Debates of Dec. 16th, 2024

Board of Internal Economy

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

It is my duty to inform the House that the following member has been appointed as a member of the Board of Internal Economy for the purposes and under the provisions of section 50 of the Parliament of Canada Act, namely: Mr. Perron, the hon. member for Berthier—Maskinongé, replacing Mrs. DeBellefeuille, the hon. member for Salaberry—Suroît, as a representative of the Bloc Québécois caucus.

The House resumed from December 13 consideration of the motion, of the amendment as amended and of the amendment to the amendment.

Reference to Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

The full period of 10 minutes remains for questions and comments on the speech by the member for Calgary Shepard.

The hon. parliamentary secretary.

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

Mr. Speaker, one thing we continue to see from the Conservative Party is a multi-million dollar game in which the leader of the Conservative Party is arguably in contempt of Parliament.

I do not say that lightly; at the end of the day, the self-serving interests of the Conservative Party are being put ahead of the interests of Canadians. We have seen that for six weeks now. The question I have for the member opposite is this: When can Canadians anticipate that the Conservative Party will start to put Canadians ahead of the self-interests of the party? It is long overdue, by weeks now. When is the Conservative Party going to stop playing this multi-million dollar contempt-like game?

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I was hoping that the parliamentary secretary would perhaps begin with less partisanship. This is quite a solemn day, with the Deputy Prime Minister now having resigned.

I will note we are not playing politics; in fact, it is the member's government playing politics. In the same Deputy Prime Minister's resignation letter, we read, “They know when we are working for them, and they equally know when we are focused on ourselves.”

She is speaking, of course, of the Liberals. I believe they are playing politics right now.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we are talking about $440 million and 186 points of conflict of interest. For the parliamentary secretary to stand up and say what he said earlier is like the pot calling the kettle black.

With the sudden departure of the Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister, what is going to happen with the fall economic statement that was supposed to be delivered this morning?

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the member asks an interesting question.

In fact, hundreds of millions of dollars were corruptly spent via the green slush fund, by appointees of the Liberal government. Hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes were taken away from constituents of mine and his as well, so they could be corruptly dispensed. We see the potential that, later today, the fall economic statement will show billions more being spent on what the Deputy Prime Minister has called election gimmicks in her own resignation letter.

They can pick any one of these members who has not given a speech yet in the House to give his maiden speech.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we have a situation in which, on the eve of the fall economic statement, the Prime Minister announces privately he is going to deep-six his finance minister. Now she has quit.

We are seeing an ongoing level of the dysfunction and the failure of all political parties to stand up for Canada at a time of uncertainty. We have now seen the Conservatives spend three months filibustering their own motion in order to stop Parliament from working; they do so because they do not care about defending the Canadian people. We have a Prime Minister who is missing in action as his ship is hitting the rocks.

It is really like watching kids in a sandbox throwing sand at each other as the tsunami comes. Everyone is warning that the tsunami is coming, but they would rather throw sand at each other. The world needs to know whether Canada is ready to stand up to Trump. We certainly know that the guy who lives in Stornoway will never show up. The Prime Minister has failed the Canadian people in a significant way today.

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the member said that the Prime Minister has failed, the Deputy Prime Minister has quit and the housing minister has quit. Still, when it comes time to vote on confidence in the government, we know that the member and his entire caucus will again vote to support a crumbling government.

[Kyle Seeback, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we have seen that the former deputy prime minister and finance minister has no confidence in the Prime Minister and the government; somehow, the NDP seems to have more confidence in the Liberal government than she does. Does the member have any insight into that?

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the member for Dufferin—Caledon makes a great point. When I talk to my constituents back home or to any Canadians, when I meet them all across Canada, I hear that the NDP caucus has been singularly focused on one issue this fall. The New Democrats have been completely, 100%, working extremely hard on it. It has not been housing affordability. It has not been getting rid of the carbon tax. It has not been fixing the budget. It has not been voting on crime bills that would actually stop criminals from victimizing more Canadians. The NDP has been singularly focused on the NDP leader's pension.

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I want to just read a bit from the resignation letter that was put out by the finance minister this morning. It states, “Our country today faces a grave challenge. The incoming administration in the United States is pursuing a policy of aggressive economic nationalism, including a threat of 25 per cent tariffs.”

It also states, “To be effective, a Minister must speak on behalf of the Prime Minister and with his full confidence. In making your decision, you made clear that I no longer credibly enjoy that confidence and possess the authority that comes with it.”

It appears that the former finance minister has lost confidence in the Prime Minister. Why does the NDP continue to support a crumbling government?

