Justin Trudeau

[Status of Women, February 6th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I want to be clear. Gender-based violence and sexual assault is unacceptable. We are doing everything we can to try to change something that is, as was pointed out, as we have known for a long time, far too pervasive in our society.

The way we support victims and survivors of sexual assault, the way we fight against gender-based violence, the way we change our institutions are all things that we are working on, not just with the Minister of Status of Women but indeed all of government, in an approach to make sure we put an end to this.

[Democratic Reform, February 1st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, anything a prime minister or a government must do must be in the interests of Canada and of all Canadians, particularly when it comes to transforming our electoral system. I understand the passion and intensity with which the member opposite believes in this, and many Canadians mirror that passion and intensity, but there is no consensus. There is no sense of how best to do this and, quite frankly, a divisive referendum at this time, an augmentation of extremist voices in the House, is not what is in the best interests of Canada.

[Justice, February 1st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the government is committed to evidence-based policy, unlike the previous government. That is why we support safe consumption sites and want to do everything we can to protect Canadians from the ongoing opioid crisis.

We have committed to legalizing marijuana, but we are not planning on legalizing anything else at this time.

[Justice, February 1st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to extend my deepest sympathy to the family of Constable David Wynn and especially to his widow, Shelly MacInnis-Wynn.

We are committed to ensuring an effective and efficient bail system. The Minister of Justice will continue to collaborate with the provinces and territories and consult stakeholders that use these important Criminal Code provisions every day.

[Democratic Reform, February 1st, 2017]

To the contrary, Mr. Speaker. We spent a year listening to Canadians, talking with them, hearing from a broad range of youth, seeing the firmly held views that a number of people feel on that, and understanding that there is no clear path forward. There is no consensus. A referendum would be a bad idea. Moving forward on a divisive policy would be a bad idea.

The fact of the matter is that I am not going to do something that is wrong for Canadians just to tick off a box on an electoral platform. That is not the kind of prime minister I will be.

[Democratic Reform, February 1st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians know very well that I have been wanting to reform our electoral system for a long time. The reality is that there is no consensus and no clear path forward. It would be irresponsible to hold a referendum without a clear question.

The reality is that we are going to improve our democratic system in a number of different ways, but it will not be by changing the voting system. I am not going to do something that is wrong for Canadians just to tick off a box on an electoral platform.

[Democratic Reform, February 1st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, it is very clear. There is no consensus among Canadians on how, or even whether, to reform our electoral system, and to change the mode of the election system.

That is why we are going to focus on strengthening our resistance and resilience to cyber-attacks from foreign intervenors, why we are going to be continuing to repeal the unfair provisions in the so-called fair elections act, and why we are moving forward with greater transparency and accountability on the strong rules we already have on federal fundraising.

We are moving forward in a way that will focus on the things that matter to Canadians. That is what Canadians elected us to do.

[Democratic Reform, February 1st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, over the past year, we consulted with hundreds of thousands of Canadians to hear their views on transforming our electoral system.

It is very clear. As people in this House know, I have long preferred a preferential ballot. The members opposite wanted a proportional representation. The official opposition wanted a referendum. There is no consensus.

There is no clear path forward. It would be irresponsible for us to do something that harms Canada's stability when, in fact, what we need is to move forward on growth for the middle class and support.

[Softwood Lumber, February 1st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, since taking office, we, on this side of the House, have met with the provincial governments on numerous occasions to talk about many different issues. We strengthened the Canada pension plan and we created a pan-Canadian framework on climate change. We signed landmark agreements with the provinces and we are working closely with them on the softwood lumber issue in order to resolve this situation with the Americans.

[Taxation, February 1st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, as all members of the House know very well, we made a commitment to support the middle class and those working hard to join it. We have lowered taxes on the middle class and raised them on the wealthiest 1%. It was never our intention to raise taxes, as the member opposite suggested.