Justin Trudeau

[Foreign Affairs, May 23rd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we have repeatedly condemned the violence, including the incitement to violence by Hamas, but I will express once again that I am proud that Canada is one of those countries in which support for Israel and friendship with Israel go beyond partisan lines. Our government has continued to be a friend to Israel.

There is, in fact, only one issue on which we deeply disagree with the Conservatives with regard to Israel. It is that we do not think it should be a partisan domestic issue.

[Foreign Affairs, May 23rd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, last week I spoke directly with Prime Minister Netanyahu and explained to him that regardless of which country was involved, any time a foreign military sniper shoots a Canadian citizen, a Canadian civilian, we will have questions about that. We will stand up and express how concerned we are and ask to know exactly what happened. A Canadian doctor was shot by an Israeli sniper. This is something that we have to actually push back on and ask how that happened.

[Government Appointments, May 23rd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, after a rigorous, open, merit-based process, we are happy to have chosen Stéphane Perrault as the most qualified candidate for the position of Chief Electoral Officer. With over 20 years serving in government, he has extensive knowledge and understanding of the Canada Elections Act and the Canadian parliamentary system. We have every confidence that under his continued leadership, Elections Canada will be more than ready for the 2019 federal election. We have submitted an excellent candidate to this House and hope that all members confirm his appointment.

[Democratic Reform, May 23rd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, we are very proud to say that many of the elements of the bill we tabled regarding Elections Canada actually stem from recommendations that Elections Canada made on how to improve our electoral system. The previous Conservative government mucked up our voting system by making it harder for Canadians to vote and making it easier to use more money to convince Canadians to vote for them. Fortunately, their tactics failed, and now we are working to overhaul and improve our system.

[Natural Resources, May 22nd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to report that we are fully on track to ending boil water advisories across Canada in indigenous communities.

My question for the member opposite is this: Why does she not listen to indigenous voices? Why does she not listen to the indigenous communities that have expressed their support for the Trans Mountain expansion? Why do they not listen to indigenous communities that dare to have differences of opinion with what the NDP here actually thinks, because we know that the NDP elsewhere can have different perspectives?

We ask them to respect the broad range of voices on—

[Natural Resources, May 22nd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, during the 2015 election campaign we did what the NDP did not do. We promised to invest in Canadians. We promised to invest in the middle class and those working hard to join it, while they committed to balancing the budget at all costs, including through cuts. We knew that Canadians needed investments to be able to grow the economy and to be able to protect the environment, and that is exactly what we did.

On the TMX process, I am happy to correct the member opposite. We actually strengthened the review process, added more consultation with indigenous peoples, and involved more science and citizens. That is what we committed to Canadians. That is exactly what we are doing.

[Natural Resources, May 22nd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, as we have said many times, we will not negotiate in the public arena. We said that we would ensure that this project, which is in the national interest, will be built. It is important to our economy, and it is also important because it will strengthen our economy and enable us to protect the environment. They go together. We are implementing a national pollution tax. We are implementing measures to protect our oceans and coastlines. We are doing what we can to create economic growth and protect the environment.

[Natural Resources, May 22nd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, we promised Canadians that we would build a strong economy while protecting the environment, create jobs, and ensure that future generations can breathe clean air, drink clean water, and live in a protected environment. That is exactly what we will continue to do. We are showing that, unlike the NDP, we know that creating good jobs goes hand in hand with transitioning to a low-carbon economy and protecting the environment. That is what we are doing.

[The Economy, May 22nd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, unlike the previous government, we have committed to working with the provinces on a broad range of initiatives, including demonstrating that the economy and the environment go hand in hand. That is why we are working with the provinces, who will bring forward this fall their proposals on how they will approach pricing carbon pollution. We will work with them and ensure that right across the country we have systems of similar stringency and effectiveness.

That fundamental respect for provincial jurisdiction and partnership was what was lacking from Stephen Harper's Conservatives—

[The Economy, May 22nd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, what the Conservatives, who are still Harper Conservatives, refuse to accept is that four of our largest provinces are already taxing pollution and that 80% of the Canadian economy is covered by this pollution pricing. Our economy has been growing at a record pace over the past few years with 80% of it already subjected to a price on pollution. The Conservatives are fearmongering for nothing because they fail to understand anything.