Justin Trudeau

[Prime Minister's Trip to India, February 28th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, unlike the member opposite, we will always defend the integrity of our senior security and intelligence officials and the excellent work that they do.

Unlike the previous government, we will always listen to them and respect them. We respect their ability to provide impartial advice to the government, and we know that everything they do is in the best interests of Canada. All Canadians should be proud of the non-partisan work our security officials do every single day.

[Prime Minister's Trip to India, February 28th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we recognize that India's thriving economy presents some significant opportunities to strengthen Canada's middle class.

We secured more than $1 billion in investments from deals between Canadian and Indian companies, which will help create more than 5,800 quality jobs for Canadians. The investments will stimulate the growth of Canada's economy, will encourage innovation and entrepreneurship, and will increase co-operation.

[Prime Minister's Trip to India, February 28th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House we have full confidence in the work that our national security agencies and professionals do, and we support them in their professional, non-partisan work.

We will continue to respect and support the work that our intelligence agencies do, because that is what Canadians expect of their government, and that is what Canadians expect of all of us.

[Health, February 28th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, every year almost one million Canadians give up food and heat to afford the medicine they need. The high cost of prescription medication means that sometimes sick Canadians must do without.

As part of budget 2018, we are creating an advisory council on the implementation of national pharmacare, which will recommend options on how best to move forward together on this important issue to ensure that every Canadian has access to the medicine he or she needs. This builds on significant actions over the last two years to make prescription drugs more affordable and accessible.

[The Budget, February 28th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, with budget 2018, we are taking the next steps to improve equality, competitiveness, sustainability, and equity in Canada. Our budget plan will allow us to continue to invest in strengthening and growing the middle class and to lay a stronger foundation for our children's future.

By closing the gender wage gap, supporting shared parenting, and introducing a new entrepreneurship strategy for women, we are also making significant progress toward equality. Canadians can all be very proud of this budget.

[Prime Minister's Trip to India, February 28th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, governments organize media briefings all the time. It is only the Conservatives opposite, who consistently for 10 years torqued the public service to their own partisan ends, who see anything nefarious in it. Unlike the previous government, we respect in particular the ability of the public service to provide non-partisan advice and support to the government.

All Canadians can be assured that the only interest on which our security agencies focus is the interest of Canadians.

[Prime Minister's Trip to India, February 28th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, for 10 years, the Conservatives opposite torqued our public service every chance it could get for partisan advantage, so I can understand they think everyone behaves that way. We do not.

Every day, whether in this case, or in their everyday work, all the non-partisan security agencies do an exceptional job in the service of Canada's national interest, and Canadians can be reassured that beyond the partisan nature of this House, our professional public servants are—

[Prime Minister's Trip to India, February 28th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the allegations and insinuations made by the members opposite are based on their own experience of torquing our professional—

[Prime Minister's Trip to India, February 28th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, it seems these Harper Conservatives never learn. For 10 years they spent their time disrespecting public servants, using them for partisan gains, and making sure their political partisan aims were always front and centre in everything they did.

We respect the independence, the professionalism, and the non-partisan nature of our professional public servants. We will always listen to them, follow their advice, and defend the integrity of our Canadian public service.

[Prime Minister's Trip to India, February 28th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure no one will be surprised to hear that I will continue to defend and believe in our professional, non-partisan public service.

We will always defend the integrity of our public servants, who are doing an exceptional job. Unlike the previous government, we respect the non-partisan nature of the public service, especially those who serve in our national security agencies. In particular, we respect their ability to provide impartial advice to the government, and we know that the actions they take are always in Canada's best interests.