Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, I have tremendous confidence in Mr. Barton. He is an excellent public servant, an excellent ambassador to Canada and he, as the members opposite will see tonight, is a deep expert in how we are going to move forward on improving the situation for Canadians in China right now.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, no, the court challenges program is administered completely independently from the government. As for aluminum, I must point out that aluminum sector jobs were very important to us during negotiations with the United States. We defended ourselves against the United States' punitive tariffs and got them withdrawn.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, I get the impression that I will be repeating this often in the House today: Administration and delivery of the court challenges program is carried out completely independently from the government. That may be why the Stephen Harper government wanted to abolish this program.

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, Ambassador Dominic Barton is an exceptional individual with great depth of understanding of the situation in China over many, many years. He has also been an extremely active member, working with me and with the Government of Canada in terms of moving forward constructively on the sometimes difficult relationship with China right now, particularly around the return of the two Michaels who have been unfairly detained.

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, Canadians right across the country are concerned about the coronavirus. We are doing everything we can to reduce the fear and the anxiety by saying that the risk level is low and that we are keeping Canadians safe. The way the members opposite are choosing to make light of this and play politics with it, with clever little games, is quite frankly unworthy of the House of Commons.

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, it really was because of the weather. Perhaps if the Conservatives were in power, they would have ordered the pilot to fly in dangerous conditions, but we respect pilots' professionalism and the decisions they make to keep Canadians safe. What the member is suggesting really does not bear repeating here in the House.

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, as part of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Canada joins many countries in promoting inclusive global economic growth. Trade tensions are on the rise in Canada and the Conservative leader is suggesting that we close our doors to international co-operation. This bank supports clean and green investments in infrastructure across Asia and in some of the poorest countries in the world.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, let me be perfectly clear. The court challenges program makes its decisions entirely independently. These decisions are not made by the government, ministers or politicians. This is an agency, a program, that is there to help Canadians defend their rights in court. It fulfills that responsibility completely at arm's length from the government.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, the court challenges program operates entirely independently of the government. We cannot call for funding or withdraw it. The purpose of the program is to help Canadians defend their fundamental rights in court. I know the Bloc Québécois leader would rather talk about anything other than his opposition to NAFTA, an agreement that will be good for Quebeckers and for businesses and that will help Quebeckers.

Indigenous Affairs  Mr. Speaker, as Canadians well know, we have invested historic amounts in reconciliation, in new programs, in new funding and in making sure we are creating opportunities to move forward in partnership and respect. Part of that means it does take a little longer to do, because we are working with indigenous communities to drive those solutions, not determining solutions from Ottawa.

Indigenous Affairs  Mr. Speaker, our government continues to be committed to reconciliation, which means partnership, respect and engagement. This is an issue that is entirely under provincial jurisdiction. The RCMP's operations there were directed by the provincial government. On this side of the House, we respect Premier Horgan and the work he is doing to advance reconciliation, and I recommend that the members opposite do the same.

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, everything the member opposite just said demonstrates at which point the Conservative Party does not understand the modern economy, does not understand the expectations of Canadians to be responsible around environmental concerns, to work with indigenous communities and to get things done the right way.

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, those are demonstrations of complete misunderstanding and miscomprehension by the Conservatives on these issues. First and foremost, to correct the record, the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion is being built right now. The member opposite, I am sure, did not want to make false statements to this House.

News Media Industry  Mr. Speaker, we will always support a strong, independent press. The report we received proposes to exempt news media from licensing requirements, but allow me to be absolutely unequivocal. We will not impose a licensing requirement on news organizations, nor will we regulate news content.

News Media Industry  Mr. Speaker, the third party report we received proposes to exempt news media from licensing requirements, but allow me to be absolutely unequivocal: We will not impose a licensing requirement on news organizations, nor will we regulate news content. Our focus is on ensuring that Canadians have access to diverse, credible and high-quality news.