Debates of June 6th, 2024

Ethics

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, I am all too happy to set the record straight. I have had no role in the company since being elected in 2021. Regarding the day in question, I have shared my phone records with the committee and with the commissioner, which confirm that I am not the person in the story.

I have said it and the companies have said it, and now I have proven it: I was not involved. Let us get back to working for Canadians and focusing on the real issues.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the minister has not proven a single thing.

We are looking for whom he called the other Randy. I am pretty confident that we do not actually have to look very far, because the other Randy might be right here, the one who broke the conflict of interest law, who broke the Lobbying Act and who broke the Criminal Code, so will the employment minister from Edmonton let us know if Randy is in the room?

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

Mr. Speaker, the minister just answered that question.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Here is a story that is a bit randy
about a Liberal's excuse that seemed just too handy:
Blame others for failures; they just could not resist,
but if one is going to blame someone, be sure they exist.

The employment minister continues to blame the mysterious other Randy for his ethical trouble. Meanwhile, after nine years, all of this country's problems have actually been caused by the other Justin.

Will the person responsible for the scandal, the real Randy, please stand up?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I encourage members not to go too close to the line in terms of referring to other members by their first names. I understand that it made sense with the first name that was mentioned, but the second name skated a little bit too close to the line.

The hon. leader of the government in the House of Commons.

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

Mr. Speaker, we just got an interesting little behind-the-scenes insight into how things work over there. The minister stood up and comprehensively swatted away all the questions. What followed were two more questions that the members are so proud of wittily writing in the morning and rehearsing in front of the mirror that they just have to get them off their chest, even though the questions were answered two minutes ago.

That is what is going on in the House. The Conservatives do not want to talk about lower interest rates. They do not want to talk about eight out of 10 Canadians being better off. The opposition just wants to talk about its own stuff.

Infrastructure

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when I got into politics in 2015, it was the end of a decade of the Conservatives betraying Quebeckers' trust time and time again. They started by excluding the Davie shipyard from the national shipbuilding strategy, only to top it off by hiding behind the courts for 10 years to justify their inaction over the Quebec City bridge, when Stephen Harper was not going to Quebec City just to sneer at it, that is.

Now that we have corrected the injustice against the Davie shipyard and bought back the Quebec City bridge, could the Minister of Public Services and Procurement tell us how we are going to guarantee the sustainability of this unique part of our heritage for generations to come?

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

Mr. Speaker, I will do so with pleasure.

It is hope and hard work. What good news the Prime Minister announced on May 15 about acquiring the Quebec City bridge. What good news it was that this piece of strategic infrastructure that is unique in the world and critical to the Quebec City region will be saved, restored and upgraded.

On behalf of my colleague from Louis-Hébert, I thank the Prime Minister for his leadership, and I also want to thank the Quebec caucus, all the ministers involved, our great negotiator Yvon Charest, the Chambre de commerce et d'industrie de Québec, and everyone in Quebec City who supported us over the past few years so we could achieve this fantastic result.

Ethics

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

Mr. Speaker, contrary to the minister's representation, he has not turned over all of his phone records and text messages. Text messages reveal that someone named Randy from a company that the Minister of Employment has a 50% interest in was involved in a business deal now mired in allegations of fraud. The minister says it was not him but that it was some other Randy. the trouble is that no one can identify who that other Randy is.

Has the minister, in the past 48 hours, pored over the employment records of the handful of employees at his company to find Randy?

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

Mr. Speaker, just when we thought we had heard from the final member who was practising all morning in the mirror, up pops another one to look straight into the camera and relay a question that was just answered several minutes ago. I think the people over there need to be a little more agile.

The minister has answered the question.

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

Mr. Speaker, if the minister is the Randy in the text messages, then the minister broke the law, including contravening the Conflict of Interest Act. It should not be difficult to find the other Randy if he exists.

If the minister did not break the law, then where is Randy?

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

Mr. Speaker, I just want to remind the member that I am over here, not over there—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Order. I would like to remind all members that questions should be addressed to the Chair and that members can look where they wish to ask or answer questions.

