Debates of June 10th, 2024

Democratic Institutions

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, absolutely, the answer is yes. As I said, senior officials at the Privy Council already initiated that discussion with the Hogue commission on the weekend.

We will always be there to ensure that the Hogue commission has everything it needs to shed light on this situation.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has confirmation that MPs knowingly worked with foreign governments to undermine Canada. He has known for 11 months and has done nothing. All the while, Canadians have been harassed. Canadians have been threatened. A Canadian citizen was killed. Those were all linked to foreign governments.

Why has the Prime Minister failed to protect Canadians?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, obviously, the most important responsibility of any government is to protect its citizens. Far from not taking this matter seriously, our government has been the only government in the history of Canada to set up a series of measures to detect, to disrupt and to prevent foreign interference.

We are very pleased that members of the House are working collaboratively to support government legislation before the House right now to give additional tools, to create additional criminal offences and to hold those to account who might seek to interfere in our democratic institutions. We will continue to always do this important work.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has known for 11 weeks and has done nothing.

For 11 weeks, the Prime Minister has known the names of the MPs who may be working with the governments of foreign countries like India and China. For 11 weeks, he has known that some members are potentially helping a government that may have been responsible for the murder of a Canadian citizen.

Why did the Prime Minister do nothing for those 11 weeks?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, our government is always working to protect democratic institutions and to strengthen the measures needed to ensure the integrity of our electoral process.

Law enforcement and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service are always on the job and they take their responsibilities seriously. I have full confidence in our national security agencies, and I have full confidence in the Hogue commission, which is looking at the exact scenario my colleague was talking about.

Carbon Pricing

[Michelle Ferreri, Conservative, Peterborough—Kawartha, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years of the Liberal-NDP government, here are the facts. One in five Canadians knows someone accessing a food bank, 25% of Canadians are going hungry and 44% feel financially worse off than just one year ago. Canadians are not doing well, despite the Prime Minister gaslighting them. It gets worse. There is now a PBO report that reveals the true cost of the carbon tax.

Why are they not allowing the PBO to release it? He has been gagged, and now we want to know why.

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the only people in this city who seem to be gagged are Conservative MPs. They are not allowed to express their true views when it comes to ending a woman's right to choose. None of them is allowed to express a view on tax fairness. Tomorrow, they are going to have to stop deflecting and evading, and are going to have to take a stand. We will see if they support fairness for every generation.

[Michelle Ferreri, Conservative, Peterborough—Kawartha, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am thankful for that perfect example of deflecting.

Again, this is not hearsay. This is a letter sent by the minister's office to the PBO. He is saying to the PBO that this is the real cost of the carbon tax. Conservatives have been saying for months to axe the tax because we know that it drives up the cost of literally everything. It is causing misery. The Liberals say that this is not true.

If it is not true, why the gag order? Why are they not allowing the PBO to release the carbon tax cover-up that shows the true cost of what it is costing Canadians?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we believe in investing in affordability for Canadians with programs like a national school food program, dental care, and a national system of early learning and child care. We are going to pay for it in a responsible way with tax fairness.

I would like to invite that member to lift her own personal gag order and to come clean with Canadians on whether she supports tax fairness or whether she supports tax breaks for the wealthiest among us.

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are not being fooled by the Prime Minister or the Deputy Prime Minister. They know that the carbon tax is making their lives more unaffordable.

Last week, the Parliamentary Budget Officer confirmed that a secret government report shows that the carbon tax costs Canadians more than they get back. The Prime Minister has forced the PBO to sign a gag order so that he cannot share that report. Canadians deserve the truth.

When will the government come clean with Canadians and release the report?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the people who are not going to be able to fool Canadians for very much longer are the Conservatives. For days and days, for weeks and weeks, they have been dithering and deflecting and evading when it comes to our proposed measures on capital gains.

Tomorrow, they are going to have to take a stand. I invite the member opposite to lead the way by lifting her own personal gag order and saying what she believes.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I am going to ask members again, who have been really pretty good today, to please not take the floor until they are recognized by the Chair. Certainly, we all want to hear the question from the hon. member for Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek.

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the fact of the matter is that Canadians know that, after nine years, the Prime Minister is just not worth the cost or the corruption. He is desperate to cover up his own secret report, which shows that Canadians are worse off under his carbon tax regime. He knows it. We know it, and Canadians know it. When will the Prime Minister lift his gag order on the Parliamentary Budget Officer and release his report?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, on Friday, surprise of surprises, that very member for Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek informed, I am sure, for the first time, not only her own caucus colleagues, but also, indeed, the entire House of Commons, that she picks and chooses which parts of the Conservative platform she runs on. This whole party, we know, ran on the price on pollution in the last election, but this member stood up and told us that she really did not. Maybe she could tell us right now which parts of the Conservative platform she does not approve of today.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are not buying what the Prime Minister is selling because they know that the carbon tax is not worth the cost.

