Debates of June 4th, 2024

Innovation, Science and Industry

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Before the Prime Minister answers the question, I would ask the member for Timmins—James Bay not to speak until he is recognized by the Chair.

The right hon. Prime Minister.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as always, we thank the Auditor General for her work. We will read her report carefully and we will carefully examine the recommendations. Obviously, we need to ensure that we are investing responsibly and transparently as we fight climate change and create a greener economy. That is what we will always do.

Public Services and Procurement

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General's report confirms that the government favoured McKinsey with money voted for by the Bloc Québécois. Ninety-seven contracts worth a total of $209 million, much more than previously thought, were awarded to this Prime Minister's favourite consulting firm.

What is more, 70% of these contracts were awarded without a competitive process. Worse yet, in several cases, at least four contracts were specifically designed so that McKinsey could be hired. Why is he giving this money to his Liberal cronies?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have already put measures in place to ensure that the contracts awarded by the public service follow the strictest, most transparent rules. We must ensure that taxpayers' investments are made transparently and responsibly. That is something we will keep doing while we fight climate change and create a stronger, growing economy.

Carbon Pricing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Budget Officer has already proven that the Liberal carbon tax, just like the Prime Minister, is not worth the cost, saying that the vast majority of people are worse off under a carbon pricing regime than without. This is partly because of the economic cost that the carbon tax imposes. One of our members from Winnipeg asked the PBO whether the government had done an economic analysis of the cost, and he said yes, but that the government is blocking its release, referring to it as a “gag order”.

Why the carbon tax cover-up?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we of course respect the work of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, who provides independent analysis to the government. In this instance, however, the Parliamentary Budget Officer admitted that he made a mistake with his carbon pricing reports, using incorrect analysis and modelling, which emphasises what we have been saying all along: that eight out of 10 Canadians get more money back from the Canada carbon rebate while we fight climate change.

The next Canada carbon rebate is actually going to be arriving on July 15 in Canadians' bank accounts right across the country. We will continue to put money in people's pockets and fight climate—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

The hon. Leader of the Opposition has the floor.

Innovation, Science and Industry

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, if that were true, he would simply release the report with the real cost of the carbon tax that he has been hiding.

However, the Auditor General released another report showing that the Prime Minister is not worth the corruption or cost after nine years; $123 million in spending in the Prime Minister's green slush fund broke the rules. According to one of the bureaucrats involved, the entire expenditure resembles the Liberal sponsorship scandal.

Will the Prime Minister take personal responsibility for these costs and corruption, or will he just blame others again?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the minister has already taken measures to ensure that these programs are properly spent and that the processes are properly followed in terms of contracts. We know we need to continue to ensure value for money for taxpayers while at the same time continuing to step up on the fight against climate change and on the creation of a green economy. That is why we continue to deliver a Canada carbon rebate that puts more money in eight out of 10 Canadians' pockets in regions where it is in place, at the same time as we fight climate change effectively right across the country.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I am just going to ask, please, for the person who has been recognized by the Chair to take the floor, and to ask the question or to answer the question, so not only can the Chair hear all the questions but also that all members can hear. Especially for those who use translation devices, it is difficult for them to hear over the ambient sound.

The hon. Leader of the Opposition.

Public Services and Procurement

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, we already knew that the Prime Minister liked to give tax dollars to his favourite consulting company, McKinsey, a company that helped supercharge drug overdose deaths as part of the opioid crisis.

Today we learned from the Auditor General that it is far more money than thought. It was $200 million in Canadian tax dollars for this one company, and 90% of those contracts did not follow government rules, 70% of them were without a competitive process and 100% of them were with the NDP voting in favour.

Will the Prime Minister commit, here and now, no more money for McKinsey?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Again, I ask members, and I have already asked the member for Timmins—James Bay, to please not comment while other members are speaking so that we can all hear.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, obviously the taxpayers deserve to get value for money, which is why we have continued to strengthen our oversight and the measures whereby public servants grant contracts, including to outside consultants.

We have reduced those numbers. We are making sure that we are able to both grow the economy and fight climate change at the same time as we ensure value for money. We will, of course, continue to work with the Auditor General and her recommendations as we move forward.

At the same time, we are committed to delivering more money into the pockets of eight out of 10 Canadians as we fight climate change with the Canada carbon rebate.

