Thomas Mulcair

[National Defence, May 8th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, in fact, upon completing this abridged analysis, Stéphane Dion said to the Conservatives, “When you read these documents, you will have questions to ask to your Prime Minister.” There should have been an inquiry.

Not only do we have a Minister of Defence who is misleading us, but now the Prime Minister is following his lead.

If the Prime Minister really believes in transparency, and if he really wants to set the record straight, why is he still trying to block an inquiry into the transfer of Afghan prisoners?

[National Defence, May 8th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister appointed the Minister of National Defence. The Prime Minister told him to block an inquiry into the detainees scandal. The Prime Minister is responsible.

Back when the Conservatives were in power, Liberal after Liberal called for an inquiry. As soon as they formed government, all that ended. Why did the Prime Minister only support a request for an inquiry into the Afghan detainees scandal when the Conservatives of Stephen Harper were in power?

[Standing Orders of the House Of Commons, May 3rd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, this is ridiculous. There is a difference between pretending that one believes in accountability and actually practising it. The Prime Minister is great at pretending. He gets an A plus. There was a question from my colleague. The Prime Minister takes all the questions he wants, but he does not answer any of them.

He is in the process of unilaterally changing the rules of Parliament to suit his own purpose so he can duck out whenever he wants. What is to stop any other future prime minister from doing the same thing now that he has broken with parliamentary tradition and set that sad precedent?

[Foreign Affairs, May 3rd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister used to boast that he would tell Putin off, even to his face.

LGBT and human rights groups have asked the Liberals to issue emergency visas. We are not talking about refugees. We are talking about emergency visas for gay men who are trying to flee persecution in Chechnya. This crisis has been going on for a month now, and the government has not lifted a finger to help.

Will the Prime Minister give these men emergency visas, yes or no?

[Foreign Affairs, May 3rd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, when reports of gay men being violently persecuted in Chechnya first surfaced, there was barely a peep from the government. While the Prime Minister hides from criticizing Trump, yesterday we saw what leadership actually looks like when German Chancellor Angela Merkel called out Putin while standing right beside him.

Canadians deserve bold leadership from their Prime Minister. Will he stand up for the LGBT community and personally call on Putin to end these despicable atrocities?

[Freedom of the Press, May 3rd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, given that answer, is the Prime Minister willing to tell the RCMP to drop its court case against a Vice journalist that it is now pursuing? The Prime Minister should be protecting the privacy of reporters and all Canadians, but instead, he has refused to amend Bill C-51.

The Prime Minister voted for Bill C-51 because he was afraid of Stephen Harper, but the Liberals have been in office for 18 months. What are they afraid of now?

Will the Prime Minister tell Canadians when his government is going to make the promised changes to Bill C-51?

[Freedom of the Press, May 3rd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, Canada dropped 14 points in the World Press Freedom Index under the watch of the Prime Minister. Speaking of watching, journalists are under surveillance in Canada today, and reporters are forced to fight the RCMP in court to protect their freedom. Happy World Press Freedom Day.

This is not a proud record. This is also not a time for more empty phrases and talking points from the Prime Minister, so will the Prime Minister acknowledge here today that journalists have the right to protect their sources, yes or no?

[Points of Order, May 2nd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, following a response to a question from a colleague opposite, I learned that the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons was offended by something I said this morning. I went to meet with her to offer my sincere apologies, and I also want to apologize here right now.

[Government Accountability, May 2nd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, next, the PBO plays a crucial role in holding a government to account, and that is what the Liberals used to believe when the Conservatives were in power. If the Prime Minister's changes had occurred under the last government, we would not have known about the F-35 costs, for example.

The Prime Minister said that the PBO must be “truly independent”, so the question is, why is he muzzling it?

Why is the Prime Minister attacking the parliamentary budget officer?

[National Defence, May 2nd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, in fact what the Ethics Commissioner said was that the defence minister told her he played absolutely no role. He gave the Sergeant Schultz “I know nothing” answer. The problem is that he then went on to claim to be an architect, and senior military officials described him as playing a key intelligence role.

Does the Prime Minister actually believe his Minister of National Defence when he says he knows nothing about what went on with the Afghan detainees when we know he played an—