2017-11-21

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals' denying tax credits for diabetics and chronically ill Canadians is a heartless Liberal policy, and it gets worse. The Liberals' asinine policy of cutting pay for injured members of the Canadian Armed Forces is also wrong. These members have sustained mental and physical injuries in service of Canada, and instead of thanking them, what does the defence minister do? He cuts their pay.When will the Liberal government reverse this cold-hearted policy and actually start to support our injured troops and give back the money they deserve?

The answer to that question should be all of them, Mr. Speaker.It concerns me that the minister will not give that number. I wonder what he is hiding, especially given the fact that the Prime Minister said yesterday that even one ISIS fighter posed a threat to this country. We know that these people have fought for a group that has beheaded people, burned allied soldiers, raped women, and indeed carried out terrorist attacks on countries around the world, including Canada. Why is every single one of these people not under 24-hour surveillance?

Mr. Speaker, we can sit around and wait for the reports to come out, but in the meantime, the terrorists who went abroad to fight are coming back to Canada. We need information sooner rather than later.The other thing I wanted to mention is that the minister says he wants to create reintegration programs for ISIS fighters. Yesterday, the minister cited all kinds of reasons to justify his inability to arrest these traitors in Canada or provide any information about them.How can he tell Canadians their safety is not being jeopardized? Can he at least assure us that these people are under round-the-clock surveillance?

Mr. Speaker, with Trump's latest move, close to 60,000 Haitians in the U.S. may face deportation. This would no doubt lead to more Haitians trying to make irregular crossings to Canada. With winter setting in, it is dangerous, and no one wants to see more tragedies. It is time for Canada to reconsider the safe third country agreement. The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination's most recent report called on Canada to at least temporarily suspend the safe third country agreement. Will the government do just that?

That is ridiculous, Mr. Speaker. I bet that the accounts payable calls get answered pretty quickly under the Liberal government.Today we learned that the minister did not get the Ethics Commissioner's permission to introduce his pension legislation, even though he claimed otherwise. This legislation enables the exact product that his family's company specializes in and for which the finance minister himself lobbied for before he entered politics.Did the Prime Minister ever request assurances from the finance minister that he was working with the Ethics Commissioner before introducing the legislation?

Mr. Speaker, getting in touch with the Prime Minister's Canada Revenue Agency is notoriously difficult. The Auditor General reports that 29 million calls from Canadians went unanswered. Canadians who need advice on their tax situation are blocked, get a busy signal, are told to call back, or are disconnected, but when his friend, Stephen Bronfman, needed an answer on his tax situation, the Prime Minister answered the call pretty darn quick and gave him the answer that he was looking for.Why is it that Liberal friends get their calls answered and the answers they want and ordinary Canadians have to be put on hold?

Mr. Speaker, the nail care lobby seems to have a lot of influence with the Minister of Transport. His claim that six-centimetre blades will allow people to clean their nails on the plane is ludicrous. There is no reason to allow knives in an aircraft cabin when they can easily be stowed in the hold. Will the minister listen to reason and leave knives on the prohibited items list?

Mr. Speaker, I did give the member the numbers yesterday. I would also inform him that, in the usual course, we publish an annual report on the threat assessment with respect to Canada. That is a normal thing that the Government of Canada does periodically to make sure Canadians are fully informed about the nature of the threats Canada faces.That next threat assessment will be made public in the course of the next several weeks. The hon. member and all Canadians will be able to be right up to date with all of the necessary information.

Mr. Speaker, Ottawa is handing off its problems to the provinces. It is not the Liberals who will have to deal with the health and safety problems caused by the legalization of cannabis. All they will do is collect the money and distribute licences to their cronies.The Quebec government and first nations are calling for a one-year delay on marijuana legalization. It is frankly irresponsible to forge ahead blindly when no one is ready.Can the Prime Minister explain just why legalizing pot is so urgent?

Mr. Speaker, what all Canadians know is that, in this place, the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner is responsible for safeguarding the integrity of Parliament. Like us, Canadians expect all parliamentarians to work with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner and follow her recommendations. They expect her to tell each of us what to do based on our own individual circumstances. That is what the commissioner did for the Minister of Finance. He always followed her advice and recommendations. He will continue to work with her to live up to the highest standards of integrity that Canadians expect.

Mr. Speaker, it seems the minister does not actually know how many Canadians have fought for ISIS or other terrorist groups around the world. The figures he gave us yesterday seem to contradict those put out by his own department. We know that some have returned to Canada, that some are planning to return, and that some did not have permission to travel abroad to fight because they were known to have hostile intentions.Can the minister finally give us the correct figures and show some transparency?

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Party's chief fundraiser sent money to a tax haven. This morning, the NDP asked that Stephen Bronfman appear before the Standing Committee on Finance. The Liberals refused.The Minister of Finance failed to put his assets in a blind trust. He also introduced Bill C-27, which helped Morneau Shepell rake in millions of dollars without running this by the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner. He is currently under investigation.Is that the Liberals' approach to governing?They do nothing about tax havens and introduce bills to get richer and to make their millionaire friends richer?