Democratic Institutions

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians has tabled a report indicating that the Prime Minister's Office handles national security issues—and issues of democracy in particular—in a convoluted way, with confusion, denial, complacency and inaction. Apparently, there are currently elected representatives here in the House who are willingly or naively under foreign influence.

What does the Prime Minister intend to do?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we obviously thank the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians for its work. We take interference very seriously. That is why we are taking all necessary steps to protect Canadians from the threat of foreign interference.

We established oversight and accountability bodies. We set up a public inquiry. We introduced new legislation that provides for a foreign influence transparency registry that makes foreign interference a serious crime and allows CSIS to share information with all levels of government, businesses, researchers and more.

We will continue to be there to protect Canadians.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister himself said that he did not read certain reports. He ignored certain reports. He slowed down the intelligence-gathering and investigation process. Even now, there may be elected representatives subject to foreign influence in every party. He needs to tell us. He needs to give us an answer because, right now, the Prime Minister of a Parliament that includes some members under foreign influence is doing nothing.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it is a little ironic that the leader of the Bloc Québécois is asking these questions, because he himself refused to obtain the necessary security clearance to read the classified documents and understand the issues the government is working on. Despite refusing to obtain the necessary security clearance, he is going into partisan attack mode on an extremely important issue. The government and parliamentarians who take this issue seriously are doing what needs to be done about it.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we know that China and India are interfering in our democracy and are using members of Parliament to do so.

A Canadian is dead because India allegedly sent assassins to murder him in Surrey, B.C. Yet, the Conservative leader refuses to condemn India's Modi, and the Prime Minister has failed to protect our democracy.

How will this Prime Minister take this matter seriously and hold these foreign governments to account?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, since 2015, we have been the first and only government to introduce significant measures to counter foreign interference. The very creation of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, an initiative that the Conservative Party campaigned against and fought bitterly against while they were in government, has allowed us to see a lot more and to make sure that all parliamentarians are aware of what the intelligence community is doing to keep Canadians safe.

We have moved forward on election protection protocols. We have moved forward on more tools for our security agencies. We will continue to do everything necessary to protect Canadians.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has delayed on this file and the repercussions are serious.

We know that China and India are actively interfering in our democracy, and are using members of Parliament to do so. However, the Conservative leader refuses to condemn Modi's Indian government, and this Prime Minister is failing to protect our democracy.

How will the Prime Minister hold the Indian and Chinese governments to account for their interference?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, not only are we giving our security and intelligence agencies, as well as parliamentarians, new tools to counter foreign interference, but we are also taking a strong stand against foreign interference by upholding the rule of law and international law.

We are here to stand up to countries that flout the principles of international law, whether it is Russia, China or others. We will continue to be here to ensure that we protect Canadians and people who come to Canada to flee authoritarian regimes. We will always be here to protect them.

Innovation, Science and Industry

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years, the Prime Minister is not worth the cost or the corruption. The AG's latest report found that the Liberal-created green slush fund has been directing tens of millions of dollars into companies owned by, as colleagues have guessed, the Liberals themselves. Their own civil servants called it “outright incompetence”, but it is worse than that as $123 million of inappropriate contracts, almost half, should not have been given to those companies at all. It is even worse, as $76 million is connected to Liberal insiders. Is it incompetence? Is it corruption? Is it both? What the hell is going on over there?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Before I pass the floor to the minister, I will ask members to please be judicious in the words that they choose, to make sure that they are on the right side of parliamentary language, as well as polite.

The hon. minister.

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

Mr Speaker, I think Canadians are seeing how far the Conservatives will go when we are talking about climate change. We have been very clear from the moment that we received the allegations. We launched two investigations, one by Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton and one by the law firm, McCarthy Tétrault, and now the Auditor General.

We have been clear that we wanted to get to the bottom of this. That is what we have done. Not only have we investigated, but we agree with the conclusion of the Auditor General. We are going to restore governance. We are going to restore funding to clean tech in this country and we are going to restore the confidence of Canadians.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, how rich do Liberals have to get before they solve climate change? Tens of millions of dollars is being directed back into their pockets. The Auditor General made it clear that it is that minister who is responsible for the scandal. While millions eat in food banks, young people cannot buy a home and families cannot take a summer vacation. That minister is giving millions of dollars to his friends under the guise of his climate change ideology. Is he actually joking? When will anyone over there face a single consequence for anything?