.

That statement came from the current Prime Minister. It is a far cry from what we are seeing right now, where transparency is nowhere to be found. He did say sunlight is the best disinfectant, I believe.

Why would the Liberals continually be involved in conflicts of interest and scandals? It is simple: They are Liberals. That is why they continue to be found in breaches of ethics. They must be held accountable. They must turn over the documents as ordered by the House. Canada will be better off for it.

I will close with the same message I opened with: $400 million. Members can imagine what could have been done if it had been put into the hands of hard-working Canadians who work, day in and day out, trying to bring home powerful paycheques.

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

Madam Speaker, I, too, want to get off topic. I could talk about the leader of the Conservative Party and his association with Stephen Harper as his parliamentary secretary, and really the point man of the Stephen Harper government.

I have a book here that talks about Stephen Harper's serial abuse of power, scandals and corruption. I did not write the book, but there is a book on it—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The member is not to use props in the House. He can read from the book, but he cannot mention the book.

The hon. parliamentary secretary.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Madam Speaker, there are too many scandals and abuses of power for me to read it.

However, I can tell the member that the real issue here is that now we have the leader of the Conservative Party who is actually borderline in contempt of the House of Parliament, I would argue, for what he is doing. He is holding the House of Commons hostage and not allowing things to be debated. It is no surprise that he was parliamentary secretary to the prime minister when Stephen Harper was held in contempt of Parliament; the only prime minister in the history of Canada and the British Commonwealth to be held in contempt of Parliament. Also, he now refuses to get the security clearance. There was a litany of abuses of power. Why should Canadians believe there is any genuineness in regards to this issue with the Conservative Party? They are part of the problem—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The hon. member for North Okanagan—Shuswap.

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

Madam Speaker, I truly enjoy debating with this member for Winnipeg North, because he is so easy to counterattack. Why does he continuously distract and deflect?

We are here, and we have been here for weeks now, debating one issue, which is an order by the majority of the members of the House to produce documents. It is one issue, and yet he continuously tries to distract, delay and deflect to protect his corrupt government and his corrupt Prime Minister.

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Madam Speaker, let us look at this. First we heard about WE Charity, and then we heard about the $237 million that was given to a couple of guys who started a business just 10 days before they were awarded the contract and who were unable to deliver even half of what they were asked for. Next, we heard about non-indigenous companies passing themselves off as indigenous in order to get contracts. That is not counting the fact that there are probably a whole lot of other things that we do not know about yet, some well-kept secrets and some secrets that will soon come to light.

If we take all that together, it makes me wonder whether the real problem is the government's inability to manage public funds properly. When we look more closely, we see that there are still governments within the government. When it comes to governance in the sense of an overarching power, it seems to be a system, a shadowy web. Could the real problem be that, regardless of the government's political stripe, there are too many sub-governments in the big machine that is Ottawa?

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the question from the member from the Bloc. It is not very often that Conservatives and the Bloc agree on an issue, but this is one case where we do agree.

This government certainly cannot manage anything. We have seen what the Liberals have done with the finances of the country. Housing costs have doubled. Rent has doubled. Grocery costs have gone through the roof. People cannot afford to live because of the mismanagement of this government. I agree with the Bloc, we need a change.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Madam Speaker, it is funny, but at the end of his speech, my colleague started talking about the concerns of ordinary folks, workers and their families: the housing crisis, the cost of living, the cost of groceries. His party is paralyzing the work of the House, when we should be able to talk about those concerns and work together on finding solutions. I find that a bit odd.

I understand that the issue we are currently debating is also important, but the Conservative Party is causing us to waste millions of dollars in public funds by paralyzing the work of the House and keeping us from talking about the issues that directly affect the lives of Quebeckers and Canadians.

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

Madam Speaker, that was an interesting question from the member, since the NDP has been shoring up the corrupt government for the last number of years. Its policies have added to inflation and government debt to an endless degree, and the member says we are wasting dollars. We are simply holding the government to account for its waste of taxpayer dollars.

This could have been over within a day if the government had heeded the ruling of the majority of the House to produce the documents. Who is really wasting taxpayer dollars? I say it is the NDP-Liberal government on that side of the House.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Madam Speaker, I would like to congratulate the member for such a powerful speech about his role and duty as a member of Parliament since 2015 and for all of the advocacy he has done for his constituents, including the most vulnerable among them.