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Of course, Mr. Speaker, the member is absolutely right. He read directly from the finance minister's resignation letter. The government is in complete free fall on the day of the fall economic statement, which the Liberals have been touting as a restart and the answer to all that ails them. The only things that ail them are their polling numbers, which are really the only thing that they are looking at, and the crumbling leadership of the Prime Minister, who is completely out of touch.

It is not us saying it. It is the former finance minister saying it. It is a person who had the title of deputy prime minister attached to her. The number two person in the government, who chaired the most senior cabinet committees, is gone suddenly on the morning of the fall economic statement. It is not us saying that these are election gimmicks coming up in the fall economic statement; this is in the letter. The former finance minister herself said that this what it was going to be. In the letter, she says that the government members are in it for themselves, and they are using the fall economic statement to further their own political interests.

Who has been there every step of the way to help the Liberals out? It is the NDP caucus, with every single confidence vote making it possible.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, we need to bring it back to what we have been seeing over the last number of weeks. I have argued that, ultimately, the leader of the Conservative Party was once the parliamentary secretary and sat around the cabinet table of Stephen Harper, who was the only prime minister to ever be held in contempt of Parliament. Now what we see is that the leader of the Conservative Party continues to thumb his nose at Canadians by refusing to get the security clearance in order to deal with the issue of foreign interference. That is a serious issue.

What is the member's leader hiding that is actually preventing him from getting the security clearance?

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Mr. Speaker, on the day of the fall economic statement, the parliamentary secretary is again engaging in more talking points; the Liberals are in it for themselves. It is not us saying it. It is the now former deputy prime minister and finance minister, who suddenly resigned and shut the door. She said in her resignation letter, “They know when we are working for them, and they equally know when we are focused on ourselves. Inevitably, our time in government will come to an end.” On behalf of the residents of my riding, that cannot come too soon.

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

Mr. Speaker, we are in uncharted territory. I do not believe there has ever been a time when a finance minister has resigned on the day of a budget or a fall economic statement. The current government and the Prime Minister have totally lost control. The Prime Minister has lost the moral authority to govern, yet the NDP leader, after purportedly ripping up his agreement, has taped it back together.

How much does the member believe the NDP leader is prepared to sell out to secure his $2.3-million pension?

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I think the NDP leader will go as far as he needs to go. There is only a singular issue that the New Democrats could be counted on to vote for, and it is on behalf of not all Canadians, but one Canadian. They have been singularly focused on ensuring that their leader is eligible for that pension. No other Canadians in Canada believe anything they have to say. I would not be surprised if, later today, we saw the leader of the NDP become Canada's next finance minister.

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

Mr. Speaker, to say that I, my colleagues and opposition members in the House have been thrown a curveball would be an understatement. I had originally thought that I would be talking for the third time about the green slush fund and the various amendments to the motion brought before the House, trying to impress upon my Liberal colleagues, for one last time in this calendar year, why they should finally relent and release the unredacted documents so that we can get back to the business that the people here in Canada elected us to do. However, to my colleague from St. Albert—Edmonton, we are definitely in uncharted waters. It is historic, it is unprecedented and it deserves the attention of my intervention today.

However, before I do that, I want to start on a happy note. As I indicated, this is my last official speech intervention in the House for 2024. I want to take the opportunity to wish the Speaker and his family a very merry Christmas and a very prosperous new year. I wish all the chair occupants, individually, as well as all of our fine clerks, our House staff, our pages and my colleagues, a very merry Christmas and a happy new year. I wish for them time to reflect and have a relaxing time with their families in their ridings. I offer the same greetings to all my opposition colleagues and to members of the government, as well as to the Liberal caucus. We all play a pivotal role here in the exercise of democracy, but it is important to take a step back and thank those who assist us in that process.

However, getting back to the reality of the situation, I know some of my colleagues have read out various excerpts of the deputy prime minister's official letter of resignation, but I want to take the time to actually read it out and to reflect upon it for a moment. This is dated with today's date:

Dear Prime Minister,

It has been the honour of my life to serve in government, working for Canada and Canadians. We have accomplished a lot together.

On Friday, you told me you no longer want me to serve as your Finance Minister and offered me another position in the Cabinet.

Upon reflection, I have concluded that the only honest and viable path is for me to resign from the Cabinet.

To be effective, a Minister must speak on behalf of the Prime Minister and with his full confidence. In making your decision, you made clear that I no longer credibly enjoy that confidence and possess the authority that comes with it.

For the past number of weeks, you and I have found ourselves at odds about the best path forward for Canada.

Our country today faces a grave challenge. The incoming administration in the United States is pursuing a policy of aggressive economic nationalism, including a threat of 25 per cent tariffs.

