Justin Trudeau

[Infrastructure, February 27th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, we have made historic investments in infrastructure, including in partnership with indigenous communities right across the country.

I personally had the pleasure and honour to spend some time with the community in Hatchet Lake one winter a few years ago and got to see directly the challenges they are facing. That is why this government is committed to reconciliation, to investment, to partnership with indigenous communities right across this country to make sure we are building a better future together for everyone in this country.

[Justice, February 27th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, for 10 years Canadians watched Stephen Harper and his Conservatives disrespect their institutions, play games with the rule of law, and meddle with the independence of the judiciary. They expect a government to stand up and defend our institutions, including one of the fundamental tenets of our justice system, which is solicitor-client privilege, and indeed a fundamental tenet of our government, which is cabinet confidentiality.

When we made the decision to waive those elements so that the former attorney general can speak to this matter, that is a big deal.

[Justice, February 27th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, the question that is before the justice committee and the Conflict of Interest Commissioner is entirely focused on her time as Attorney General. We know that the system of cabinet confidentiality and solicitor-client privilege is a fundamental tenet, extraordinarily important both to our democracy and to our system of justice. That is why we took the unprecedented step of waiving those elements so that Canadians could hear directly from the former attorney general on this matter.

[Justice, February 27th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, we have always stood up for good jobs across the country, stood up for employers, and stood up for the workers who work so hard every day to build a better Canada and help their families, and we always will.

That is exactly what we will always do, and, at the same time, we will ensure that we always comply with the law, protect the integrity of our justice system and defend our institutions. That is what Canadians expect, especially after 10 years under a Conservative government that did not do any of those things well.

[Justice, February 27th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, we have done what Canadians expect of us every step of the way. We have stood up for jobs, stood up for workers and invested in our country's economic growth, while at the same time defending our institutions, standing up for the rule of law and defending the independence of our judiciary.

That is what we have always done, and that is what we will always do, to protect jobs and to protect our institutions at the exact same time.

[Official Languages, February 27th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Madawaska—Restigouche for his hard work on the Standing Committee on Official Languages.

Conservative politicians across the country are attacking the French fact in Canada, backed by the Conservative Party leader across the aisle. We will always stand up for minority language communities. I have asked the Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie to review and modernize the Official Languages Act. Our goal is to ensure that the act responds to the challenges arising from the transformations that Canada has undergone and to always protect our official language minority communities.

[Government Priorities, February 27th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP never lets the facts get in the way of a good rhetorical question.

On this side of the House, we set a goal of achieving the lowest poverty level in Canada's history, and yesterday the Canadian income survey showed that we hit our first target three years ahead of schedule.

In the first two years of our mandate, our investments helped to lift 820,000 people out of poverty, including almost 300,000 children.

That is what we are doing to help people in Canada.

[The Environment, February 27th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister and Minister of Youth, I have the opportunity to spend a lot of time speaking to youth across the country. Despite what the NDP is saying, young people understand that we cannot choose between economic growth and environmental protection. We must do both at the same time.

That is exactly what we are doing by putting a price on pollution and investing in safer ways to transport our resources to markets other than the United States. That is what young people expect and that is what we will continue to do.

[Justice, February 27th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, it is troubling to see that the Conservatives have chosen to play politics by going after SNC-Lavalin workers and workers across the country.

Quebeckers and Canadians know very well that we will always defend jobs on this side of the House. We will always defend workers, but we will also respect the rule of law and our institutions, including the independence of our justice system. The Conservatives' attacks will not change this.

[Justice, February 27th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, what our government has done every step of the way is stand up and defend workers and jobs in Quebec and across the country, and stand up for the companies and the work that Canadians do across the country.

We will always stand up for Canadian jobs, while respecting the independence of our judicial system, our institutions and the rule of law.

That is what we have always done and that is what we will always do.