Debates of June 5th, 2024

Carbon Pricing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, interest rates remain 20 times higher than they were when the member promised they would go down. Remember when she said that the big risk was deflation and low rates? She was exactly wrong then, and she is even more wrong now.

Six years ago, I said there was a carbon tax cover-up. The government would not reveal the true cost of its carbon tax. Then the government published information claiming everyone was better off. Now we find out that there is a secret report showing that, with the economic costs considered, the vast majority of Canadians are paying more.

Will the government end the gag order, stop the carbon tax cover-up and release the report?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is really sad and shameful that the Conservatives continue to talk down the Canadian economy and that they are unable to celebrate our great country.

The reality is that this has been a great week for Canada. First, the Oilers made it to the Stanley Cup final, and then, today, the Bank of Canada lowered interest rates. Canada is on a roll. Our plan is working.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the government has put the Parliamentary Budget Officer under a gag order. In fact, I have a copy of the gag order right here. This is a letter from the environment minister to the Parliamentary Budget Officer. It says, “the Department is providing...unpublished information. As such, I request you to ensure that this information is used for your office's internal purposes only and is not published or further distributed.” Liberals do not want Canadians to know the true cost of the carbon tax.

Why will they not end the gag order, stop the carbon tax cover-up and release this report today?

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

Mr. Speaker, the person who seems to be labouring under a gag order is the Conservative leader, and that gag order seems to prevent him from saying anything positive about our amazing country.

The fact is that today is a day of really good news. The Bank of Canada has lowered interest rates. Canada is the first G7 country to lower rates. Our government's economically responsible plan has created the conditions that made that possible. Our plan is working.

Democratic Institutions

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the tentacles of foreign interference have extended into the House. The National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians has confirmed that members of Parliament are working under the influence of foreign powers in the very heart of our democracy.

The committee is bound to secrecy. Political parties are not bound to secrecy, and they are certainly not forbidden from taking action. I do not want to hear a list of what the government has done in the past to deal with foreign interference. Obviously, that has not worked.

What is the government going to do today?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from La Prairie for his question and for his contribution to the implementation of the Hogue commission. I would also like to thank him, his party and all the other partners for the important work being done today to support Bill C-70, for example. This bill will strengthen our national security institutions and our collective ability to recognize and counter foreign interference. For that, I sincerely thank him.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is important. The parties need to take the high road. There are members among us who are knowingly or naively working for other countries. That is not nothing. Do they realize how serious that is?

I am appealing to the Prime Minister and the leaders of the major political parties. If anyone sitting here with us is under foreign influence instead of the influence of their constituents, they have no business being here and they must leave.

What is the government doing to make sure that happens?

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

Mr. Speaker, to me it is a bit surprising that even the Bloc Québécois does not want to talk about the economy. I know that the economy is the key issue for Quebeckers.

Today we have good news: the Bank of Canada has decided to lower the key interest rate. That is good for Quebec and good for all of Canada.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the allegation that there are MPs knowingly working for foreign governments to undermine our democracy is deeply serious. That is why I have requested a classified briefing to get more information. The Prime Minister has known about this since March and has done nothing, and the Conservative leader does not even want to know what is going on and refused this information.

Why are these two leaders looking away from foreign interference when it serves them?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I thank our colleague, the leader of the NDP, for his important work and the work of his House leader in setting up, for example, the commission led by Justice Hogue.

I am very pleased to hear that he is interested, having received, obviously, the appropriate security clearance, in getting all of the confidential information that is behind the important work of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians.

Our government created that committee. We appreciate its work. We value its recommendations. We have always acted to put in place strengthened measures when we receive thoughtful analysis, like we did from the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, and we will continue to do that important work.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has known since March and has done nothing.

The allegations of MPs receiving help from a foreign government are troubling. The Prime Minister has had this information since March 22 and has done nothing about it, while the Conservative leader does not want to know anything about it.

Why are these two leaders content to turn a blind eye to this when they think that foreign interference improves their chances of winning?

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

Mr. Speaker, I thought that the NDP shared our concerns about the cost of living. That is why I find it surprising that the NDP does not want to discuss the Canadian economy. The reality is that today we have good news. The Bank of Canada has decided to lower the key interest rate. It is our responsible economic plan that created the conditions to make this happen.

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the NSICOP report makes it clear that the Prime Minister was advised, back in 2018, of the national security threats against Parliament from hostile foreign states. He was advised that measures in place at the time were not sufficient. He was advised to take further action. Three times, the senior civil service asked for his approval for action to protect Parliament: in December 2019, in December 2020 and again in February 2022.

