Debates of May 8th, 2024

Public Safety

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, this is obviously a very concerning situation. We are making sure that all the appropriate authorities are properly engaged. We know that we need to continue to invest in our national police, and we need to continue to invest in our intelligence services. That is exactly what this government has been doing and will continue to do.

Unlike the previous Conservative government that cut policing and that cut intelligence services, we will continue to invest in keeping Canadians safe, in countering the rise of organized crime and in making sure that people are confident about the future we are growing into.

Official Languages

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal member for Glengarry—Prescott—Russell used foul language when addressing witnesses from Quebec who had come before the committee to defend the French language. He is more than just a Liberal MP. He is the chair of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie, a diplomat for Canada. He has no other choice but to resign.

Will the Prime Minister ask his friend to resign in order to show some respect for the Francophonie?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we see the reaction of the francophone members of the Conservative Party when their leader finally shows some concern for the fate of the French language in Canada.

We are here to talk about and defend the Francophonie. We are here to defend the French fact across the country. The member has apologized and has withdrawn his comments.

We also saw that their party's heritage critic could not even stand up for Radio-Canada when she asked a direct question. We know that the Conservatives want to make cuts to the CBC and Radio-Canada. They should be more clear about exactly what they are doing.

CBC/Radio-Canada

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, he is the one making cuts to Radio-Canada. He and his CEO are the ones who want the CBC to swallow up Radio-Canada. We are the ones who are going to protect Radio-Canada and, yes, we are going to get rid of the CBC's vast bureaucracy.

Why does this Prime Minister keep defending big bonuses for the CBC's gigantic bureaucracy, which Canadians firmly oppose? Why not protect Radio-Canada services instead?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, no one in this country who speaks French expects that the Conservative Party is going to defend Radio-Canada. They have heard the same old song too many times. They know full well that the Conservative Party's ideological opposition to public broadcasters is too deeply ingrained, and that the CBC and Radio-Canada will face cuts under a future Conservative government. That is why they know that they have to fight the Conservative ideology.

I encourage the leader of the Conservative Party to say in English what he just said in French.

Women and Gender Equality

[Viviane LaPointe, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

Mr. Speaker, a woman's right to control her own body is a fundamental right. The current government has always defended that right, but the Conservative Party cannot say the same.

Can the Prime Minister explain to the House why women should be the only ones who get to control their bodies and their futures?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition is playing politics at the expense of Canadians' rights and freedoms. He clearly will not protect women's freedom of choice on abortion.

He bragged about being able to use the notwithstanding clause to violate Canadians' rights. A woman's right to choose should not be up for debate in the House in 2024, and yet, that is what is happening because of him.

I hope that the entire Conservative caucus will be here in the House tomorrow for Canadians, rather than going to oppose reproductive health. That is what Canadian women deserve.

Labour

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Mr. Speaker, our public servants give their very best to serve our country and Canadians every day, but time and time again, the Liberals show them disrespect.

The union has been blindsided by the government's new rules forcing workers back to the office when it does not even have enough space for them. For a government that claims to care about workers, it gives zero regard for their well-being. Could the government tell us if it has consulted with the union on these changes, or did it act unilaterally without any respect for workers?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, this was a decision made by the professional public service. This is a reflection on the need to continue to deliver high-quality services for Canadians and move beyond the pandemic. We know that there were some extremely difficult times, and we know that Canadian public service members stepped up to extraordinary degrees to help Canadians through the pandemic.

We will continue to ensure that our public service is delivering at the level necessary for all Canadians. We will work with unions and all public servants to make sure that happens in the right way.

Climate Change

[Mike Morrice, Green, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it should not need to be said that the climate crisis we are in requires a reduction in oil consumption. One would then think that, when the government speaks of a “great national project”, it would be speaking of fully electrified, high-speed rail. Instead, sadly, it is proudly celebrating $44 billion of our money being wasted to accelerate the crisis by building a pipeline to export some of the world's dirtiest oil. When will this PM realize that climate leaders do not build pipelines?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, this project was in the national interest. It will mean more jobs, more GDP and more capacity to pay for the transformation of our economy to be lower emission, and it is fully factored into Canada's climate plan.

With the project now completed, the federal government got the job done. However, I will be honest, it is not the federal government's intention to continue to operate a pipeline. We look forward to divesting it to partners.

Presence in Gallery

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I wish to draw the attention of members to the presence in the gallery of the Hon. Enrique Manalo, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Philippines.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order regarding the inappropriate comments made by the member for Glengarry—Prescott—Russell at the Standing Committee on Official Languages. We discussed the matter here in the House of Commons yesterday, during question period.

This situation is unacceptable. This Liberal member insulted witnesses who had been invited to share their expertise and knowledge as part of a committee study. The member for Glengarry—Prescott—Russell said that the researchers were “pleins de marde”, in other words, “full of shit”. It is unacceptable for a parliamentarian to speak to a witness like that.

Mr. Speaker, I ask you to condemn that behaviour. I hope you would agree that he used unparliamentary language and ask the member for Glengarry—Prescott—Russell to apologize formally here in the House.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I thank my colleague from Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier for raising this point. However, as he well knows, the Chair can intervene when members use unparliamentary language on the floor of the House of Commons. We will wait for the committee to submit its report.

The House resumed from May 2 consideration of the motion.

National Defence

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

It being 3:25 p.m., the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion to concur in the eighth report of the Standing Committee on National Defence.

Call in the members.

(The House divided on the motion, which was agreed to on the following division:)

Vote #754

Committees of the House

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

I declare the motion carried.

The House resumed from May 6 consideration of the motion.

Justice and Human Rights

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

The House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion to concur in the 18th report of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights.

(The House divided on the motion, which was agreed to on the following division:)

Vote #755

Committees of the House

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

I declare the motion carried.

And the Clerk having announced the results of the vote:

[Wilson Miao, Liberal, Richmond Centre, BC]

Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, I apologize. On the first vote, I experienced some technical difficulty; I would like to seek unanimous consent to record my vote as nay.