The hon. leader of the government in the House.

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister has responded comprehensively to all of these questions. What I find a little off-putting in the tone and tenor of the member's question is that in this place we are all to presume each other to be honourable. That is not what the member did and he should carefully consider the kinds of words that he uses in the House.

[Dane Lloyd, Conservative, Sturgeon River—Parkland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Superman, Batman, Randy, we know the identity of these fictional characters, but Canadians want to know who Randy is. The mysterious Randy is in control of a fraudulent company called Global Health Imports. His business partner, Stephen Anderson, says that he is a public official.

By pure coincidence, the Minister of Employment, by the same name, founded Global Health Imports and is a 50% shareholder. We just heard the minister say that he is not involved, but is he not at all curious about who this Randy fellow is who is committing fraud in a company he owns 50% of?

Why will he not tell us who this Randy is?

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

I am glad, Mr. Speaker, that this segment has been brought to us by what goes on in the House of Commons.

Here we have yet another Conservative member who toiled over this witty text all morning, looked in the mirror and hoped that the leader was there, because if the leader were there, he might be noticed by him. Then he is going to put it on Facebook, but what he will not do is put this answer on Facebook, happily saving me from a thousand trolls online.

The member should know better than to ask those questions in his pursuit to dishonour—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Order, please. The hon. member for Northwest Territories.

Telecommunications

[Michael McLeod, Liberal, Northwest Territories, NT]

Mr. Speaker, our government works every day to ensure that communities have the vital infrastructure it takes to be successful. From houses to bridges to community centres to broadband Internet, I know our government is investing in communities in ways that truly matter.

Could the Minister of Rural Economic Development and Minister responsible for ACOA share with the House the ways in which broadband infrastructure and a stable connection to the Internet can bolster communities?

[Gudie Hutchings, Liberal, Minister of Rural Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, my friend from the Northwest Territories knows that reliable Internet is so important for rural, remote and indigenous communities. It is a necessity.

This week in La Ronge, I announced that our government was bringing high-speed Internet to over 13,700 households in 55 communities in northern Saskatchewan, and that includes 3,200 indigenous homes, as well as cell service along 500 kilometres of roads.

We are on track to connect 98% of Canadians by 2026 and 100% by 2030. This week's investment is a game-changer for friends and folks in rural Saskatchewan.

Democratic Institutions

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, troubling allegations were revealed this week that some MPs have been willing participants in foreign interference. Despite this, and instead of giving Canadians answers, the Liberals are withholding more than 1,000 documents from the inquiry. The Conservative leader continues to refuse to get the security clearance that will allow him to be properly informed.

Both Liberals and Conservatives are trying to protect themselves instead of Canadians. It is unacceptable.

When will the Liberals release all the documents and ensure that compromised politicians are not on the ballot?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague knows very well that our government and the senior public servants in the Privy Council Office and the national security agencies obviously work with either the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians or the inquiry led by Justice Hogue. Those senior public servants work to ensure that they have access to all of the documents necessary to do their important work. Any redactions or any decisions with respect to the documents that are made available are made by senior public servants, and elected people are not involved in that process whatsoever.

Canadian Heritage

[Mike Morrice, Green, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, artists and creatives are deeply underfunded in my community and much of the gap is federal.

While Waterloo region received just over $3 a person from the Canada Council for the Arts last year, other communities received up to $21 a person. It adds up to a $13-million gap last year alone. This gap has real implications. The KW Symphony filed for bankruptcy last year and THEMUSEUM is in dire straits.

Will the Minister of Heritage commit to working with all interested MPs to ensure all regions get their fair share of federal arts funds?

[Pascale St-Onge, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I would be pleased to work on this with all of my colleagues who care about culture and the arts.

That is why our government has invested more money than ever before in arts and culture. We understand how important this is in all communities across the country. We added $31 million to the Canada music fund. We put in an additional $32 million for festivals. We have added money for audiovisual production.

We will always be there, unlike the Conservatives, who made cuts to the arts across the country when they were in power, and who are still opposed to tech giants paying their fair share.