Lisa Raitt

[Petitions, October 24th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I too would like to present a petition signed by thousands of concerned Canadians regarding the situation in Afghanistan with respect to Sikhs and Hindus and their difficulty getting sponsorships here in Canada. This petition calls upon the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship to use his powers to create a special program to help persecuted minorities in Afghanistan, and it asks the Minister of Global Affairs to raise this issue that is so very pressing.

[Health, October 24th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, on May 3 of this year, I rose in the House to ask a question that was supposed to be asked by our colleague Gord Brown. I wanted to know whether there was going to be compensation for the forgotten thalidomide survivors coming from the promised spring budget. The Prime Minister said on that day, “We will have more good news to share shortly on this issue.”

They are still suffering, so I am following up on the question today. When will the Prime Minister do the right thing and honour the word he gave us on May 3?

[Justice, October 24th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, what I am looking for comment on is the reason why the Prime Minister is withholding documents for a straight-up defence of a person accused of a serious crime. If he will not tell us who he is protecting, maybe I can surmise that it was the President of the Treasury Board who did receive a letter from Irving, asking for his intervention.

I also note that the current Minister of Intergovernmental and Northern Affairs and Internal Trade did not post his conflict screen until three months after the secret cabinet meeting.

Is that who the Prime Minister is protecting?

[Justice, October 24th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I believe the question that the government was asked to answer was the date on which the offer was made. That is the information we will continue to seek.

In 2015, right after swearing in, the cabinet and the government set up a secret cabinet committee. This secret cabinet committee had one purpose, and that was to stop the procurement of a navy vessel.

Interestingly enough, in the attempt to cover it up, the government is now denying documents for a fair trial. In the spirit of access to justice week, will the Prime Minister release these documents?

[Justice, October 23rd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, before this latest talking point came out and before he was gagged, the President of the Treasury Board stood up and indicated that he was just doing his job. However, here is the point to that assumption. In order to prove or disprove that, Mr. Norman actually needs to have those documents that the Prime Minister is currently blocking. Seven different departments and agencies are holding back documents that Mr. Norman could utilize in order to determine whether he has a full and fair defence. Who is the Prime Minister protecting?

[Justice, October 23rd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I have full confidence in your ability to make judgements from your seat. Indeed, if there is a problem with the questions that we are asking, I am sure that you would step in and tell us.

In the meantime, I do have questions for the government. The parliamentary secretary indicates that a key of democracy is at stake here, and I would submit there is, the key to a fair and full defence. The Prime Minister is blocking documents that Mr. Norman needs for a full and fair defence.

Who is the Prime Minister protecting?

[Justice, October 17th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, if the Prime Minister truly respected the independence of the judiciary, he would respect the fact that they should make the call through evidence rules as to what is inadmissible instead of putting cabinet decision-making on top of it, preventing the court from calling these documents into evidence.

Mark Norman needs to put forward a defence that is going to help them prove that these allegations are incorrect. If he cannot, he could go to jail for five years.

Why are we not having the government release these documents?

[Justice, October 17th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister asked most recently why the Conservative Party is continuing to ask these questions as it is not the right place for it. I want to let him know exactly why it is.

When a cabinet exercises its power to withhold documents from the court, the court has no power. The only place left to hold a Prime Minister accountable is in this place. Therefore, we are going to keep asking the questions. I will start right now.

Why is the Prime Minister withholding the documents and why will he not allow Mark Norman to have a fair trial?

[Justice, October 16th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the government has the ability to waive the provisions of the Canada Evidence Act, and I would submit that it should do it for this reason: The regime as it currently stands is both wrong in law, the rule of law, and wrong because it prevents the admiral from having procedural fairness. For a government that is in love with the Constitution, I really thought it would understand that the right to a fair defence and the right to procedural fairness for the individual would trump its desire to hide some uncomfortable things that were probably said at a cabinet meeting.

Why is the government putting its self-interest above somebody's defence?

[Justice, October 16th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Safety said it is improper for any member of this House to comment on an outstanding matter. Maybe he should tell that to the Prime Minister, who deemed, even before an investigation had concluded, that the admiral would be charged.

The point we are arguing is one very salient for the government and very salient for this place. The Liberals are hiding behind a provision of the Canada Evidence Act to prevent the defence from getting documents they need to prove innocence. Why are they doing this?