Justin Trudeau

[Agriculture and Agri-food, November 29th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia for his question and for his leadership of the Quebec caucus.

Last week, we announced a $1-million federal investment as part of the Canadian Agricultural Partnership. This investment will open markets for our farmers, make the sector more innovative and sustainable, and strengthen the sector by better reflecting the diversity of our communities and supporting public trust.

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, November 29th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is a generous and compassionate country. We know that we must help those in need here at home and around the world.

We are always looking for ways to do more for people. I know that the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship is currently taking a close look at this case. I know that everyone wants to ensure the best outcome in this situation, while maintaining the integrity of our robust immigration system.

[Foreign Affairs, November 29th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians well know that wherever I travel around the world, I stand up for Canadian values and human rights and will continue to, including in China. The plight of Canadians, anywhere around the world, is of deep concern to our government. That is why we have had so much good news over the past two years in our capacity to bring Canadians home.

We know that engaging with China to be able to set the rules and ensure opportunities for Canadian workers and Canadian businesses to succeed in a globalized world is just the right thing to do, and we will do it while standing up for Canadian values and human rights.

[Housing, November 29th, 2017]

I thank the member for Scarborough Centre for her extraordinary community leadership. The national housing strategy is not just the first-ever national housing strategy in Canada, it is also the first time a federal government has committed itself to a human rights-based approach to housing. We are going to reduce chronic homelessness by 50%, build up to 400,000 new, repaired, or renovated units, and remove half a million households and individuals from housing need. We are all proud of delivering real and historic change to the Canadians who need it most.

[Ethics, November 29th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, what we have learned from talking to Canadians, whether it be in Lac-Saint-Jean, South Surrey—White Rock, or anywhere else in the country, is that they recognize that our economic growth record, the impact of the Canada child benefit, the tax cut for the middle class, and the tax hike for the wealthy are helping our communities, helping families, and helping individuals. That is what we are doing, and that is why the opposition members are conducting a smear campaign, because they cannot find anything else to criticize.

[Ethics, November 29th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, it is clear to the members of this House and all Canadians that the minister has already answered this question, but the opposition members continue to sling mud because they have nothing else to do. They cannot criticize us, because in two years we have already achieved a much better economic record and helped far more Canadians than they managed to do in 10 years, despite their vaunted economic expertise. The Conservatives are showing that they overstated their expertise. We are the ones who are good at creating economic growth.

[Ethics, November 29th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, what we are seeing is the dilemma that the opposition members are grappling with. They cannot criticize us or even attack us on our economic record, which is extremely positive for Canadians, for the middle class. Instead they have decided to launch a smear campaign and hide behind parliamentary privilege by not repeating their allegations outside this chamber. I know that Canadians expect better from all members of the House, including the opposition members. Let us see if they start to live up to those expectations.

[Indigenous Affairs, November 29th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the ills done to indigenous people over decades and centuries of colonialism in this country are shameful and are something that we need to learn from and move forward on. That includes respecting the rights of indigenous people now in all their different aspects. That is why we are working with survivors, working with communities to ensure that we can move forward in a way that is fully respectful of all their rights as we get to the bottom of this, understand their history, and make reparations in the right way moving forward.

[The Environment, November 29th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, we take seriously the responsibility of protecting our natural environment. We know that protecting the environment and growing the economy go together. We will continue to work with our partners, including conservation groups and provinces and territories, to ensure that we are fulfilling all our obligations in terms of protection, protecting species at risk, in terms of keeping our environment protected for future generations.

[Ethics, November 29th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, again, we see the challenge that the Conservatives find themselves in. A great example is our commitment to lower taxes on small businesses. For months, they spent all their time trying to scare small businesses like pizza shop owners and plumbers that we were going to hurt them or raise their taxes while we consistently said that we were going to stand up for them and ensure that the measures we had only affected the most wealthy. Then, at the end of it all, they find themselves unable to actually criticize us because we are doing the right thing, as we said we would, and they have—