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.