House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2015, with 71% of the vote.
Ethics October 6th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, the trips to which she is referring were fully disclosed and in fact pre-approved by the Ethics Commissioner. In each case, I was accompanying Mr. Sobey because we were both members of The Trilateral Commission and also invitees to the World Economic Forum Davos meetings.
Sponsored travel is something that all members of Parliament fully disclose. That is what I did, and I would recommend to the hon. member and her colleagues to do the same thing.
Ethics October 6th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I have always worked with and been open with the commissioner's office. As a public office holder, my holdings are publicly disclosed. They are in a blind trust. I do not discuss that with my partner, in the same way that, as a cabinet minister, I do not discuss cabinet business with my partner.
The commissioner decides if a screen is necessary and, based on the facts, she has said it is not.
Access to Information September 28th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to recognize Right to Know Day.
Our government is committed to openness and transparency. I have issued a directive that enshrines the principle that government information should be open by default.
We will soon introduce a bill that will enhance the Access to Information Act, as we promised. We will then conduct a comprehensive review of the act in order to update it so it better serves Canadians.
Government Expenditures September 28th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member will find that, in fact, Brookfield has clarified its comments and have confirmed that members of the Prime Minister's staff were consistent with the truth.
Beyond that, it is important that the opposition recognize that the moving expense policy, as applied to ministers' offices, is the same policy that applied to the previous Conservative government. Treasury Board is reviewing that policy.
Government Expenditures September 28th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, again, the policy for relocation, as it applies to ministers' offices, is the same policy of the previous Conservative government. Treasury Board is evaluating that policy.
I would remind the hon. member, who was, I believe, a caucus member previously, that under the Conservatives, there were staff members who were reimbursed for moving expenses in excess of $90,000.
Treasury Board is reviewing this and we will fix it.
Government Expenditures September 28th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, the relocation policy for ministers' offices is the same policy as that of the previous Conservative government.
We are also aware that under the previous Conservative government, there were ministerial staffers reimbursed, in some cases, for $90,000 worth of moving expenses.
The Prime Minister and his office have asked me, and Treasury Board, to review the policy. Treasury Board will review the policy, and report back to Canadians.
Justice September 27th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, we will not take any advice from the Conservatives on appointment processes. It was under the Conservatives that their minister of justice, for six of the nine appointments for justices in Nova Scotia, appointed his friends. In fact, he appointed the best man from his wedding to the bench. He appointed his best man's wife to the bench. If the Conservatives had not been turfed out in the last election, they might have appointed his entire wedding party to the bench.
The fact is that Atlantic Canadians deserve better than that, and we are giving—
Justice September 26th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I was referring broadly to the habits of the previous government in their appointments, not just of judges. I am not talking about Supreme Court judges, but some of the judicial appointments that occurred under the previous government, including the previous justice minister Peter MacKay's best man at his wedding and the best man's wife. These are not the kinds of appointments that actually should be occurring within a government.
We respect the Supreme Court, but the previous government's appointments over the years to a number of posts were wrong.
Economic Action Plan 2015 Act, No. 1 September 21st, 2016
Madam Speaker, I want to begin by commending the parliamentary secretary. I have known the hon. member for quite a long time, since I was a federal minister and she was a provincial minister in B.C. We have worked together over the years. She has a lot of experience on key files of government. In her work, both provincially and federally, she has demonstrated great regard for our public servants.
The hon. member has referred to the importance of attracting millennials to our public service. One of the most important issues to millennials is the environment and Canada's response to climate change. One of the areas in which we can contribute to the efforts against climate change is what we do as a government in greening up government operations.
The hon. member, as parliamentary secretary to the President of the Treasury Board, is helping to lead the charge within our government on the greening of government. I would like her to reflect on some of her ideas and some of what we are looking forward to doing as a government to lead as a national government in the fight against climate change within our country and globally.
Economic Action Plan 2015 Act, No. 1 September 21st, 2016
Madam Speaker, the hon. member and I may not agree on everything, but based on his comments, I think we have a desire to have a sick leave regime within the public service that will ensure that public servants receive the support they need when they need it.
He has identified an issue that I alluded to as well, that people who have not been in the public service for a particularly long time and have not necessarily accumulated time in the public service, young people in particular, and who may have some form of long-term or chronic illness, are not well served by the current system. We view this as important to address, and we are addressing it now in negotiations with the public service unions. It is one of the things that we need to change if we are going to attract more young people to the public service. It is only one.
As for other things, we are told that the hierarchical nature of decision-making within government is an issue. There are even issues around the hiring processes, and also the ability to develop an idea within a department or agency of government and to share it with somebody else in government and to work together to achieve it.
The hon. member was a minister in the previous government and is just a bit younger than me, so I would appreciate his thoughts on what we need to do as a government to attract more young people to the public service and to give them the opportunity to paint on a larger canvas and make a difference in the lives of Canadians.