Mr. Speaker, after all that overspending, the government has run out of taxpayer money. To replenish its coffers, the Liberals are picking the pockets of Canadians once again. This time, it is persons with disabilities who are paying the price. A person in my riding was denied the disability tax credit for the first time in 20 years. The reason provided was that his illness does not affect him 90% of the time.Why is this government counting the seconds when persons with disabilities are affected, but not the billions of dollars that the Prime Minister's friends are hiding in tax havens?

Mr. Speaker, as Canadians know, the former Conservative government bought the system, developed it, and fired the workers who were supposed to handle the transition.We are fixing Phoenix. We are working with the public service, with unions, and with all our private-sector partners to fix and improve the system. We are working hard because people not getting paid, not getting the money they are entitled to, is unacceptable.

Mr. Speaker, these Liberals only work with the Ethics Commissioner after they get caught breaking the ethics laws.Therefore, let us be clear. Either the finance minister lied to the Prime Minister, or the Prime Minister did not even bother to ask, or the Prime Minister simply believes that Liberals are just above the rules. Which is it? Did anyone ever tell the Prime Minister that his finance minister was clear to table Bill C-27 before the bill was introduced in Parliament?

Mr. Speaker, do we all get the sense that even he does not believe his own spin anymore? The PM needs to change his slogan from “real change” to “Please hold. Your call is important to us. Waiting time is forever.” The Auditor General has exposed how the government is totally failing Canadians. CRA has been blocking half the calls, and the one-third that actually make it through get bad or wrong advice. For those looking to avoid paying their taxes, Liberals have a good answer for them. For Canadians trying to pay their taxes, they put them on hold. Let us all listen to the Prime Minister explain how this mess is helping out the middle class and those working hard to join it.

Mr. Speaker, for two years the finance minister sheltered millions in Morneau Shepell shares in a numbered company, shares that skyrocketed after he introduced pension reform legislation that benefited his family company. Now that he has been caught and forced to dispose of those shares, he says that he can now start to work for Canadians. I guess we know who he has been working for over the last two years. He misled Canadians about his personal assets. He misled Canadians about working with the Ethics Commissioner. He is under investigation yet again.Why should Canadians trust anything he says?

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Agriculture is not involved in the NAFTA and TPP negotiations, and supply management is being pummelled. Yesterday, the parliamentary secretary spread concern in the agriculture sector by refusing to confirm that supply management is excluded from the TPP. Meanwhile, the United States is getting more aggressive in demanding an end to supply management.Did the Prime Minister trade away supply management to make up for his insulting attitude towards the leaders of the 10 other TPP partners?Dairy, egg, and poultry producers want answers, not excuses.

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government did not create this mess, but we are going to fix this mess.

Mr. Speaker, Campaign 2000's latest report has confirmed, yet again, staggering rates of poverty for indigenous children, both on and off reserve. The message from today's parliamentary budget officer's report is equally clear.If the Liberals are really serious about addressing child poverty, they need an action plan that includes concrete targets and a timeline to meet them. If two whole years in office were not enough for the government to act, can the Liberals tell us how much longer they are going to ask these children to wait?

Mr. Speaker, the police of this country, particularly the RCMP, but also in collaboration with all other police forces in Canada, and the CBSA at the border, and CSIS, our intelligence service, do the monitoring to make sure that every threat to the national security of Canada is properly monitored, surveilled, and investigated, and that when evidence is found of any offence, charges are laid.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to stand up to speak to Bill C-45, which is currently being debated. Our government has been and will always be committed to moving forward to legalize, strictly regulate, and restrict access to cannabis in order to keep it out of the hands of children and the proceeds out of the hands of criminals. We are going to continue to work collaboratively with the provinces and territories and municipalities, based on the robust consultation that we have done through the task force through engaging with Canadians, to ensure that we have a robust framework for the legalization and strict regulation of cannabis in July 2018.

Mr. Speaker, the government promised to invest billions of dollars in infrastructure, but we have now learned that over 20% of VIA Rail's fleet will be retired by 2024. To make matters worse, the negative impact of this decision will be felt in the Quebec-Windsor corridor as early as 2020. If nothing is done, communities in this corridor could lose their passenger rail service, and Canada will have squandered yet another opportunity to effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions.Does the Minister of Transport believe in passenger rail? If so, when will he take action and reinvest in VIA Rail?

Mr. Speaker, it was the current government that said that the system was good to go. The Liberals have no idea what is causing the problem, nor do they know the extent of it, and to top it off, they are making the situation worse.The Auditor General made it clear that fixing Phoenix, if indeed it can be fixed, will take years and cost us over $1 billion. In response, the Prime Minister said the same thing he said last year, the same thing he said the year before, and the same thing he is likely to say a year from now.When Canadians buy something that does not work, they take it back for a refund.Have the Liberals kept the receipt so they can get their money back, or will Canadians end up paying for this?

Mr. Speaker, yesterday we celebrated International Children's Rights Day, although there was really nothing worth celebrating. According to a Campaign 2000 report, nearly one child in five lives in a family that struggles with poverty. Even more disgraceful, one indigenous child in three living on reserve is poor.How is it that we are still in this situation in 2017? When will the government finally assume its responsibilities and lift all children out of poverty?

