Justin Trudeau

[Seniors, May 9th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the stresses in our immigration system are largely holdovers from a Conservative government that did not invest in the kind of supports for our immigration system, that cut resources to the Canada Border Services Agency, and that continued to underinvest in the important processes that keep Canadians safe.

In regard to seniors, unlike the Stephen Harper Conservatives, we actually are decreasing the age of retirement from 67 to 65. We have increased the guaranteed income supplement by 10% for seniors, and we have made new investments in the new horizons for seniors program, which is going a long way to support them.

[Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, May 9th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, everyone who crosses the border irregularly is arrested. That is what happens everywhere in the country, and that is what people expect to see.

After that, we look into those people's files because, under international conventions, we have an obligation to allow people who claim refugee status to show that they need asylum, that they need to be recognized as refugees. We conduct a very rigorous assessment of their claim. If we determine that they are not real refugees, then they are sent back to their country of origin. We have a system in place and it is carefully followed, regardless of how people enter our country.

[Democratic Reform, May 9th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, we know that it is the Conservative Party of Canada when it was in government that tried to tilt the rules to prevent people from voting and to make more money available for political parties because it helped the Conservatives. They extended the writ period to try and outspend everyone. However, Canadians did not buy any of what they were selling. That is why the Conservatives are now on that side of the House.

We have put forward proposals to reform the Canada Elections Act. We look forward to that proposal getting to committee, and hearing any and all of the suggestions the members opposite will make to improve and strengthen the act.

[Natural Resources, May 9th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, once again, what the NDP does not seem to understand is that we have strengthened the process. We have added steps to the environmental assessment and first nations and indigenous consultation process to ensure that we are not following the broken process that was in place under Stephen Harper. We needed to create a more robust system, and that is exactly what we did.

As for the financial discussions, we know that this is a project of common interest, of public interest, and we are going to move forward with it in a responsible way.

[Natural Resources, May 9th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, once again, there are layers of erroneous information in the question that the hon. member just asked.

First of all, we strengthened the environmental assessment process for the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, and did more consultation with indigenous peoples. We have actually got to the point where there are over 40 different first nations organizations that have signed cost-benefit agreements and are very supportive of this pipeline expansion project, something which the NDP never talks about.

Furthermore, we have committed that we are going to get this pipeline built because it is in the interests of Canadians, and we are engaged in financial discussions to do so.

[Government Appointments, May 9th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, after a rigorous, open, and merit-based process, Mr. Stéphane Perrault has emerged 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 the House, and we hope that all members will confirm his appointment.

[Government Appointments, May 9th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, after a rigorous, open, and merit-based process, Mr. Stéphane Perrault has emerged 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 leadership, Elections Canada will be more than ready for the 2019 federal election. We have submitted an excellent candidate to the House.

[Democratic Reform, May 9th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to take this opportunity to set the record straight.

There was a record number of Canadians voting in the last election not because of changes the Conservatives made to the Canada Elections Act, but in spite of changes they made to the Canada Elections Act, and more specifically, because of the people involved in changing the elections, Canadians went out to vote against Stephen Harper, not anything that Stephen Harper actually did to encourage them to vote.

Let us be very clear about why Canadians voted in record numbers in the last election. It was about getting the Conservatives out of office.

[Democratic Reform, May 9th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, it is not a great surprise that the Conservatives do not understand the least bit about what we are doing with electoral financing reform. Their idea of improving the Canada Elections Act in the last government was to make it harder for people to vote, while making it easier for wealthy people to participate in the financing of political parties.

We took the opposite approach. We know that limiting the influence of money in our political system is for the benefit of Canadians and to the benefit of our entire political system.

[Democratic Reform, May 9th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, our reforms of electoral financing and of the electoral system resulted in more transparency and more rules to limit the influence of money in our political process. We need to create opportunities for people to listen to and fully participate in debates without being influenced by money. That is precisely the type of reform we are bringing in. That is what Canadians expect and that is what we are doing.