Three times, the Prime Minister withheld that approval. Why?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, our hon. colleague knows very well that our government was the first government to put in place a series of measures to strengthen our institutions and our democracy from the threat of foreign interference. He knows very well that threat was identified publicly in 2013 in a CSIS report when the Leader of the Opposition was responsible for democratic institutions. The Conservatives did absolutely nothing, so I find it somewhat ironic that my friend would stand in this place and would say that our government, the first government that has acted in this important area and that continues to strengthen these measures, has not done enough.

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the report reveals that parliamentarians, including members of the House, knowingly and wittingly assisted a hostile foreign state in Parliament and in our elections to the detriment of the people of Canada. This is shocking. I cannot believe the following needs to be said. Parliamentarians' duty is not to a foreign state, but to the people of Canada.

My question is simple. Will the Prime Minister release the names of these parliamentarians?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague knows full well that no responsible government would disclose names involved in specific intelligence situations. It is not entirely accurate of him to claim that a responsible government, one that focuses on the security of Canada and our democratic institutions, would do such a thing.

I am glad that there are parliamentarians in the House who have the necessary security clearance to access all the intelligence behind that important committee report. I invite them to have a proper look at it.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the extent of foreign interference in Canada has been denied, covered up and downplayed. Now, a report by the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians has lifted the veil on the culpable indifference of this Prime Minister.

This report discloses that parliamentarians, including members of this House, willingly helped hostile foreign countries interfere in this Parliament and in elections, thus working against the interests of Canadians and Canada. This is shocking and unacceptable. Will the Prime Minister, who has the power and, above all, the duty to do this, reveal today the names of his MPs and the facts about their involvement?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, once again, I am rather concerned about the irresponsibility of our colleagues across the way. The member is well aware that he is asking for something that has never been done.

I would, however, encourage him to talk to his leader and ask him to accept the government's invitation to get the security clearance needed to see all of the highly classified information that our colleagues on the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians have seen. Perhaps that would be a more sincere way of advancing the cause that he claims to want to move forward today in the House.

Carbon Pricing

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal defence of the carbon tax is in complete shambles. First, they only want Canadians to focus on the direct costs of the carbon tax and to ignore all the secondary effects like smaller paycheques and higher prices, as if Canadians have a choice of which carbon tax costs they have to pay. We now learn that there is a secret report that does show the true cost. The Parliamentary Budget Officer says that it proves that he is right, that the vast majority of Canadians are worse off paying the tax than any rebate they receive. The Liberals claim it proves that they are right.

There is an easy way to settle this. Why will the government not just release the report so that Canadians can decide?

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

Mr. Speaker, math is really not the long suit of the party over there. The PBO has specifically said and has repeated time after time, and one would think Conservatives would understand, that eight out of 10 Canadians are better off under the price on pollution in the affected provinces. The fact is, though, that they talk of gag orders. We have not seen the member for Peace River—Westlock in a long time. What about the former chair of the status of women committee? We have not seen her either. They are not, at any time, going to give—

[The Deputy Speaker, Chris d'Entremont]

I just need to remind individuals that we cannot say whether someone is here or not, so please be careful on those lines.

The hon. member for Regina—Qu'Appelle.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, apparently, answering questions does not seem to be the minister's long suit. Their responses here are completely ridiculous. They claim that this report exonerates their position, but they will not release it. This is a little like someone who is accused of a crime, walking into court and saying they have an amazing alibi that proves they are innocent, but they just cannot show it to anybody. If one will not show one's evidence to the jury, one is probably guilty.

Why not do the easy thing? Release the report, and remove the gag order so that Canadians can decide.

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and to the Minister of Sport and Physical Activity]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by wishing a happy World Environment Day to all Canadians, especially to the failed former leader of the Conservative Party, the member for Regina—Qu'Appelle, and to the new leader of the Conservative Party from Carleton, who have voted against the environment over 400 times in the House of Commons. It is clear where they stand on climate change, and it is clear where they stand on environmental protections.

Conservatives continue to mislead Canadians. Our government will continue to support the good work of the PBO. I am sorry, but the Conservative math just is not adding up these days.

[Leslyn Lewis, Conservative, Haldimand—Norfolk, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians know that the Liberal carbon tax increases the cost of everything, while failing to bring down emissions. The Parliamentary Budget Officer confirmed that Canadians are paying more than they are getting back from this so-called rebate. The Liberals are clearly afraid that Canadians will know the truth, and that is that the carbon tax has made life unaffordable.

When will the government stop the cover-up, release the secret report and confirm what we all know, that Canadians are suffering because of this carbon tax?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am glad that the Conservatives are finally asking a couple of questions that are at least in the neighbourhood of the economy. The next step for them is to recognize how significant today is. Today is the day that Canada, first among the G7, lowered interest rates. It is the first time rates have gone down since COVID. This is a tremendously important day for Canada, and it is our responsible economic plan that has made it possible.