We need to take that threat extremely seriously. That means keeping our fiscal powder dry today, so we have the reserves we may need for a coming tariff war. That means eschewing costly political gimmicks, which we can ill afford and which make Canadians doubt that we recognize the gravity of the moment.

That means pushing back against ‘America First’ economic nationalism with a determined effort to fight for capital and investment and the jobs they bring. That means working in good faith and humility with the Premiers of the provinces and territories of our great and diverse country, and building a true Team Canada response.

I know Canadians would recognize and respect such an approach. They know when we are working for them, and they equally know when we are focused on ourselves. Inevitably, our time in government will come to an end. But how we deal with the threat our country currently faces will define us for a generation, and perhaps longer. Canada will win if we are strong, smart, and united.

It is this conviction which has driven my strenuous efforts this fall to manage our spending in ways that will give us the flexibility we will need to meet the serious challenges presented by the United States.

I will always be grateful for the chance to have served in government and I will always be proud of our government's work for Canada and Canadians.

I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues as a Liberal Member of Parliament, and I am committed to running again for my seat in Toronto in the next federal election.

With gratitude,

The [Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

The letter simply validates the rumours that have been circulating for weeks, if not for months, that the Prime Minister was at odds with his Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance in terms of the governance of this particular country and how we are going to achieve that by way of economic policies. It confirms what we have always believed, all along, in this particular Prime Minister, which is that his self-proclaimed credentials of being a proud feminist were always fake. It is all about gimmicks; it is all about virtue signalling.

I have lost track of how many strong, effective women have been elected as Liberal members of Parliament and have gone on to be appointed to very senior roles in government. Jody Wilson-Raybould is one example. I was proud of the fact that, at the time of her election and appointment as Canada's first female indigenous justice minister and attorney general, I was in the ranks at that point, provincially, as a Crown attorney. I know that she did her best. She put her heart into that job, and she stood by principles, which have governed lawyers upon their call to a particular bar, of integrity, of knowledge, of confidence.

The ordeal of the SNC-Lavalin affair highlighted the integrity and the confidence that Jody Wilson-Raybould maintained in that particular role, because she was not going to be bullied, which is the appropriate term for the actions of the Prime Minister. She was bullied, threatened and intimidated to make a decision that not only compromised her role as the attorney general, but also compromised her sense of right and wrong, her integrity and her ethics. She refused to carry the water for the Prime Minister to ensure a sweetheart deal for a Quebec-based company under the proviso of terms, which turned out to be completely false, as advanced by the Prime Minister and by the Liberal government. She said no. She spoke her words: “truth to power”.

She will forever be remembered for the courage that she displayed, but that courage, which should be lauded, should be encouraged and should be supported by a true leader of a G7 country, was dismissed so summarily by this fake feminist. The Prime Minister has let down women across this country, time after time. He turned an event a couple of weeks ago into a partisan event at Equal Voice here in Ottawa. He used it as an opportunity to, again, criticize the same country he is trying to work with and trying to avoid a 25% tariff. He takes it as an opportunity to lament the fact that Americans, twice now, did not elect a female president. That is not how to negotiate.

It is no small wonder that, in the newspaper, I think today's or yesterday's Toronto Sun, there was Brian Lilley's headline: “Lilley: Premiers are stepping up to do the job Trudeau won't”. They are taking active steps to deal with the border issues—

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The member, I think through self-awareness, knows that he is not supposed to use personal names.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I do thank the hon. parliamentary secretary, as it was something that passed by me. Even if it is contained in an article, it is important for members to make reference to the title or to the riding that the person holds, not to their last name.

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

Mr. Speaker, that is fair enough.

However, the article goes on to show, apart from the Prime Minister and various ministers talking about a team Canada approach, what they have actually accomplished. What measures have they stipulated to the House and to Canadians? What steps are they going to take to address the concerns raised by President-elect Trump about the dangers of our porous borders? Apart from making that announcement, he has done nothing. It is reflective of the Liberal government: Make an announcement, but do not follow through, time after time.

The article goes on to describe what Ontario is doing. It goes on to describe what Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew and Quebec Premier François Legault are doing. They are taking all immediate effective steps in the hope that they show the leadership that the Prime Minister is most assuredly lacking.

To the point about the Prime Minister's fake feminist credentials, this is not just any old minister of finance. We know that he has lost two ministers of finance since 2015. The former minister of finance, the member for University—Rosedale, was the deputy prime minister. She carried an extremely important portfolio and carried clout. She was his biggest cheerleader. She withstood numerous complaints and concerns. She was forever loyal to the fake feminist Prime Minister. What did she get in return? She was left dangling in the wind, literally, all of last week, when the rumours were circulating that she wanted to deliver the fall economic statement in a direction that was not approved by the Prime Minister. Political staffers started to leak stories to the press. It is understandable why opposition members would use that as an opportunity to clearly demonstrate how the Prime Minister has lost not only the confidence of Canadians but also the confidence of his own cabinet.