Mr. Speaker, for two years, the Minister of Finance led Canadians to believe that his personal assets were in a blind trust. That was not true. He controlled his millions of Morneau Shepell shares the entire time. He also said that he worked with the Ethics Commissioner before introducing pension reform legislation, legislation that just happened to benefit his family business. We know that was not true and she never signed off on that blatant conflict of interest.Why should Canadians trust the finance minister, when he is under investigation yet again for misleading Canadians and breaking the rules?

The Minister of Transport went to Paris in September and to Seoul last week on behalf of the federal government to support keeping the World Anti-Doping Agency's headquarters in Montreal. Montrealers are proud that their city has been home to the agency's headquarters since 2001.Can the minister tell my constituents and all Montrealers about the work our governments are doing to keep the agency's headquarters in Montreal?

Mr. Speaker, I have asked the revenue minister the following question countless times and she refuses to come clean with Canadians. We have proof that the minister changed the policy interpretation for approving diabetics for the disability tax credit. Now 80% of the disability tax credit applicants who used to be approved are being rejected. She rejects 80% of vulnerable diabetics, but goes after 0% of wealthy Liberal friends hiding money offshore.When will the revenue minister focus efforts on real tax cheats instead of targeting the vulnerable?

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated yesterday, the number is approximately 60. That is exactly the same number as under the previous government, of which the hon. gentleman is a defender. Yes, indeed, I can assure him that all of the police and security agencies of Canada are doing their job to make sure that the threat is properly contained.

Mr. Speaker, hello, you have reached the Canada Revenue Agency. Your call is important to us.Seriously, if you expect to speak with a person, good luck. Half the time your call will be blocked, and more often than not, you will not get through to a person. If you actually happen to speak to someone, there is a 30% chance that you will be given the wrong information. Have a nice day.While the Liberals allow their friends to get richer using tax havens, they are turning their backs on Canadians who could use a little help.Is this how the Liberals deliver public services to Canadians and Quebeckers?

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government bought this system, created this system, and we will fix this system. It is unacceptable that Canadians not be paid for the work they are doing. That is why we are working so hard with different ministries, public servants, and different unions to ensure that we fix this Phoenix pay system. It is something that Canadians expect, and it is something that we are going to fix.

Mr. Speaker, when we ask about the Phoenix pay system fiasco, every answer from the Liberals is to blame the Conservatives for it. Against the advice of their experts and public servants, they decided to push the button. They cannot hide behind the Conservatives. They have underestimated the problems. They still do not have a comprehensive plan, and worse, they do not know the full extent and causes of those problems. While they act like amateurs, hundreds of thousands of public servants are feeling the pain.How long will the Liberals keep throwing good money after bad? Who will be held accountable and who will fix this mess?

Mr. Speaker, the U.S. government announced that it will end temporary resident status for millions of Haitians living in the United States.This summer, many of those people chose to come to Canada. The government should have seen that coming, but it did not.Since we know something similar is likely to happen again in the coming months, will the government do what it should have done in the first place and suspend the safe third country agreement?

Mr. Speaker, this is exactly what happens when governments choose to balance the books at all costs. They cut services to Canadians, and Canadians suffer. We are working hard to fix their messes. We are working hard to improve services for Canadians. We thank the Auditor General for his report, which is very helpful. We will endeavour to do even more to serve Canadians the way they need.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank and congratulate my colleague on her question.I wish to remind my colleague that our government takes poverty among families and children very seriously. I would like to remind her that, across Canada, the families of six million children are currently receiving a Canada child benefit that is better and worth more than the one provided by the previous government. This also means we are lifting 300,000 children out of poverty, which will translate into the lowest child poverty rate in the history of Canada and the greatest poverty reduction ever achieved in our great nation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. It is in reference to question period. I would like to seek unanimous consent to table documents that illustrate what the Leader of the Official Opposition was saying, that in fact there is Liberal culpability on the Phoenix pay fiasco.

Mr. Speaker, Canadians expect the Prime Minister to safeguard integrity, but the Prime Minister is the first Canadian prime minister under investigation by the Ethics Commissioner; and the finance minister is being investigated for using his public powers to enrich himself and his family. He claims he worked with the Ethics Commissioner and that there was a so-called ethical screen in place, but apparently she was not aware they were working together because now she is investigating him for it, and obviously that screen was a wide-open window. At first, he also said he told her about his French company, but she did not know about that either and she fined him for hiding it. Again, how can Canadians trust the Prime Minister, the finance minister, or any of—

Mr. Speaker, MPs on both sides of the House often engage in attacks that are sometimes personal and sometimes based on facts. That is how democracy works. That is how we know that a government is rigorous in the way it deals with various issues. However, we are working with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner to go beyond partisan politics and to make sure Canadians know that every person in this House follows the rules and is worthy of the confidence of Canadians. That is what the Minister of Finance did.

Mr. Speaker, my colleague opposite did not answer my colleague's question, so I will give him another chance. Of the number of people who have been identified as fighting for ISIS and have returned to Canada, how many of those persons are under 24-hour surveillance?

