Rona Ambrose

[Ethics, December 14th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, let us get this straight on the Prime Minister's cash for access fundraising.

First he claimed there was no business being discussed at these events and he was just following the rules. However, when that did not work out, he admitted to breaking the rules. However, that is okay because he is above the rules. Yesterday, his story changed again. Now we are supposed to believe these cash for access events are all about the middle class.

When is he going to stop working as a bagman for the Liberal Party and start working for Canadians?

[Ethics, December 14th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, let us compare the middle class to the Prime Minister's cash for access donors.

Middle-class folks are concerned with getting their mortgage approved. Billionaires at his cash for access events are lobbying to get their bank approved. Middle-class families are anxious about how to pay for their grandma's health care. Billionaires at these cash for access events are trying to buy seniors' homes.

These are not middle-class families with middle-class problems, so when is the Prime Minister going to admit he is selling out the middle class to his billionaire friends?

[Ethics, December 14th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, nothing says “middle class” like a ticket to an exclusive Liberal Party fundraiser. Just imagine the middle-class problems the Liberals try to solve over champagne and caviar. Let us not forget the Chinese billionaires.

The people the Prime Minister is hanging out with are not middle-class people, and he is not there to solve middle-class problems. When is the Prime Minister going to stop spending his time with the out of touch elite and focus on the out of work Canadians?

[Taxation, December 14th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the end of the session is a good time to point out that the government turned its back on Canadian families. For example, it did away with tax credits for sports, the arts, and textbooks for children. What is more, it increased taxes for families and small businesses.

When will the Prime Minister stop working for his Liberal friends and start working for Canadians?

[Ethics, December 13th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, speaking of following the rules, Canada's political finance rules are clear: foreign powers cannot donate or buy access. But foreign donors from China have now been exposed as using the Trudeau Foundation as a back channel way to make donations and gain influence with the Prime Minister. Everybody knows they are not writing these cheques out of the goodness of their hearts, because they have only started doing it since that member became the Prime Minister to buy access to him.

Will the Prime Minister do the right thing and instruct the Trudeau Foundation to stop this practice immediately?

[Ethics, December 13th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, no one actually believes the Prime Minister on this issue anymore.

Let us talk about priorities, because how a prime minister spends his or her time says a lot about the person. By attending countless cash for access fundraising events for the Liberal Party, the Prime Minister is showing his true priorities to Canadians and is setting a low standard for the people around him. Canadians now think the Prime Minister can be bought, and he has already done enough damage to his office.

When is the Prime Minister going to stop this cash for access fundraising? Today?

[Ethics, December 13th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, what happened yesterday was not just disappointing for Canadians. It was embarrassing for the Prime Minister. He actually admitted to reporters to being illegally lobbied at fundraisers for the Liberal Party of Canada, and Canadians had to watch him admit to behaviour that brings disrepute to his office. They also saw the message that he was sending, that the rules do not apply to him.

Does the Prime Minister understand that he is not above the law, that he especially is not above the law, and that he should end these cash for access fundraisers?

[Ethics, December 13th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, it is interesting that the Prime Minister has changed his talking points about following the rules, after what he said yesterday.

Let me remind the Prime Minister that on the day he was sworn in, he said that he was committed to the highest ethical standards. Now that has become a joke.

My question for the Prime Minister is simple. What happened? When did money become more important than the integrity of his office?

[Ethics, December 13th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday was a disappointing day for Canadians. They saw their Prime Minister brag about being the target of illegal lobbying activities at Liberal Party fundraisers. Canadians watched him admit to behaviour that is unworthy of his position. They heard the message he was sending: the rules do not apply to him.

Does the Prime Minister realize that he is not above the law?

Will he finally put an end to his fundraising activities involving privileged access?

[Ethics, December 12th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, at one point the Liberal Party tried to spin its way out of this ethical mess. Its national director said in November, “Fundraising events are partisan functions where we do not discuss government business”. She said that anyone who tried it would be “immediately redirected to...make an appointment with the relevant office”.

Well, that actually sounds like the way it is supposed to work, but the Prime Minister has now thrown his national director under the bus. Now he brags openly about discussing government business at fundraisers.

Why is the Prime Minister bragging about doing the exact opposite of what is ethical?