Thomas Mulcair

[Foreign Affairs, May 11th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, we are talking about the export permits that the Liberals signed after the election campaign.

After the United Nations reports on human rights in January, and after today's video, the government has no excuse to continue with this arms sale to Saudi Arabia so it can crush civilians with that type of equipment.

There is now evidence and we want to know if this really is the first piece of evidence the Prime Minister has seen of Saudi Arabia abusing human rights with armoured vehicles. We have trouble believing that no one in the government knew this before it appeared in The Globe and Mail.

[Foreign Affairs, May 11th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, people expect parliamentarians to be an example of democracy.

Last month, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said in the House that he would block export permits for Saudi Arabia “if the military equipment is ever used to violate human rights”.

The videos speak for themselves: Saudi Arabia is using this type of equipment to crush civilians.

I have a straightforward question for the Prime Minister. Does he think that this video depicts actions that violate human rights, yes or no?

[Democratic Reform, May 11th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, what part of this does the Prime Minister not understand? Members from two of those committees are being denied the right to vote. He has to change that.

Canadians have a hard time believing that the process is not rigged. The government will have a majority on the committee, and we know that the Liberal Party has already decided on the so-called preferential voting system, which is to the party's advantage.

Can the Prime Minister reassure Canadians and guarantee that his government will not act unilaterally without the support of all the other parties?

[Democratic Reform, May 11th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, as we have just seen, the Liberals have repeated time and time again that the current electoral system is “unfair” and that it produces false majorities, that is until they got elected.

The facts are that over 60% of Canadians did not vote for the Liberal Party. The Prime Minister seemed to acknowledge the problem, but then he stacked the committee so Liberals could, alone, impose the next voting system on everyone.

Will the Prime Minister reverse his undemocratic decision and allow for a fully representative committee, where each member has the right to vote? Is that not the essence of democracy?

[Mile End Community Mission, May 11th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, 25 years ago, Reverend John Beach and a group of dedicated volunteers made a dream come true when they started a storefront community organization to help all marginalized people in Mile End.

Reverend Roslyn MacGregor took over the Mile-End Mission in 1995 and grew that seed into the community tree which it has become. Ros saw to it that half of the board of directors were members who use the mission's services. She understood that inclusiveness was the only way to build true community.

Today, Lou Hachey watches over the mission. It does much more than provide hot meals, bags of groceries, support, and professional legal advice. The Mile End Community Mission makes the community a better place.

Today, I want to say thanks, on behalf of the many people they help, to the folks of the Mile-End Mission and wish them many more years of service.

[Physician-Assisted Dying, May 10th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, a number of experts and legal professionals have serious concerns about the constitutionality of Bill C-14. The legislation could be challenged in court, but in committee, the Liberals have rejected nearly all of the amendments that would have fixed the bill.

What is preventing the Prime Minister from seeking the Supreme Court's opinion on Bill C-14?

With so many raising concerns about the constitutionality of Bill C-14, why will the Prime Minister not simply refer the bill to the Supreme Court to avoid years of legal challenges.

[Small Business, May 10th, 2016]

And crickets on his parliamentary secretary.

Mr. Speaker, today the Liberals moved to cut off debate on their omnibus budget bill, something they once deplored when the Conservatives did it and something they promised never to do.

Buried within the bill, among changes to 35 other laws, is the cancelling of small business tax cuts, tax cuts that the Liberals promised they would keep. The PBO reported today that this broken promise would not only cost small businesses $2.2 billion, but it would kill jobs and hurt economic growth. Now that the Prime Minister knows the true cost of his flip-flop, will he do what he promised and reduce the small business tax rate?

[Canada Revenue Agency, May 10th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, actually it was the NDP that proposed it, and it was voted down by the Liberals.

The Panama papers revealed a vast network of shell companies in offshore tax havens. One Canadian firm, Newport Pacific, created an astonishing 60 companies in known tax havens. The vast majority of these offshore shell companies were set up while the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage worked at Newport Pacific.

Has the Prime Minister asked his parliamentary secretary if he assisted in the marketing, development, or design of any offshore companies in tax havens?

[Canada Revenue Agency, May 10th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, by announcing that the RCMP will analyze the Panama papers data made public this week, the government wants to show that it is serious about cracking down on tax evasion.

However, the Prime Minister is doing everything he can to block the investigation into the 15 multimillionaires who illegally hid money in tax havens with the help of KPMG.

Can the Prime Minister explain why there is a double standard? Who are the KPMG clients and executives that he is trying to protect?

[Canada Post, May 5th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, to the Contrary to the Liberals, we're always honest.

I have an honest question for the Prime Minister. If the previous government had done that, what would he have said? Would he not have said that they were lying?