Mr. Speaker, this side of the House supports dairy, egg, and poultry producers and supply management. We have always been very clear and have said all along that we will continue to support our farmers and their families, as well as Canada's agricultural interests.My hon. colleagues opposite should speak to the member from Beauce and convince him to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, Canadians deserve easy access to accurate information from the Canada Revenue Agency.However, the Auditor General announced today that CRA call centre agents block nearly half of all the calls they receive.This Prime Minister is the one who is causing so much confusion and raising taxes for small businesses and middle-class families.Why then, when Canadians are looking for answers, does the Prime Minister respond with nothing more than a busy signal?

Mr. Speaker, what is expected of all parliamentarians in the House is that they work with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner. The Minister of Finance did so as soon as he took office. He has always followed the recommendations of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, including setting up a screen to prevent conflicts of interest, which he did at the outset. That screen is still in place today. The minister announced that he would go the extra mile and divest himself of all his shares in Morneau Shepell and place all his assets in a blind trust so he could continue focusing on the important work he has been doing for two years. I can understand that the opposition members do not want to talk about the Minister of Finance's record, which includes 500,000 jobs and the lowest unemployment rate in 10 years, because such an achievement is beyond their wildest dreams.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance swore that he put his shares in a blind trust and then we learned that he never did. The Minister of Finance assured us that he had declared all his assets and then we learned that he was fined by the commissioner for failing to disclose a company. From the beginning of the session, the minister has repeated that he has always worked with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner and, oddly enough, today we read in the Globe and Mail that the minister never worked with the commissioner on his Bill C-27.Can the Prime Minister tell us why Canadians would still trust the Minister of Finance?

Mr. Speaker, this member wants to talk about what the Minister of Finance is doing for Canadians. We can talk about that.We can talk about the Canada child benefit, which has lifted 300,000 children out of poverty. We can talk about the guaranteed income supplement, which is helping 900,000 seniors living in poverty. We can talk about the 500,000 jobs he created. This is the most jobs created in the past 10 years. The Conservatives have the worst job creation record since the Second World War.That is what it means to work for Canadians, and that is what the minister has been doing for two years.

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member, I am sure, would not want me to engage in operational discussions on the floor of the House of Commons that could in fact disclose the security posture of the Government of Canada. What the hon. member needs to know is that the RCMP, CSIS, and all of the other relevant agencies of the Government of Canada are doing their job to take every necessary step to make sure that Canadians are safe, and at the same time that all of the rights and freedoms of Canadian citizens are properly respected.

Mr. Speaker, let us lay out the facts for the Prime Minister. First, before entering “public service” the finance minister advocated for targeted pensions. That makes sense. He made millions off of it. Second, his company buys Mercer Canada that runs the pensions for 93,000 Canada Post workers and retirees. Then after being elected and still owning and controlling millions of dollars of shares in Morneau Shepell, he sponsors a bill that would benefit Morneau Shepell and himself personally.If this does not qualify as a conflict of interest in the heart and mind of the Prime Minister, then what does?

Mr. Speaker, Canada will always be an open and welcoming country for people seeking refuge. Our government will nevertheless ensure an orderly immigration process. We have always maintained that entering Canada irregularly does not guarantee status in this country. There are very strict rules that must be followed. We are stepping up our efforts to raise awareness among people likely to have their temporary status in the United States revoked. We want to make sure they are familiar with Canadian immigration laws.We will launch other awareness-raising initiatives led by MPs and government officials to make sure those affected know Canadian immigration laws.

Mr. Speaker, in the last election, two parties, the Conservatives and the NDP, committed to balance the budget at all costs, including through cutting services—

Mr. Speaker, as I just said, we have always maintained that anyone who crosses irregularly into Canada will not have guaranteed status in Canada. We are intensifying our efforts to raise awareness among people likely to have their temporary protection in the United States taken away, to make sure that they are familiar with Canada's immigration laws.Many members will be going to the U.S., and some are there now, to make sure that people are familiar with our immigration laws and know how our asylum system works.

Mr. Speaker, that is not true. The Minister of Finance did not sit down with the Ethics Commissioner. He did so only after he was in conflict of interest.We know that Morneau Shepell deals in target benefit pension plans, and that is what the minister put forward in his Bill C-27.The question here is simple. How can the minister think that he is not in conflict of interest when he makes the laws that govern a business in which he holds shares? How can the Minister of Finance say that he is not in conflict of interest?

Mr. Speaker, all members of this House work with the Ethics Commissioner to ensure that their personal finances, their personal interests are in line with the expectations that Canadians have of all members of this House to live up to the high expectations of citizens. All of us, including the finance minister, work with the Ethics Commissioner and listen to and follow her counsel.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for asking this very relevant question.This government is the first government that will put in place a poverty reduction strategy. We are working very hard with partners around the country, who have been waiting for us for a long time, to build this strategy. They are very dedicated to assisting us in making poverty something that is going to be not only falling over time but disappearing in the long term.

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and the finance minister are the two most powerful lawmakers in Canada. The finance minister's Bill C-27 will directly benefit his billion dollar family business, Morneau Shepell, and he still held shares in Morneau Shepell when he introduced that bill. The Prime Minister and the finance minister and his staff all claim he has been working with the Ethics Commissioner from the start, but now, the Prime Minister and two of his cabinet ministers are under investigation by the Ethics Commissioner. How can Canadians trust the Prime Minister?