I wonder if he has more to say about the advocacy he has done for the essential needs of indigenous people and indigenous communities. What does he think about, as he just said, the Liberals being propped up by the NDP, who claim that the most important relationship to them is the one with indigenous people? He has explained his own advocacy as a representative of indigenous people in his riding, but that has clearly fallen on deaf ears, as there have been no responses whatsoever from the Liberal government. As the member said so rightly over and over, the Liberals seem to have hundreds of millions of dollars for all of their cronies and corrupt buddies, and it is more clear than ever that the government is not worth the cost or corruption.

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

Madam Speaker, my colleague has been a strong advocate not just for the energy sector, which is important in the area she comes from, but also on behalf of indigenous people right across this country.

We recently heard indigenous members say they have been let down by the government. When I meet with the five bands in my riding of North Okanagan—Shuswap, they tell me that all they have seen are broken promises and that money never seems to reach the ground where it is needed. I have passed the message on to the respective ministers that the money gets caught up in the bureaucracy the government has created and never reaches the people who really need it.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Madam Speaker, the member is one of well over 100 members who continue to stand up and intentionally go off topic to try to justify their behaviour, which I would argue is borderline contempt in the House of Commons. They are putting the ambitions and interests of the leader of the Conservative Party and the Conservative Party's interests ahead of Canadians' best interests. I find that shameful.

When can Canadians expect the Conservatives to do the honourable thing, the right thing, and allow this matter to come to a vote? It is their motion. When are they going to do that?

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

Madam Speaker, that question makes no sense. It is from a member of the government, which has total control over the House. The Liberals could have ended this weeks ago, as I previously stated. It could have been over in less than a day.

This was an order of the House. The majority of the members of the House ordered the government to produce the documents. The government could have ended it that day, but no, the member continues to prop up his corrupt Prime Minister and his cronies, and delay proceedings in the House. It is not the Conservatives causing the delay; it is the corrupt Liberal government.

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

Madam Speaker, first I want to acknowledge all the veterans across this great country. As members of Parliament, we will all be heading back to our constituencies and will take part in Remembrance Day ceremonies. I was happy to attend the Poppy Campaign launch in Saskatoon just a couple of weeks ago, and this Saturday I will be selling poppies in support of all our veterans and legions in my community.

Reg Harrison was in attendance at the Poppy Campaign launch in Saskatoon. Reg was a World War II hero, in my estimation. He survived numerous crashes and close calls. There is a book about him, Tales of a Bomber Pilot Who Defied Death, authored by Deana Driver.

What is amazing is that Reg "Crash" Harrison was signing the books last year at the Nutana Legion in Saskatoon. He was 101 years old, and now he is 102 years old. He was named an honorary Snowbird with the renowned Canadian Forces aerobatics display team, which flies under the same squadron number as the one Reg served in for England. We were in Moose Jaw just a few years ago and saw “Reg ‘Crash’ Harrison” printed on one of the planes.

That is a bit of history as we head into Remembrance Day weekend.

I would like to give a shout-out to all the veterans and a reminder that Monday in Saskatoon we will host, yet again, the largest indoor Remembrance Day service in this country. Over 8,000 people attend at SaskTel Centre to remember our veterans.

We must thank and remember our veterans for the freedom we all enjoy today. I just wanted to say that up front because my community of Saskatoon is very proud of the veterans. This weekend we will be selling poppies, and then Monday we are going to celebrate and be involved in the Remembrance Day ceremony in Saskatoon.

It is my pleasure to rise on behalf of the constituents of Saskatoon—Grasswood to once again speak about the corruption of the Liberals. They are refusing to obey an order of the House that states they simply have to hand over the documents regarding another scandal of the Liberal Party, not anyone else's scandal.

Another scandal has come out of the government, and I am sure that by now Canadians are getting used to the scandals, unfortunately, since the Prime Minister took office in 2015. This one, though, believe me, is far more significant than the others. We are talking about close to $400 million, $390 million to be exact. The Liberals are going to tremendous lengths, weeks upon weeks here in the House, not wanting to simply lay down the unredacted documents we have requested. In fact you, Madam Speaker, were part of the ruling earlier.

Parliament has ground to a halt for weeks because of the Liberals' unwillingness to hand over these documents to the public. It is not us, as opposition members; we are trying to make the government accountable. It simply is not accountable, as it has been in the past, which is why we have been at this for five or six weeks in the House.

