Justin Trudeau

[Softwood Lumber, April 5th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, we have been working with the U.S. government on resolving this issue from the very beginning of our mandate.

We know that thousands of jobs and communities across the country depend on forestry. It is our duty to keep working very hard to protect those jobs and create more opportunities in Canada's forestry industry. We know that Americans do not want their housing and construction costs to go up. Canada is a major supplier of softwood lumber for American consumers.

We will keep working with the U.S. government to resolve this frustrating dispute.

[Justice, April 5th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I understand the question and concerns the members opposite have, but our focus on legalization and control of cannabis is on protecting our kids and on getting the money out of organized crime's pockets. We know that happens when we legalize and control and bring in a proper regime. The fact is decriminalization does nothing to protect our kids, nothing to remove the profits from the hands of criminals. Until such a moment as we have a legal framework that protects our kids and stops the criminals from profiting, it will remain illegal.

[Justice, April 5th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, we promised to legalize and control cannabis for two very specific reasons.

First, we want to prevent our kids from having easy access to cannabis, as they do now. We know that it is easier for a young person to buy a joint than a bottle of beer. That is unacceptable. At the same time, we know that organized crime groups make billions of dollars trafficking marijuana, and that is exactly what we want to prevent.

Decriminalizing cannabis will do nothing to protect our kids and nothing to counter organized crime, and I will continue to repeat that until—

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

Mr. Speaker, we are pleased that we have brought forward proposals to help modernize Parliament, and I look forward to start discussing the various options in committee. I want to hear what our friends in the other parties are going to suggest. I am really looking forward to working with them to ensure that Parliament better serves Canadians across the country and that we better serve our constituents as well.

I believe that everyone knows that we can always do better, and that is exactly what I hope to do, together with the members of Parliament.

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

Mr. Speaker, I encourage the member opposite to continue contributing suggestions on how we can improve the working atmosphere in the House, how we can better deliver for Canadians. We are happy that we have launched a conversation about how we can modernize this place, how we can improve the service we offer, both to Canadians and to our constituents. I look forward to engaging with all members in the House on improvements that can be made to this place as we move forward.

[Taxation, April 5th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I recognize the passion the member opposite has for this issue and recognize all members in the House who have stood up strongly in talking about autism and celebrating the advancements that have been made and indeed highlighting the work that we continue to do.

On Bombardier, I do need to point out that this was a loan that we were happy to make to invest in specific projects that are going to create good jobs for Canadians, that are going to secure the long-term future of the aerospace industry in this country, which leads to economic growth, innovation, and benefits for communities and the middle-class workers who live in them right across the country.

[Taxation, April 5th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her intervention.

Indeed, we are all concerned about the cost of living for all Canadians. That is why we did something about it. We lowered taxes for the middle class and increased them for the wealthiest 1%. We implemented the Canada child benefit, which gives more money to nine out of ten Canadian families every month and as a result lifts hundreds of thousands of young people out of poverty and reduces child poverty by 40%.

We agree with the hon. members across the way that a lot of work still needs to be done, but we are here to keep working for Canadians.

[National Defence, April 5th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, on our commitment to continue as a valuable member of the coalition against Daesh, we were very clear in the election campaign that we would look for ways that better suited Canada's capacities. That is what we told our allies and explained to them throughout those months as we were determining how best Canada could help.

I can assure this House and all Canadians that our allies were very pleased with the level of contribution Canadians offered over the past months, a year and a half, to the fight against Daesh.

[National Defence, April 5th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is proud that we have stepped up in the fight against Daesh by contributing significantly to training on the ground, to supporting the peshmerga, to demonstrate that there are many ways that Canada can have a positive impact in the fight against Daesh.

We continue to stand strongly with our international allies, including in the Iraqi government, as we bring the fight to a positive conclusion alongside our allies.

[Foreign Affairs, April 5th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, we are shocked and appalled by the reports of chemical weapons attacks against civilians in Syria. Many of the victims were children.

It is critical that we hold those responsible to account for these war crimes. We are supporting evidence gathering to achieve that end. In addition, we will provide $840-million worth of lifesaving humanitarian and development assistance for the region to alleviate the suffering in this conflict.

As we speak, the Minister of Foreign Affairs is at the Brussels conference on the future of Syria. These meetings will work toward finding a lasting political resolution to the Syrian war and to addressing the critical needs of the most vulnerable.