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister's so-called ethical screen gets weaker every day. After introducing Bill C-27, which helps his own family business, the only argument the minister has left is to say that he now miraculously has some integrity because he sold his shares and made a donation. What does the government have to say about the level of integrity he has shown over the past two years?Will the Prime Minister finally admit what all Canadians know, that his finance minister has been in a direct conflict of interest for the past two years?

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to ensuring that all Canadians receive the benefits and credits to which they are entitled. We are introducing national legislation on persons with disabilities that will eliminate the obstacles by focusing on accessibility for all Canadians living with a disability. We have made it easier to access the disability tax credit. We simplified the forms. We are allowing specialized nurse practitioners to fill out the forms if the applicants do not have a doctor. In budget 2017, we continue to work for the most vulnerable.

Mr. Speaker, I know that we are going to have a great discussion today about the Auditor General's report. It is an excellent report that will be very helpful for our government in improving services. We realize that there are things that we could have done better, and we will do better.However, at the same time, it is important to recognize the fact that the previous government's decision to spend 10 years cutting services, particularly near the end, so that it could balance its budget at any cost, was not without consequences. We are working hard to bring services to Canadians back to the way they should be, and we will continue to do so.

Mr. Speaker, I think that the hon. member for Beauce knows how the House works, as well as the institutions that protect the integrity of the House. One institution that we on this side of the House respect is the Ethics Commissioner. We respect her judgment and her recommendations.After presenting his entire situation, the Minister of Finance followed every one of the Ethics Commissioner's recommendations and will continue to do so. He divested himself of all his shares in Morneau Shepell and made a charitable donation of the difference in value in his shares since the election. He announced that was putting all his assets in a blind trust so that he can continue the important work that he has been doing for Canadians for two years now.

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to ensuring that all Canadians receive the credits and benefits to which they are entitled. I want to reiterate for my colleague opposite that the eligibility requirements for this tax credit have not changed. It is important to recognize that far too many Canadians are struggling and need help. In addition, we are making it possible for low-income workers to keep more of their hard-earned money by enhancing the working income tax benefit by an additional $500 million per year, starting in 2019. We are keeping the promises we made to Canadians and to those most in need.

Mr. Speaker, every member of this House, when they arrive to serve, works with the Ethics Commissioner to ensure that their personal situation, their financial situation, is in order and aligned with the high expectations that Canadians have of each of us in this House. The Minister of Finance worked with the Ethics Commissioner to ensure that the decisions he would take, whether it was putting in a screen or whether it was various personal dispositions, would ensure that Canadians could have confidence that everyone in this House is following the rules.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance introduced Bill C-27 to ensure that Canadians have a secure and stable retirement, so that they may live out their retirement with dignity. The Minister of Finance has always worked with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner. He followed through on her recommendation to set up a conflict of interest screen. The commissioner felt that this was the best way to prevent any appearance of conflict of interest or any conflict of interest. The Minister of Finance will continue to work with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner to ensure that all the rules are followed and he will continue to serve Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, what is expected of all parliamentarians is to work with the Ethics Commissioner, who is responsible to safeguard the integrity of this Parliament. The finance minister has always worked in full transparency with the Ethics Commissioner, has always followed her recommendations, will continue to do so, and of his own accord has decided to go above and beyond, divesting all his shares in Morneau Shepell, and placing all of his assets in a blind trust so that he can continue to do the important work and avoid any further distraction. I understand the opposition. Members do not want to talk about his record because, when it comes to the economy, he has steered the ship in the right direction for the last two years, creating half a million jobs.

Mr. Speaker, the minister misled the House because he did not in fact work with the Ethics Commissioner. That is what we read today in the Globe and Mail. He decided to work with the commissioner only after he was in complete conflict of interest. That is what really happened. There are no ethics.It is important to note that he benefited from legislation. He got sums of money that drove up his shares on the stock market. He was in conflict of interest.Why does the Prime Minister continue to protect the Minister of Finance?

Mr. Speaker, of course we are committed to passenger rail.That is why, in the 2016 budget, we allocated $7.7 million to look at replacing VIA Rail's fleet. We are working with VIA Rail and will replace the fleet in due course to continue providing modern facilities for Canadian rail passengers.

Mr. Speaker, if we place ourselves back in 2015 during the last election campaign, Canadians were wondering if we were in or heading into a recession. This government made smart investments in infrastructure and jump-started the Canada child benefit to make sure that our economy started growing again, and it has grown by 500,000 jobs over the last two years. I can say that we are very proud that our debt to GDP ratio has gone down from 32.5% when we took office to 30.5%, and will fall below the levels it was in 1977 in due time, in the course of the next few years.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to have the chance to contrast our track record with that of my colleague opposite. Our government is fully committed to fighting tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance. In our last two budgets, we allocated nearly $1 billion to doing just that, and we are on track to recoup $25 billion. Our plan is working. We are targeting four jurisdictions a year, and we are working to finalize the hiring of 100 auditors. There have been 627 cases transferred to criminal investigations, 268 search warrants—

Mr. Speaker, the safety of passengers and the air transportation system remains a top priority. We periodically review the lists of permitted and non-permitted items. In this case, we decided to allow certain items with a view to harmonizing our policies with international standards. This had nothing to do with pleasing any particular group. It was done for one reason and one reason only, namely to ensure the safety of certain items that will be permitted or not permitted.

