Justin Trudeau

[Ethics, November 29th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House we have a very simple principle of listening to Canadians. That is what we did for years while we were the third party in the House. That is what we continue to do to stay connected with Canadians.

Unfortunately, for 10 years, Stephen Harper did not do a very good job of listening to Canadians and over the past two years, we see that the Conservatives are doing exactly the same thing. They did not listen to Canadians tell them that baseless attacks and personal mudslinging jobs have no attraction with Canadians who want real—

[Ethics, November 29th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, again, we can see the dilemma in which the opposition finds itself.

We have demonstrated that on what was supposed to be their strength, the economy, our plan actually works far better than any of theirs ever did. It leaves them with very little to be able to attack us on.

The economy is doing well. The middle class is growing, and it is being supported. We are putting up the best growth numbers of anyone in the G7, thanks to our extraordinary finance minister.

All the opposition has to do is sling mud, make baseless allegations, and hide behind parliamentary privilege.

[Ethics, November 29th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are jealous of our economic record. For 10 years, they showed the lowest growth numbers since R. B. Bennett in the Great Depression.

We, in two years, by doing exactly what we committed to do in the election campaign, putting more money in the pockets of the middle class and those working hard to join it, have turned around the Canadian economy and shown that the Conservative policy of helping the rich and giving benefits to the most wealthy does not work.

We are delivering lower taxes for the middle class, raising them on the wealthiest one per cent, and helping Canadian families.

[Government Appointments, November 29th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Yukon for his question and his excellent French.

I am pleased to announce the nomination of the Hon. Sheilah L. Martin to the Supreme Court. With her wealth of experience and the many distinctions she has earned, she will be a valuable addition to the Supreme Court.

Justice Martin is my second nomination under our new selection process, which promotes greater openness, transparency, and accountability. We are committed to appointing justices of the highest calibre, functionally bilingual, and representative of our diversity.

Permit me also to once again thank Chief Justice McLachlin for her extraordinary service to Canada.

[Media Industry, November 29th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, we understand how much Canadians rely on local media to read the local news that brings them together as a community.

We will continue to spend millions of advertising dollars to support local newspapers. We recognize that the industry is going through a transformation. We will continue to support the media, because a democratic society needs strong, free media.

[Employment Insurance, November 29th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, after all the harm caused by the former Conservative government to workers across the country who counted on employment insurance, we made a commitment during the election campaign to reverse the changes to employment insurance made by the Conservative government.

That is exactly what we did. We are making sure that Canadians who have lost their jobs get the help they need, and we continue to make investments to ensure that happens. Our work is ongoing.

[Ethics, November 29th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, once again we are happy to take questions inside this chamber. However, at issue are the statements that the members opposite made on Monday that they are unwilling to repeat outside. That is the question. Will the member for Carleton walk outside and repeat the statements made on Monday outside, where he is not hiding behind parliamentary privilege?

[Ethics, November 29th, 2017]

You see, Mr. Speaker, once again the member opposite seems a little bit muddled. This is the room for questions. For him to go outside is to make a statement—

[Ethics, November 29th, 2017]

Again we see, Mr. Speaker, that the opposition members are filled with sound and fury, signifying nothing. They refuse to actually follow up on the insinuations and allegations they made clearly in this House on Monday because they realized they went too far, because their desire to attack and to sling mud against the honour and integrity of people on this side of the House crossed some lines. That is why they are unable and unwilling to go out and repeat what they said on Monday outside of this House, which tells Canadians that this is nothing but bluster.

[Ethics, November 29th, 2017]

Again, Mr. Speaker, we have courts that are very able to determine facts in cases like this. However, the member opposite, by only saying these sorts of things in this chamber, protected by parliamentary privilege, as we all should be, is demonstrating that he does not want to test his allegations in the courts. He does not want to actually have to stand behind his words in a court of law. That is the baselessness of the facts.