Justin Trudeau

[Ethics, May 16th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, it is troubling to hear the member opposite call into question the independent work of committees. The fact is, we respect the work that the finance committee does and thank them for the hard work.

Canadians know that the level of openness and transparency that this government has brought forward, both when it was the third party in the House of Commons and now as government, is essential to maintain the trust and confidence that Canadians have in their institutions and in their democracy.

We will continue to demonstrate the highest levels of openness, accountability, and ethics.

[Ethics, May 16th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate that I have to remind the hon. member that the committees of the House operate independently.

I want to thank the Standing Committee on Finance for the work it has done on this issue, as well as for the great work it does every week for the House of Commons and Canadians.

We take tax evasion very seriously. That is why our 2016 budget included an investment of $444 million in that regard and budget 2017 adds hundreds of millions of dollars to that amount. We take tax evasion very seriously, and we will continue to work to fight it.

[Ethics, May 16th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, in this institution, we have a conflict of interest and ethics commissioner who is responsible for considering such issues. I am confident that, at the end of the process, Canadians will see that my government, my office, and I co-operated with the Ethics Commissioner and answered any questions she had.

[Ethics, May 16th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said many times, this was a personal family vacation with a long-time friend. I am happy to work with the Ethics Commissioner to answer any questions she may have. That is what Canadians expect of any parliamentarian, and that is exactly what I am doing.

I am confident that Canadians will see at the end of this process that we collaborated and co-operated with the Ethics Commissioner every step of the way, on any question that she might have.

[Ethics, May 16th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians expect every member of this House to co-operate with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner. The commissioner has stated at committee, and to my office, that she does not want us discussing the process. However, I can answer the member by saying that in all my years as a parliamentarian, I have met a number of times with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner at both formal and informal occasions. I can assure Canadians that when this—

[Government Appointments, May 16th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, after having a Conservative government that mishandled the appointment process for 10 years and made nothing but partisan choices, we are proud of the independent process we put in place in order to have merit-based appointments that reflect Canada's diversity.

We will continue to select people of the highest calibre to carry out the duties of this government in Canada. That is what Canadians expect and that is what they voted for.

[Natural Resources, May 16th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, for 10 years Canada saw a government that refused to accept that building a strong economy goes hand in hand in the 21st century with protecting the environment. We know that investing in a responsible approach to the environment is not just going to protect our world for future generations, but it is going to create the kind of good jobs, clean jobs, that this generation and next generations are going to need.

We know that the way to grow the economy is to demonstrate both the economy and the environment going together. That is what Canadians elected us to do. That is what we are going to continue to deliver on.

[Natural Resources, May 16th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I find it a little bit much that the member and that party are talking about meddling with independent processes around the National Energy Board. The fact is that party when in government chose to politicize the National Energy Board in its decisions. It torqued and stacked the deck in so many ways that Canadians have lost confidence in the regulatory frame and withdrew support for building energy projects.

That is why we have worked so hard to restore that confidence, to demonstrate that we are both protecting the environment and building a strong economy at the same time. This government is getting it done when the previous government did not.

[Natural Resources, May 16th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, in order to move forward on projects of import to our economy and to our future, Canadians have to have confidence in both the process and in the government. That is why for 10 years under the previous government, Canadians had no confidence, because the Conservatives refused to understand that we need to build a strong economy while protecting the environment at the same time.

Over the past year and a half, we have worked very hard to demonstrate how serious we are about both protecting the environment and creating jobs and growing the economy. We will continue to do that in a way that demonstrates our respect for Canadians and get the confidence of Canadians.

[The Environment, May 10th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, as a government, and personally as a paddler, we are committed to promoting Canada's sustainable economic development while maintaining a safe transportation system and the protection of our lakes and rivers, so absolutely we will consider all input from the independent House of Commons committee on transport, from the public, from indigenous peoples, from provinces and territories, and from a broad range of stakeholders, including industry and marine-protection groups. This is something we feel passionately about and are glad to be moving forward on.