Mr. Speaker, today we are going to be talking about the Auditor General's report, as we should. It is an excellent report and, actually, a very helpful report. We realize that there are many things that we could have done better and we will do better, and we thank the Auditor General for his work.At the same time, we have to understand that when the previous government chose to cut government services, particularly through the last years of its mandate, in order to balance the budget at all costs, there are consequences. We are working hard to restore services to Canadians at the level they expect and we have more work to do to fix the Conservatives' messes.

Mr. Speaker, we were elected on a promise to improve services to Canadians.We recognize that we had a lot of work to do, because for years under the Conservative government, massive cuts were made to the Canada Revenue Agency. That is why, in our first budget, we invested $50 million to improve services to Canadians.However, we know that there is still a lot of work to be done, and we are working on it. We thank the Auditor General for his report, and we continue to work together.

Mr. Speaker, just yesterday, the Prime Minister said that the Minister of Finance had always worked closely with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner.Therefore, I am asking him one more time: did the Prime Minister verify with the Minister of Finance that the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner had allowed him to introduce his pension legislation, Bill C-27?

Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary budget officer's report on the 2017 fall economic statement came out today, and I have bad news. The budgetary outlook means more deficits as far as the eye can see. Now, the Minister of Finance appeared at the finance committee, and we did not ask just him once when the budget would be balanced, but 13 times. He evaded the question every single time. We asked him what day it would be balanced. He did not know. What week would it be balanced? He did not know. What decade would it be balanced? He did not know.Mr. Speaker, since Batman is not in the House today, is there any minister in the government who can tell us when the budget will be balanced?

Mr. Speaker, our government understands the importance of Arctic science as we address the challenges of climate change in the north. Recently, I joined the Minister of Environment and Climate Change to announce $1.6 million to continue the operations and research at this unique facility that monitors the changes we are seeing in the Arctic atmosphere and the environment. I want to thank the member for Guelph for his important work on this important issue.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance is working with the Ethics Commissioner, who is responsible for determining if there is conflict of interest, and that is what he has always done. Upon arriving in Ottawa, he did what is expected of all parliamentarians. He disclosed his situation transparently and acted on her recommendations to ensure he was complying with the laws and rules that govern us and the strictest ethical standards. That is what the minister did.

Mr. Speaker, that conflict of interest screen that was put in place following the recommendation of the Ethics Commissioner, which she deemed to be the best measure of compliance, was a measure that was good enough for the member for Milton and for Denis Lebel when they were in office. The finance minister has always worked with the Ethics Commissioner and will always work with the Ethics Commissioner. He has mentioned he would go above and beyond to continue the work that he has done remarkably well over the last two years for the Canadian economy and for Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, when the minister answered the call to public service, he did what is expected of every minister and parliamentarian. He sat down with the Ethics Commissioner and followed the recommendations she made based on his situation. She recommended that a conflict of interest screen be put in place. That is what she considered to be the best possible measure. Furthermore, it is important to bear in mind everything that the Minister of Finance has done in the past two years. He has reduced child poverty in this country by 40%, helped 900,000 seniors through the guaranteed income supplement, and created 500,000 jobs. That is a track record to be proud of.

Mr. Speaker, I believe that Canadians can trust that the Ethics Commissioner will do her job, will guide parliamentarians, and will ensure that the rules are obeyed in order to avoid any conflict of interest, real or perceived.The minister has always worked with the Ethics Commissioner from the very beginning. He put in place a conflict of interest screen, and the commissioner herself believed that it was the best option. The minister will continue to work with the Ethics Commissioner.

Mr. Speaker, I would be happy to. I thank my colleague from Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle for her excellent question.We are very proud that the World Anti-Doping Agency is going to stay in Montreal until at least 2031. This is a good example of co-operation between three levels of government. The City of Montreal, the Province of Quebec, and the federal government worked with Montréal International to keep this agency in the great Canadian city of Montreal until at least 2031.

Mr. Speaker, through our defence policy, our government is committed to providing unprecedented support to our people and their families. This government is committed to ensuring that our military members receive their fair compensation for their service to their country. That is why our government has recently approved a 6.3% pay raise for most of the military's members. In addition to their pay, our members are given allowances for performing unique duties and being exposed to higher risks and hardship. Most of these allowances are also benefiting from a 5.1% increase. Our members will be well compensated for the important work they do on behalf of our country.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to once again welcome my colleague from Lac-Saint-Jean.High-speed Internet is not a luxury. It is an essential service. That is why, yesterday, I announced an investment of over $290 million for all regions of Quebec. A total of 100,000 households will benefit. We will be announcing the details for each region in the near future. This investment will create many opportunities for all of the regions.