The $400 million of mismanaged taxpayer money shows once again how the government treats the hard-earned money of all Canadians. Furthermore, since we are talking about taxpayer dollars, I will say that Canadians have a right to know what the government is doing with their money. Although we already know where it went, the government refuses to admit it. Indeed we know, since the Auditor General has indicated that the money went to Liberal friends whom cabinet had appointed to the board of Sustainable Development Technology Canada, better known as SDTC. We are calling it the green slush fund.

It is green for a very good reason, and that is the money that was going into the pockets of the Liberals' friends. It is interesting, as we continue with this debate, that we could be here for months. It is important to note that the government was directly in charge of appointing the board members of this fund. This company was actually a pretty good company. It was formed in 2001, and it was very good. A lot of start-ups went to this company, got some help and proceeded on. All of a sudden, the government took over in 2015, and it made changes to the board in 2016 and 2017.

Those Liberal insiders worked their way onto the board, and they were at the trough for close to $400 million, or 186 conflicts of interest, I should say. Those are 186 instances where taxpayer money could have gone to help families struggling with the cost of living and businesses trying to stay afloat. Instead, the money was funnelled to companies with ties to senior Liberal officials.

Even worse is that $58 million of that money went to companies that should not even have been considered by SDTC. Canadians are asking questions. They want to see all governments be accountable. They want to see all governments be responsible. Both are lacking, obviously, with the Liberal federal government. We saw this with Sustainable Development Technology Canada, SDTC, once a proud government agency. Many companies used it, as I mentioned, to promote new technologies.

In fact, on their website it says, “from seed to success”. It was success from 2001 to 2015. The website today says there are three funding streams. Number one is a “one-time non-repayable contribution of $50,000 to $100,000 to validate an idea.” Number two was to “be nominated by one of SDTC’s 90+ accelerator partners.” Number three was to “have raised $100,000 to $200,000 from accredited investors.” One, two, three, it is simple.

This is frustrating, and Canadians have noted a pattern with the government. There is simply no respect for the average taxpayer. I sit on the heritage committee. Would members like for me to start on the CBC bonuses that were handed out by the government earlier in the year? It was $18 million, with $3.3 million going to the CBC executives, averaging over $70,000 per executive, handed over by either the Minister of Heritage or the Privy Council. They have now said they know their KPIs, they just have to keep going. KPIs, by the way, are key performance indicators. They have never met them. There are 14; CBC met three.

What did they do? They lowered the KPIs so they could all get the bonuses, and that is what happened. The trust is down. Ad revenue is down. Viewership is down. It is surprising that the minister and the Privy Council signed off on these massive bonuses to the executives. The Liberal government then wonders why Canadians coast to coast to coast are upset.

The finance minister said that the budget deficit would then not go over $40 billion. I remember the hon. member standing in the House talking about how they will not have a deficit over $40 billion. However, the Parliamentary Budget Officer said the other day that we are headed to a deficit of nearly $47 billion. That is $7 billion over, nearly 20% over the original $40 billion that the finance minister said she would never go over. Are we surprised with any of this?

The government then decided, because it needs money as it continues to print money and give bonuses and spread to its friends, to go after the capital gains. People who spent decades planning for their retirement are now being targeted by the government.

In the Prime Minister's Canada, so many are forced to line up today at food banks, which is a shame. What could we feed this country with $400 million? I have been to the Salvation Army in Saskatoon, which has a wonderful summer program that feeds kids at parks. It said today that one in four parents in this country had cut back on their own food consumption to ensure their children have enough to eat in the past year. In the past year alone, 58% of those who accessed the organization's food banks did so for the very first time. It was startling to hear that today. It is unbelievable what is going on in this country.

I have talked before about the fact that I come from a province that not only feeds Canada but feeds the world. It is the food basket of the world, and yet today there are more people in my province of Saskatchewan going to the food bank for the first time. I am very nervous. The holiday season is coming up. People in our communities, and everywhere in the country, are nervous about where they are going to get the extra cash needed for Christmas, but also for food. We are concerned about this.

The Auditor General was very clear in the report that the fault falls clearly back on the government's industry minister, who, in the words of the Auditor General, “did not sufficiently monitor” the contracts given out to Liberal insiders.

To give Canadians an idea of the Liberal corruption, I note there were 186 conflicts of interest. We have next week off and there is going to be a cabinet shuffle. I wonder if the Minister of Industry will be one of those people shuffled out, because this is a disaster that Canadians are starting to take notice of.

