Justin Trudeau

[Indigenous Affairs, April 25th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to building a new relationship together with indigenous peoples based on recognition of rights, respect, co-operation, and partnership in a distinctions-based approach that recognizes the uniqueness of the Inuit-crown partnership.

Through budget 2018, Nunavut will receive $1.6 billion in 2018-19 in major transfers, an increase of over $50 million from the previous year. We are also investing over $500 million to make progress in the areas identified through the Inuit-crown Partnership Committee, such as health and wellness, skills and training, and housing.

[Public Safety, April 25th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the Conservatives are twisting and torquing the facts in any which way they can to try to make political hay out of an issue that is simply not one.

The RCMP corrected the record, but nothing about the actual timeline has changed in terms of when the information became available and how we acted on it immediately. For the members opposite to simply suggest that there is some grand conspiracy here is simply irresponsible.

I was pleased that the leader of the official opposition took that confidential briefing. I was pleased that members got—

[Indigenous Affairs, April 25th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Saint Boniface—Saint Vital for his leadership.

We recognize the importance of the Kapyong Barracks land to the Treaty No. 1 first nations, and we remain committed to working together in the spirit of reconciliation.

Last week, we were proud to announce an agreement in principle with the Treaty No. 1 first nations for the Kapyong Barracks land. This agreement is a concrete step on the path to reconciliation and renewing the relationship with indigenous peoples. We will continue working with the Treaty No. 1 first nations to develop a final settlement agreement.

[Government Spending, April 25th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, one of the things we wanted to do in improving access, transparency, and openness in government was align the estimates process with the budget process. In previous years, as parliamentarians who have been here for a while will know, voting on estimates, even though it might have happened after a budget, had no relation to the budget that a government had just put forward. We chose to create greater transparency and, even more, greater ability by opposition MPs to hold the government to account on spending, which as we well know is at the core of the functioning of this place.

We are pleased with the movement we are making—

[Public Safety, April 25th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the RCMP has corrected the information and has accepted full responsibility for the erroneous information that went out. However, the facts remain. There is no great conspiracy here that we are keeping from Canadians. The approach is one of concern that we have. We continue to deepen the friendships and the relationships with India, while ensuring that we are rigorous in our approach to defending Canadian values.

[Infrastructure, April 25th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to answer the member for Bourassa's question, especially since, as the member for Papineau, I am thrilled to see progress happening on the blue line.

Two weeks ago, I got together with Premier Couillard and Mayor Plante to announce funding to prepare the business case and engineering studies for the extension of Montreal's blue line. The blue line project will improve metro access for residents of Montreal's east end, after a decade of Conservative inaction on Quebec infrastructure. I am proud to say we are going ahead with this project.

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, April 25th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, again we see that the Conservatives are only interested in playing politics. This is something I have been saying for a long time, and we have been talking about our plan for responding to this situation for a long time as well.

We are working with all orders of government, ensuring the integrity of our immigration system as a whole, keeping Canadians safe, and investing in our border services and immigration systems so that we can process all these applications.

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, April 25th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, it is completely irresponsible of the Conservatives to arouse fears and concerns about our immigration system and refugees.

We enforce every one of the laws and regulations relating to our immigration system. Canadians have nothing to worry about when it comes to security and our system. The reason for the delays is that the Harper Conservatives spent 10 years cutting our immigration services and getting rid of the employees who process applications. They did not do what Canadians expected of them. They did not manage our immigration system responsibly.

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, April 25th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, what the members opposite seem to take issue with is actually the commitment Canada has made to the international community to respect the rights of asylum seekers and refugees. If someone claims asylum because that person is fleeing persecution, war, or violence, we are required to analyze that request. We are a party to the international convention on refugees and therefore we will stay true to our obligations.

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, April 25th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, not only have I answered that question today, but I have answered it many times over the past months. Crossing a border between official border crossings is illegal.

What the members opposite want us to do is step back from our international commitments—