Mr. Speaker, however, the Ethics Commissioner did not recommend that the minister could introduce a bill on pensions while he had shares in a pension company. He made ill-gotten gains that he now claims he is going to give back to charity. That will entitle him to a massive tax break. There are numerous tax benefits people can get for donating to charity. Which one will the finance minister use?

Mr. Speaker, these days, reliable access to the Internet is critical and even vital to economic development. This is a major issue in rural Canada, where computer and telecommunications systems do not meet basic standards and access to broadband is limited or even non-existent.I am happy to have the opportunity to ask my colleague, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, how the connect to innovate program will provide Canadians with better Internet access.

Mr. Speaker, constituents in my riding of Guelph, like Pierre Fogal, who leads the PEARL research station, have been working on climate change research initiatives for many years, accumulating data for longitudinal studies. Climate science in the Canadian Arctic plays an important role globally in monitoring the effects of climate change. Can the Minister of Science please update this House as to how we are supporting this important research?

Mr. Speaker, as I have mentioned time and time again, the finance minister has always worked with the Ethics Commissioner in full transparency, disclosing all of his assets and following her recommendation, the path she set forward. On this side of the House, we respect the Ethics Commissioner's work, and we follow her recommendations to make sure that all rules are followed.

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister made his shares in Morneau Shepell go above and beyond. Let us break this down. He had shares in a pension company and introduced a pension bill. That pension bill was on targeted benefit pension plans. His company designs targeted benefit pension plans. The model of choice was New Brunswick. His company had designed New Brunswick's system of targeted benefit pension plans.Is there anything about his bill that was not previously written by his own company?

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Party's chief fundraiser sent money to a tax haven. This morning, the NDP asked that Stephen Bronfman appear before the Standing Committee on Finance. The Liberals refused.The Minister of Finance failed to put his assets in a blind trust. He also introduced Bill C-27, which helped Morneau Shepell rake in millions of dollars without running this by the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner. He is currently under investigation.Is that the Liberals' approach to governing?They do nothing about tax havens and introduce bills to get richer and to make their millionaire friends richer?

Mr. Speaker, in the last election, two parties, the Conservatives and the NDP, committed to balance the budget at all costs, including through cutting services—

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals' denying tax credits for diabetics and chronically ill Canadians is a heartless Liberal policy, and it gets worse. The Liberals' asinine policy of cutting pay for injured members of the Canadian Armed Forces is also wrong. These members have sustained mental and physical injuries in service of Canada, and instead of thanking them, what does the defence minister do? He cuts their pay.When will the Liberal government reverse this cold-hearted policy and actually start to support our injured troops and give back the money they deserve?

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance swore that he put his shares in a blind trust and then we learned that he never did. The Minister of Finance assured us that he had declared all his assets and then we learned that he was fined by the commissioner for failing to disclose a company. From the beginning of the session, the minister has repeated that he has always worked with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner and, oddly enough, today we read in the Globe and Mail that the minister never worked with the commissioner on his Bill C-27.Can the Prime Minister tell us why Canadians would still trust the Minister of Finance?

Mr. Speaker, for two years, the Minister of Finance led Canadians to believe that his personal assets were in a blind trust. That was not true. He controlled his millions of Morneau Shepell shares the entire time. He also said that he worked with the Ethics Commissioner before introducing pension reform legislation, legislation that just happened to benefit his family business. We know that was not true and she never signed off on that blatant conflict of interest.Why should Canadians trust the finance minister, when he is under investigation yet again for misleading Canadians and breaking the rules?

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Agriculture is not involved in the NAFTA and TPP negotiations, and supply management is being pummelled. Yesterday, the parliamentary secretary spread concern in the agriculture sector by refusing to confirm that supply management is excluded from the TPP. Meanwhile, the United States is getting more aggressive in demanding an end to supply management.Did the Prime Minister trade away supply management to make up for his insulting attitude towards the leaders of the 10 other TPP partners?Dairy, egg, and poultry producers want answers, not excuses.

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government did not create this mess, but we are going to fix this mess.

Mr. Speaker, Ottawa is handing off its problems to the provinces. It is not the Liberals who will have to deal with the health and safety problems caused by the legalization of cannabis. All they will do is collect the money and distribute licences to their cronies.The Quebec government and first nations are calling for a one-year delay on marijuana legalization. It is frankly irresponsible to forge ahead blindly when no one is ready.Can the Prime Minister explain just why legalizing pot is so urgent?

Mr. Speaker, this member wants to talk about what the Minister of Finance is doing for Canadians. We can talk about that.We can talk about the Canada child benefit, which has lifted 300,000 children out of poverty. We can talk about the guaranteed income supplement, which is helping 900,000 seniors living in poverty. We can talk about the 500,000 jobs he created. This is the most jobs created in the past 10 years. The Conservatives have the worst job creation record since the Second World War.That is what it means to work for Canadians, and that is what the minister has been doing for two years.

Mr. Speaker, for two years the finance minister sheltered millions in Morneau Shepell shares in a numbered company, shares that skyrocketed after he introduced pension reform legislation that benefited his family company. Now that he has been caught and forced to dispose of those shares, he says that he can now start to work for Canadians. I guess we know who he has been working for over the last two years. He misled Canadians about his personal assets. He misled Canadians about working with the Ethics Commissioner. He is under investigation yet again.Why should Canadians trust anything he says?