I notice the hon. member for Winnipeg North cites The Hill Times. I keep citing Canada's national newspaper, The Globe and Mail. Three weeks ago, the editorial said that Conservatives are right to ask for the unredacted papers. That is The Globe and Mail's editorial board. It is not The Hill Times, it is the editorial board of Canada's most successful newspaper. It is Canada's national newspaper. Even the board of The Globe and Mail agrees with the Conservatives, the opposition, that we are within our right asking for the unredacted documents. The parliamentary secretary keeps talking about The Hill Times, which most Canadians do not read, or do not even know what it is, but Canadians do know that The Globe and Mail stands for integrity.

We are concerned because there was a board member appointed by the green slush fund way back in 2016, just a year after Liberals took office, who runs a venture capital called, as we all have heard from day to day, Cycle Capital. Her company received a total of $250 million from this green slush fund. Some of that came before she was a board member, so that is fine, but $114 million came to the company she had invested in while she was on the board.

When someone takes governance training, and I would think this company, SDTC, had governance training, they are told that as a member of the board, they must recuse themselves when the board is talking about their company. They must leave the room. We heard that several of these board members just stood in the back, waited for the vote and just nodded their head. Their company was up to receive money and they were watching to see what the board was going to do. This is governance 1.8. It is unreal that members of the board of governors would be allowed to stay in the boardroom as other members were talking about millions of dollars going to their companies. This is inexcusable at the lowest level of the Liberal government.

How can the board members stay on the board when they are talking about giving millions of dollars to their company and they know first-hand that they should have left the room? They also know that it is not good that their company is getting money from SDTC, yet it has come about.

We have seen all the allegations, almost $400 million. That is ridiculous. Right now, Canadians from coast to coast are paying over 50% income tax in a lot of cases. They are upset over many things that our party has brought out over the last number of weeks in the House. They are upset with the carbon tax because they have now seen the playing field in this country shift dramatically with the election in the United States. There, they do not have a carbon tax. Our energy companies in my province of Saskatchewan and in Alberta are going to be under siege. They have been under siege since 2015, when the government took over.

There is an environment minister who is completely against energy in this country. He would rather go to Venezuela. He would rather go to Russia and other diplomatic countries that we should not be dealing with on energy, rather then deal with the clean energy that we produce in the prairie provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta. We are concerned about that.

We are going to see, and we have already seen, companies move their money down to Texas en masse. We have been concerned for a number of years, but now that President Trump has taken over, we are going to see a massive amount of money leave this country. One of the reasons is the carbon tax. The carbon tax has hurt this country.

We will axe the tax. We will build the homes. I know that a lot of Liberals laugh at us on this side of the House because they say the member for Carleton has a plan that makes no sense. Stu Niebergall is the executive director of the Regina and Region Home Builders' Association. Today, he said that the federal Conservative leader's promise to cut the general sales tax, better known as the GST, on new home construction is a brilliant idea that will save families hundreds of dollars a month.

They estimate at least $250 a month on mortgage payments. The member for Carleton's proposal would apply to new homes worth up to $800,000. I can tell members that they can get a pretty good home in Saskatchewan for $800,000. They probably cannot in the Toronto area, the GTA, or Vancouver, but in our province of Saskatchewan, they could get a pretty good home for $800,000.

That is from Regina, talking about the member for Carleton coming through, cutting the GST. It would save young families trying to get into the housing market $250 a month.

In terms of stopping the crime and fixing the budget, I do not have to tell members about fixing the budget. I have talked for 18 minutes about the corruption of the Liberals, who have spent millions and millions of dollars. I could go through their corruption since I got elected in 2015, but we would be here all night. I am only going to talk about the green slush fund, which we know was worth $400 million. The sponsorship scandal was $42 million, and it took down the Chrétien government.

We could not give enough golf tees and golf balls away back then. That was $42 million. This is 10 times the amount. It is no wonder that they do not want to give the RCMP the unredacted documents. That would be historic for the Liberal Party. The green slush fund, as we all know in this country, is corrupt; it needs to be overhauled. It will take a Conservative government to overhaul it because the current government, since it came into power in 2015, has done nothing but destroy the green slush fund, which was SDTC to everybody who used it before 2015.

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Madam Speaker, on a point of order, I am not sure we have quorum.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

I will double-check.

And the count having been taken:

We do have quorum.

