Justin Trudeau

[International Trade, May 28th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, we worked hard to negotiate the best possible deal for Canadians, and that is exactly what we got. They do not have to take our word for it. Union leaders from Unifor and the Canadian Labour Congress and even Lino LoMedico, team leader at Chrysler's Windsor assembly plant, said, “We're actually very proud of the job that our Canadian government did and kudos to the negotiator.”

The reality is that if the New Democrats do not want to listen to union leaders, let them listen to their own MP for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, who said that this is the best deal possible and it protects workers all around this country.

[International Trade, May 28th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, we negotiated a good deal for Canadians, for workers and for families from coast to coast to coast. We are not the only ones saying so.

Just ask Jerry Dias of Unifor, who called the agreement much better than the agreement signed 25 years ago.

Hassan Yussuff, from the Canadian Labour Congress, said that the renewed NAFTA gets it right on labour provisions, including provisions to protect workers from discrimination.

Lino LoMedico, a team leader at Chrysler's Windsor assembly plant, is very proud of the job we did negotiating NAFTA.

The unions support—

[Government Priorities, May 28th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite does not seem to realize that the first thing we did was to increase taxes on the wealthy and lower taxes on the middle class. We then introduced the Canada child benefit, which helped lift 300,000 children out of poverty.

The NDP voted against these two measures, but we stood strong. Canadians created one million new jobs, and we also managed to lift 825,000 Canadians out of poverty. We are creating growth and helping people.

[Government Priorities, May 28th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, if the member opposite wants to talk about services that families count on, he might want to ask his colleagues in the NDP why they voted against the Canada child benefit, which gives more money to nine out of 10 Canadian families and has lifted 300,000 kids out of poverty over these past years.

On top of that, our investments in community, in workers and in families have lifted over 825,000 Canadians out of poverty. We know that investing in support for the middle class and those working hard to join it is how to create growth for the entire economy.

[News Media Industry, May 28th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are well aware that Conservatives have a history of bashing unions.

In fact, under the previous government they introduced an anti-union bill that we had to repeal in order to work with the unions. We respect the responsibility of unions to represent workers, the employees. That is why we wanted employers and employees from the media to be represented on the panel to make it truly independent. We will always protect our independent media.

[News Media Industry, May 28th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, as we all know, strong, independent media are vital to Canadian democracy. We are taking action to ensure that the media can continue to hold governments to account. We are ensuring that employees and employers are represented on this independent panel.

The only plan the Conservative opposition leader has for the media is to get rid of CBC/Radio-Canada. That was in his campaign platform during the leadership race. It would mean no more local coverage in small communities, and it would spell the end of a cherished and respected Canadian institution.

[News Media Industry, May 28th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I wonder where the member opposite's high dungeon was when her government was bringing in anti-union legislation, Bill C-525 and Bill C-377, which were the very first things we eliminated when Canadians voted the Conservatives out and voted Liberals back in.

We will always respect organized labour in the country. We will work with it and the hundreds of thousands of Canadians it represents.

We are going to continue to stand up for an independent media. That means supporting employers and employees.

[News Media Industry, May 28th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, we know that any strong democracy relies on an independent, strong media that is there to do its job of holding politicians to account. We need to make sure that both employers and employees are part of the panel that will oversee the independent media fund. This is something we understand.

The Conservatives, however, continue to attack organized labour, including attacking the largest private sector union in the country, because their hate for labour does not know limits. Well, we are—

[News Media Industry, May 28th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we know that a strong, independent media is a cornerstone of Canadian democracy. We are therefore acting to ensure that media continue to hold elected officials to account. We are ensuring that both employees and employers are represented on the independent panel.

When it comes to the media, the Conservatives' only plan is to eliminate CBC/Radio-Canada, which would mean no local coverage in smaller communities and the end of an institution valued by Canadians for generations.

Unlike what the Leader of the Opposition put in his leadership platform, we will not let that happen.

[Justice, May 14th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP says it will be there for the people, but it just announced that it is against a project that would have created 10,000 jobs for British Columbians. The B.C. NDP supports the project. His colleague, the member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley supported the project. Even so, the NDP just decided it is against this project, which would be the biggest private-sector investment in this country's history.

We know that investing in the economy and protecting the environment must go hand in hand. Unfortunately, the NDP has no plan to make that happen.