Justin Trudeau

[Standing Orders of the House of Commons, April 5th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the question I think we can all agree on in this place is—and I hear the energy, enthusiasm, and passion of the member opposite—what will that change look like? How do we change this place so it becomes better able to serve?

That is why I look forward very much to hearing the suggestions and contributions from the members opposite on how we can better serve Canadians. That is what Canadians—

[Ethics, April 5th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to the tax credit for public transit, that measure was introduced to promote the use of public transit. That is what the minister said when she introduced the measure to Canadians.

Sadly, according to the numbers, the measure had no impact on the use of public transit. That is why we decided instead to invest billions of dollars more in new public transit projects, including the Réseau électrique métropolitain in Montreal and the Service rapide par bus in Quebec City. Similar projects exist across the country, and we are pleased to invest in them to help the middle class and those working hard to join it.

[Ethics, April 5th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said a number of times, this was a personal family vacation. I am more than happy to continue to engage with the Ethics Commissioner and her office on any questions related to this travel.

[Government Appointments, April 5th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for her concern about the quality of our appointments.

We are very much focused on the quality and diversity of the appointments we make. We know that the people we appoint into positions of authority should reflect the entire diversity of the country and have a range of experiences and qualifications.

That is exactly what we have been doing and why we are so proud that we have had more female appointments than male. We have had extraordinary diversity. We have had tremendous indigenous appointments across the country. We have renewed the appointments process and allowed Canadians from all backgrounds to apply.

[Government Appointments, April 5th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, one of the commitments we made and are keeping from our election campaign is to renew and modernize the appointments process, to allow Canadians to apply from all different backgrounds and all different walks of life and diversity, and to have appointments across the country that better reflect the full diversity of backgrounds, views and perspectives of Canadians on a merit-based system.

That is exactly what we have done, particularly necessary after too long of successive governments choosing favouritism over objective qualities. That is what we have done, and are continuing to do.

[Foreign Affairs, April 5th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the member for Kitchener South—Hespeler on the hard work he is doing on his files.

We are outraged by the reports of a chemical weapons attack against innocent civilians in Syria. The use of chemical weapons is a war crime. This is just the latest atrocity in a conflict that has been going on far too long.

Our government is acting. We are providing $840 million worth of assistance for the region, and are increasing accountability by supporting evidence gathering of these war crimes. Furthermore, the Minister of Foreign Affairs is participating in the Brussels conference on the future of Syria to support lasting resolution to the war and address the needs of the vulnerable.

[Access to Information, April 5th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, this government was elected on a pledge of openness and transparency, and we are keeping that pledge. We are demonstrating a level of accountability that is going far beyond what any previous government did. We continue to look forward to ways to improve and increase the level of transparency and accountability of this government.

I welcome the hard work done by the committee. I look forward to continuing to work with all members in the House to improve the way government and indeed Parliament functions in a collaborative, respectful way.

[Standing Orders of the House of Commons, April 5th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, I am happy to draw suggestions from all sides of the House. The proposal around prime minister's questions was actually made by the member from Halton Hills a number of years ago. It is the kind of thing we are happy to discuss and look at. I think it means we should have a discussion about how to improve the ways we serve Canadians.

Bringing forward positive discussions on improving the way the House works is entirely responsible and entirely in keeping with what Canadians expect. I look forward to hearing many more concrete proposals from all benches in the House of Commons.

[Standing Orders of the House of Commons, April 5th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to be held accountable by Canadians and by people in the House every single day. That goes with the responsibilities I have and we all have collectively in the House. Drawing on—

[Standing Orders of the House of Commons, April 5th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, obviously the member has very strong ideas about how to improve this place, how to make it better, how to make sure we are being accountable and serving Canadians in the right way. I encourage the member to bring forward those concrete suggestions so we can work together to make sure the House serves Canadians better to the level they expect.

I am happy we are having this conversation, and I look forward to continuing it in committee and in various places where we can demonstrate our commitment collectively to serve Canadians with everything we have.