Canadians cannot put gas in their cars or food on their tables. They know the real pain of the carbon tax, and so does the Parliamentary Budget Officer, who confirmed that the Liberals have an economic analysis of the carbon tax that shows the real pain of that tax, but they refuse to release it. I wonder why. Maybe it is because it confirms what Conservatives and Canadians have been saying all along, which is that the carbon tax is not worth the cost.

Will the Prime Minister unmuzzle his budget watchdog, table the report and admit to Canadians that the carbon tax is all pain, no gain?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the people who I sincerely believe need to be unmuzzled are the Conservative MPs. I think it is time for Canadians to know which Conservative MPs believe that a woman's right to choose should be ended in Canada, and it is definitely time for Canadians to know whether Conservative MPs believe in tax fairness or whether they believe in tax breaks for their wealthy friends. Tomorrow, we will find out.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I can see why the Liberals do not want to answer this question. The Prime Minister tried to sell this fairytale, which is that Canadians are better off paying the carbon tax, to Canadian mayors last week. He got booed off the stage. Even big city mayors know that the carbon tax is not worth the cost. It fuels homelessness and food insecurity. Food banks are saying that visits are up 50%, and they cannot even keep up with demand.

There is a secret Liberal report that shows that the Liberal carbon tax is not worth the cost. Will the Prime Minister table that report and the carbon tax cover-up, and admit to Canadians that the carbon tax is all pain, no gain?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative leader is fond of making inflammatory statements. He called our system of early learning and child care a slush fund. He called co-op housing “Soviet-style” housing, and he called brave Ukraine, dismissively, a “faraway” land. However, he is silent on one issue, and that is tax fairness. Tomorrow, he is not going to be able to dither any more. Every single Conservative is going to have to take a stand. We will see what they really believe.

Public Services and Procurement

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we have to revisit the three worrisome reports released by the Auditor General, who describes a total loss of control over public funds.

On the Liberals' watch, we have seen a dramatic increase in untendered contracts, with no explanation. Consultants have gotten rich without accountability and without anyone even knowing whether they delivered the required services. Public funds were allocated to ineligible projects.

How is it possible to lose control that badly without a single person being held accountable?

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for that question, which gives me an opportunity to remind the House of the importance of the work of the Auditor General and of all other institutions and officials of the House of Commons.

That is why the report that she tabled last week was well received. This report sets out observations and findings that are almost identical to those we have been aware of for almost a year now.

For that reason, we will continue to expedite the work that has also been ongoing for just over a year now.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, let us recap: Public funds were spent with no bidding process or oversight on companies that we are not sure delivered on their mandates; sustainable development funding was diverted to interests that have nothing to do with the environment; there was no decision-making at the top, despite minutes confirming these problems and warnings from whistle-blowers; there were conflicts of interest; and there were ethical issues.

I have a riddle for the Liberals: Am I talking about the Auditor General's reports or the Prime Minister's track record?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. Honestly, I am a bit surprised because this type of criticism usually comes from the Conservative Party.

As she well knows, Sustainable Development Technology Canada is an agency created by Parliament. The chair of its board has resigned, as has its president.

More importantly, we changed the model so that we could continue to send funding to SMEs fighting climate change, many of which are in Quebec.

On this side of the House, we will always do what it takes to ensure good governance while maintaining and supporting our SMEs across the country.

[René Villemure, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General's reports, including the one on McKinsey, do much more than outline specific problems.

It is all of the Prime Minister's work that we are talking about here. These reports depict a government that has no qualms about breaking its own rules, a government that has no qualms about ethics, and a government whose consistent negligence gave rise to a culture of carelessness and waste of public funds. In her report on McKinsey, the Auditor General calls it a common problem.

How do we fix this common problem when it is ultimately simply the result of the Prime Minister's leadership style?

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

Mr. Speaker, I will reiterate exactly the same things I summarized a few moments ago. The Auditor General's work is essential, not only on this issue, but on many other issues where her advice and recommendations are changing the way we can improve services to Canadians, including by increasing integrity and trust in procurement processes.

That said, we have many other things to do, including continuing to invest in the middle class, not least by taking advantage of last week's great announcement that interest rates went down for the first time in four years, making us the first G7 country to make this happen.