Candice Bergen

[Ethics, November 25th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the disconnect between what the Prime Minister says and what he actually does is growing day by day. First he broke his word to cut taxes for small businesses. Then he broke his commitment to only having a small deficit. We know the deficit is absolutely ballooning. Now he is breaking his own promise to be open, accountable, and ethical.

The Prime Minister is very good at putting on a big show and saying all the right things, but then doing something completely different.

Why will the Prime Minister not keep his word?

[Business of the House, November 24th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I would ask the government to tell the House what business it has for the rest of this week and next week.

[Ethics, November 24th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I can guarantee the member we did no fundraisers with Chinese communists.

The Prime Minister himself said they were conducting government business at these fundraisers. He said it just two days ago. In fact, he defended the Liberal cash for access fundraisers as a means to conduct this government business. It is a shocking admission, and I am not surprised that the fisheries minister is surprised himself that the Prime Minister said that, but he did.

Can the Prime Minister explain to Canadians how soliciting donations from these individuals while at the same time conducting government business is in any way ethical?

[Ethics, November 24th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, selling access and influence to billionaires from China is giving Canadians a clearer picture of who the Prime Minister really is. We know that the Prime Minister has always admired China's dictatorship, but to conduct government business at a Liberal fundraiser with billionaires who are also members of the Chinese Communist party is shocking. When will the Prime Minister admit that he was wrong, and put an end to these obvious abuses of the public trust?

[Ethics, November 23rd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I would gladly tape this back up, and maybe the Prime Minister will follow his own ethical guidelines.

If the Prime Minister cannot keep himself from selling influence to billionaire Chinese communists, how can Canadians trust any of his ethical standards?

[Ethics, November 23rd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, that is absolutely ridiculous. The Prime Minister's own guidelines say “there should be no preferential access to government, or appearance of preferential access...because they have made financial contributions”. Well, so much for that.

The Prime Minister cannot keep himself from giving—

[Ethics, November 23rd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, let us cut to the chase here. The Liberals' own open and accountable government guidelines are a charade. They have become a joke. The Prime Minister never intended to follow them and, frankly, his ministers might as well just rip them up.

That said, I have one question. Is there anyone on that side of the House who has a problem with the Prime Minister selling access and influence to billionaire communist donors for the favours they want?

[Indigenous Affairs, November 22nd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the problem is that every time the Liberals have a chance to empower grassroots first nation people, they do the opposite and give a pass to some unaccountable, all-powerful chiefs.

Liberals opposed guaranteeing women on reserve the right to their own home after divorce. Why? It is because some chiefs did not like it. Now, because some chiefs do not like it, they are blocking the ability of first nations people to hold their leaders to account on what they spend.

Why are the Liberals more focused on protecting the chiefs than on empowering first nations grassroots people?

[International Trade, November 18th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, here is a lesson for that member. Every one of those agreements was what the previous Conservative government started and finished, and the Liberals could barely get that done when we handed it to them on a silver platter.

TPP is another agreement that sectors are very concerned about. Are the Liberals going to take the same approach to TPP they have taken to NAFTA and say, “Maybe we'll renegotiate. Maybe we'll do something, or maybe we won't”? Or will the Prime Minister at APEC be persistent, consistent, and advocate for TPP for Canada?

[International Trade, November 18th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, if the Liberals were going to do what was in the best interests of Canadians, they would not have so foolishly and naively opened the doors to renegotiating NAFTA, but now that they have, and given what the parliamentary secretary just said, will the government tell Canadians exactly what is on the table? Will it be farmers who will be sold out? Will it be the auto sector that is going to be rejected? What is on the table? What are the Liberals going to sell out?