The former deputy prime minister listened. She was not supported at all by the Prime Minister. He said nothing to highlight her credentials or to telegraph his support for her. The writing was literally on the wall. In fact, I think only one other female minister came to her aid last week, and demonstrated her credentials and what she has done for this country. I will disagree until I am blue in the face about the failed direction she has taken this country, and it is not only Conservative members who agree with that statement, but also Canadians. Canadians, for years, have lost complete faith and trust in our federal institution. They have lost faith and trust in the Prime Minister. They had no faith and trust with the former deputy prime minister and minister of finance.

If we look at what is happening in this country, the Prime Minister has made a mess and has broken everything. He is weak on immigration. He is weak on our borders. He is weak on economic policy. He is weak with respect to criminal justice reforms. He tries to champion this manna from heaven, this GST holiday on goods, which might make a minute difference in some lives of some Canadians. On a grander scale, is that the best that the Liberal government can do?

On the weekend, I was really shocked that the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development introduced a series of infomercials on her social media, while millions of Canadians are struggling. They are not struggling to buy Christmas presents, but struggling to put meals on their tables, to feed their children, to keep roofs over their heads, to put clothing on their children's backs, to pay their taxes and utilities. A Liberal cabinet minister was smiling away, in various aisles in a department store, highlighting that there was no GST on car seats or on teddy bears, and then she pulled out a bottle of wine, saying there was no GST on that.

Tell that to the two million Canadians who are not going to be enjoying a glass of wine. They will be lucky if they get tap water, or maybe some orange juice. They are not going to be enjoying what the Liberal cabinet minister wants to demonstrate is going to make a meaningful difference in the lives of Canadians.

In a long about way, I can go back to the green slush fund. I can talk about the substantial millions of dollars of waste, which is projected to be at least $400 million, if not higher. When we take a look at all of the scandals the government has been involved in since 2015, I bet we could surmise that we are talking about over a billion dollars, and that the mismanagement and fraudulent disbursement of taxpayer funds has been the hallmark of the Prime Minister, the government and the failed Liberal Party of Canada.

These are real taxpayer dollars that could have made such a substantial difference in the lives of Canadians. On health care alone, we are paying more to service our debt than we transfer to provinces and territories for health care. We can take a look at where the $400 million in the green slush fund alone could have gone. The RCMP has opined that could have made a substantial difference for frontline officers. The CBSA agents at our porous borders are struggling to inspect all those containers coming in. As the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada stated last week, which was confirmed by the CBSA, 1% of those containers are inspected. That is where taxpayer dollars could be better spent. That is how a common-sense Conservative government would listen to and deliver for the people of this country once and for all.

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it might be the last time before the holidays I am on my feet, so I would like to wish everyone celebrating in the riding of Waterloo, across Canada and around the world a merry Christmas and the best during the holiday season. I look forward to seeing them in the new year.

The member spoke to a lot of different issues that demonstrate some of the concerns and comments I have been hearing from constituents within the riding of Waterloo. It demonstrates that we have a lot of work to do in this place and that we could be having healthy debate.

Right now, we are actually debating a subamendment on a question of privilege put forward by the Conservatives. The Conservatives have moved multiple subamendments because they are part of the tactics they are using. The Conservatives show disdain for this place. Over the weekend, it was interesting to communicate with some of my constituents, and the very few who do watch this chamber were quite flabbergasted by the Conservatives' approach, especially when it comes to women ministers. Two constituents mentioned to me they remember the days of Jody Wilson-Raybould being in minister roles and how Conservatives used to speak to her and of her, including tweeting about wanting to see her gone. Now that she is no longer in this chamber, they have put her on a pedestal, as they are doing now with the former deputy prime minister and minister of finance.

Could the member please share with the House what the subamendment is that we are currently debating in this chamber?

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am appalled the member opposite would spend about a minute and a half to talk about just dribble that actually has no application to what Canadians are talking about. We brought forward this particular motion and several subamendments to finally deliver a message to the government that it needs to be accountable for its actions, needs to demonstrate integrity and needs to stop playing political games when it comes to the Speaker's order to deliver those documents, all of those documents, unredacted. It is about confidence, and that member, her government and the Liberal caucus continually, by blocking the release of those documents, demonstrate the lack of confidence they have in Canadians.

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, let the record show that the Conservative member does not know what the subamendment is.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

That is more debate.

The hon. member for Barrie—Innisfil.