The hon. member for Lac‑Saint‑Louis.

[Francis Scarpaleggia, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

Madam Speaker, I enjoyed the play-by-play by the hon. member. His eloquence sets the bar very high in this place. I enjoyed, in particular, listening to him speak about his friend Reg, an extraordinary Canadian. In fact, it was by far the most edifying thing I have heard in the House in the last four weeks.

Reg and others fought for democratic principles, and one of those principles is the separation of the political from the institutions of law enforcement. Why are the Conservatives seeking to compromise that principle by insisting on foisting upon the RCMP documents it does not want? The RCMP is telling the Conservatives to stay away from it and let it do its work.

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

Madam Speaker, I was thinking of doing the play-by-play of the Riders and Bombers here today because it is their big playoff game on Saturday. I know those back home in Saskatchewan are looking forward to Saturday afternoon. I see members on the other side who are Argos fans. We will see if the Argos can make it to the Grey Cup this year.

I thank the member for mentioning Reg “Crash” Harrison. He has gone through a lot. He is a hero in this country. He is 102 years old, or I should say 102 years young. He believes in this country. I know if he was the member of Parliament for Saskatoon—Grasswood, he would agree that the Liberals should show us the unredacted documents so we can move on with our agenda here in the House.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Madam Speaker, my colleague and I have enjoyed working together on a number of things in a positive way. This one is interesting, though.

The member talked about scandals, and what we have seen is almost a competition between the Liberals and Conservatives over scandals. I was here during the Harper scandals. Members will remember the the Senate expense scandal, with Mike Duffy claiming expenses and Nigel Wright paying for them with a cheque. There was the in-and-out scandal with regard to election financing, where the Conservatives were caught moving money around during the election. There was the robocall scandal, which, we remember that, was where Michael Sona took a hit for the Conservatives in trying to get people to vote at the wrong places.

There was the prorogation of Parliament scandal, where former prime minister Stephen Harper prorogued Parliament a couple of times. There was the Afghan detainee scandal, similar to this, where documents were not provided. There was the censorship and control of information scandal. Then there was the Elections Act amendment scandal and, lastly, one of my fan favourites, Tony Clement and the G8 fake lake and gazebo scandal.

Can my friend indicate if perhaps there are more Liberal scandals than Conservative scandals since this is what it has devolved to?

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

Yes, Madam Speaker, the member for Windsor West and I have worked on a number of things together and I have the utmost respect for him.

In nine short years, there has been SNC-Lavalin, the Winnipeg labs, the WE Charity, the arrive scam and the green slush fund. I have missed about five or six others. The concern I have right now is that Canadians, not only in Windsor but everywhere, are hurting. Everybody in the last week or so has talked about food bank lineups of over two million people a month, and $400 million is unaccounted for. What would the member do in Windsor with $400 million? What would the member for Saskatoon—Grasswood do with $400 million in the community? We would do quite a bit.

This is a sizable amount of money. It is the biggest scandal in the last nine years that we know of. It could be bigger than $400 million, who knows, because the unredacted papers have not gone where they should go, and that is to the RCMP.

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

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the words from the member for Saskatoon—Grasswood. I want to add my voice to those who have already mentioned how great it is to listen to him speak. I think this was one of his best speeches yet.

The member listed a number of scandals. It was a very long and exhaustive list. We just received news today that the employment minister co-owned a company, with a partner and a mysterious third individual, the other Randy, that seems to have applied for federal contracts using the indigenous procurement angle, yet there is still no confirmation there was an indigenous owner of this company. There were only two owners, maybe three, if we can find the other Randy.

As the member was saying, it is a difficult time for Canadians, yet the Liberals seem to have no problem with sticky fingers.

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

Madam Speaker, Murray Sinclair passed away earlier this week and there is a lot of work in this country with respect to reconciliation. I remember going to Prairieland Park and listening to Murray. He did a wonderful job. I was so happy that former prime minister Harper appointed him to look after the reconciliation. Murray went to several communities in this country. It was absolutely jammed at Prairieland Park. We could hear a pin drop on the floor when he spoke.

This is disturbing because the week that Murray Sinclair passed, the Liberals all of a sudden now are hearing some rumours of the employment minister along with his company involved in procurement, which is a major story if this is true. All across this country, we believe in indigenous issues. We want to see them do a bit better financially and we have a plan, when we become government, to help aid the indigenous, the Métis and the Inuit in this country.