Justin Trudeau

[Taxation, February 1st, 2017]

We made a commitment, Mr. Speaker, to invest in young people, to invest in our future. That is why historic investments in infrastructure, whether it be public transit, whether it be green infrastructure, whether it be social infrastructure like housing and child care, these are things that are going to make our country better and stronger and create more opportunities for young people in the future.

To add to the list of things that we are doing to help young people, the transforming, the strengthening of the Canada pension plan is going to leave young people better off down the line so they have money to retire, something the members opposite have always been against.

[Taxation, February 1st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, we got elected on a commitment to invest in the middle class, to support the middle class and those working hard to join it. The very first thing we did was lower taxes on the middle class and raise them on the wealthiest 1%. We are committed to protecting the middle class from increased taxes and that is why we will not be raising the taxes the member opposite proposes we will do.

[The Economy, February 1st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, with our Canada child benefit, we are lifting hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty across this country, reducing child poverty by 40%. For post-secondary education, we are guaranteeing they do not have to pay back any student debts until they are making $25,000 a year, and we are increasing by 50% Canada student grants for low-income and middle-income families. We are also investing in infrastructure, in research, in innovation, and in post-secondary institutions to ensure that we have good jobs for these young people now and into the future.

This is what building a strong country looks like and we will stay focused on that.

[Resignation of Members, January 31st, 2017]

I would now like to address the hon. member for Saint-Laurent, who served his constituents and all Canadians for more than 20 years.

He wore many different hats throughout this lengthy career: minister of intergovernmental affairs, leader of the official opposition, minister of the environment, and, more recently, minister of foreign affairs. However, the man we have gotten to know on both sides of the House, a friend to many of you, is above all a great Canadian.

The hon. member for Saint-Laurent has always fought for a better Canada, a Canada that is greener, stronger, and more united. The hon. member presented his clear vision for a modern country with passion and integrity. He is known as a staunch defender of the Canadian project and, of course, as a proud Quebecker whose courage and ambition for his country and his constituents never wavered throughout his career.

His views and his policies were always rooted in his steadfast respect for our democratic principles and in the promise of a country where every Canadian has a chance to succeed.

In our time together, the member has been my leader and my friend, my minister, and now, now that John has told everyone, my ambassador to a continent that is one of our most important partners.

Thankfully for everyone here, cabinet confidentiality, and in my first years, leader-to-rookie MP confidentiality, does not let me tell all the stories of our time together. However, the times I have learned from him, often through a full dressing down, and not just when I was a rookie, the times we have disagreed, the times we have struggled through important times shoulder to shoulder, and mostly the times I have learned from his strength, his wisdom, his compassion, and his bedrock anchoring in Canadian values have enriched my life not only as a leader but as a person. I am a better person for having him as a friend and a mentor.

I know that he will take on his next challenge with the same courage and conviction that has defined his political life and that continues to inspire us all. I thank him for his continued service to this great country.

The work of these two members has made Canada a better place. Working with them, getting to know them personally, and being able to call them my friends has been a great privilege in my life. I am grateful that I will be able to continue to rely on their wisdom, their advice, and their service.

I know I speak for everyone in this House when I say that these members will be missed.

We will miss their intellectual rigour and their senses of humour, and yes, even the backpack will be sadly missed. They will no longer be seated amongst us, but their leadership and hard work in service to our country will continue, and Canada will be better off for it.

On behalf of my party, the government, and all Canadians, thank you, my friends.

[Resignation of Members, January 31st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, today it is my profound privilege to stand before this House and offer thanks to two of its esteemed members, both personally and on behalf of grateful Canadians.

The members representing Saint-Laurent and Markham—Thornhill have each given decades of service to Canada. There is no doubt that I, like all Canadians are, am stronger for it.

Thanks to their efforts, Canada is more united and has a greater appreciation for the diversity that is our strength. Today, we are more committed than ever to continue the work that they started and to build a Canada where every person has an equal chance to succeed, regardless of where they are born in Canada or elsewhere in the world.

I want to begin by saying a few words about the hon. member for Markham—Thornhill, one of the hardest-working people I know both inside and outside the political sphere. He devoted his career to serving Canadians, and first as a professor. As some of you may know, our paths first crossed when he was my dean at the Faculty of Arts at McGill University, and later when he was chief economist at the Royal Bank of Canada.

During my time at McGill, I was never quite overachieving enough to reach the dean's attention, but then I was never quite bad enough to either, and flying under the radar served both of our purposes very well.

It is in his record of public service that we see how deeply he cares about Canada and Canadians. Around the cabinet table, he has served as minister of national defence, minister of veterans affairs, and minister of national revenue, but most recently as minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship, he helped to fulfill one of the government's most important promises: to bring home nearly 40,000 new Canadians from Syria.

Mr. Speaker, you might think that after such a distinguished career, retirement would be next, but you would be wrong. The member will continue to serve our country as Canada's ambassador to China where his expertise and deep cultural ties will continue to strengthen and renew that important relationship.

I thank my friend for all that he has done and all he will continue to do in service to Canada and Canadians.

Thank you. Merci. Xiè xie. Zhù ni chénggong. My Chinese is worse than his.

[Democratic Reform, January 31st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are proud of our democracy and they are always open to improving it. We are working to make sure that our values and principles shine through in everything that is done in this House and everything that we do to represent them well.

I was extremely encouraged by the great outreach and the great response from a broad range of Canadians, in many different ways, on improving our democracy. We look forward to working with Canadians to continue improving our democracy in the years to come.

[Democratic Reform, January 31st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, as you well know, we have consulted Canadians from coast to coast to coast, be it through MyDemocracy.ca, the outstanding work of the MPs on the special committee, or direct conversations with thousands of Canadians.

What we found is that many people have different perspectives. A lot of people want our democracy to be improved. We will continue to work toward securing a healthy and well-functioning democracy for Canadians.

[Human Rights, January 31st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians expect their Prime Minister to always be there to stand up for our values and principles and to show that openness, compassion, and generosity are the best ways to protect ourselves and promote our values and our strong and united communities. That is exactly what I will always do. I am here to defend Canadian values, and I will always do so loudly and clearly.

[Human Rights, January 31st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the two preceding questions demonstrate the important double role that this government has. We need to make sure we are protecting Canadian jobs and growing the economy by having a constructive working relationship with our most important trade partner and ally. We are also standing up for Canadian values and principles. This is what Canadians expect of us, and that is what we have demonstrated over the past days as we have stood loudly and clearly for the openness, for the welcoming, for the compassion, for the strength that Canadians expect of all of us.

[Employment, January 31st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, since the arrival of the new administration and even before that, we have been committed to demonstrating just how integrated the Canadian and U.S. economies are. Our ambassador and my office staff who are in direct contact with the United States are helping us to do that.

Canada is the top export destination for 35 U.S. states. Millions of jobs on both sides of the border depend on the free flow of goods, services, and people. We are going to continue to present these arguments to the Americans.