Mr. Speaker, that is not true. The Minister of Finance did not sit down with the Ethics Commissioner. He did so only after he was in conflict of interest.We know that Morneau Shepell deals in target benefit pension plans, and that is what the minister put forward in his Bill C-27.The question here is simple. How can the minister think that he is not in conflict of interest when he makes the laws that govern a business in which he holds shares? How can the Minister of Finance say that he is not in conflict of interest?

Mr. Speaker, when we ask about the Phoenix pay system fiasco, every answer from the Liberals is to blame the Conservatives for it. Against the advice of their experts and public servants, they decided to push the button. They cannot hide behind the Conservatives. They have underestimated the problems. They still do not have a comprehensive plan, and worse, they do not know the full extent and causes of those problems. While they act like amateurs, hundreds of thousands of public servants are feeling the pain.How long will the Liberals keep throwing good money after bad? Who will be held accountable and who will fix this mess?

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government bought this system, created this system, and we will fix this system. It is unacceptable that Canadians not be paid for the work they are doing. That is why we are working so hard with different ministries, public servants, and different unions to ensure that we fix this Phoenix pay system. It is something that Canadians expect, and it is something that we are going to fix.

Mr. Speaker, we can sit around and wait for the reports to come out, but in the meantime, the terrorists who went abroad to fight are coming back to Canada. We need information sooner rather than later.The other thing I wanted to mention is that the minister says he wants to create reintegration programs for ISIS fighters. Yesterday, the minister cited all kinds of reasons to justify his inability to arrest these traitors in Canada or provide any information about them.How can he tell Canadians their safety is not being jeopardized? Can he at least assure us that these people are under round-the-clock surveillance?

Mr. Speaker, as Canadians know, the former Conservative government bought the system, developed it, and fired the workers who were supposed to handle the transition.We are fixing Phoenix. We are working with the public service, with unions, and with all our private-sector partners to fix and improve the system. We are working hard because people not getting paid, not getting the money they are entitled to, is unacceptable.

Mr. Speaker, what is expected of all parliamentarians in the House is that they work with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner. The Minister of Finance did so as soon as he took office. He has always followed the recommendations of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, including setting up a screen to prevent conflicts of interest, which he did at the outset. That screen is still in place today. The minister announced that he would go the extra mile and divest himself of all his shares in Morneau Shepell and place all his assets in a blind trust so he could continue focusing on the important work he has been doing for two years. I can understand that the opposition members do not want to talk about the Minister of Finance's record, which includes 500,000 jobs and the lowest unemployment rate in 10 years, because such an achievement is beyond their wildest dreams.

The answer to that question should be all of them, Mr. Speaker.It concerns me that the minister will not give that number. I wonder what he is hiding, especially given the fact that the Prime Minister said yesterday that even one ISIS fighter posed a threat to this country. We know that these people have fought for a group that has beheaded people, burned allied soldiers, raped women, and indeed carried out terrorist attacks on countries around the world, including Canada. Why is every single one of these people not under 24-hour surveillance?

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to ensuring that all Canadians receive the benefits and credits to which they are entitled. We are introducing national legislation on persons with disabilities that will eliminate the obstacles by focusing on accessibility for all Canadians living with a disability. We have made it easier to access the disability tax credit. We simplified the forms. We are allowing specialized nurse practitioners to fill out the forms if the applicants do not have a doctor. In budget 2017, we continue to work for the most vulnerable.

Mr. Speaker, getting in touch with the Prime Minister's Canada Revenue Agency is notoriously difficult. The Auditor General reports that 29 million calls from Canadians went unanswered. Canadians who need advice on their tax situation are blocked, get a busy signal, are told to call back, or are disconnected, but when his friend, Stephen Bronfman, needed an answer on his tax situation, the Prime Minister answered the call pretty darn quick and gave him the answer that he was looking for.Why is it that Liberal friends get their calls answered and the answers they want and ordinary Canadians have to be put on hold?

Mr. Speaker, however, the Ethics Commissioner did not recommend that the minister could introduce a bill on pensions while he had shares in a pension company. He made ill-gotten gains that he now claims he is going to give back to charity. That will entitle him to a massive tax break. There are numerous tax benefits people can get for donating to charity. Which one will the finance minister use?

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. It is in reference to question period. I would like to seek unanimous consent to table documents that illustrate what the Leader of the Official Opposition was saying, that in fact there is Liberal culpability on the Phoenix pay fiasco.

Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary budget officer's report on the 2017 fall economic statement came out today, and I have bad news. The budgetary outlook means more deficits as far as the eye can see. Now, the Minister of Finance appeared at the finance committee, and we did not ask just him once when the budget would be balanced, but 13 times. He evaded the question every single time. We asked him what day it would be balanced. He did not know. What week would it be balanced? He did not know. What decade would it be balanced? He did not know.Mr. Speaker, since Batman is not in the House today, is there any minister in the government who can tell us when the budget will be balanced?

Mr. Speaker, do we all get the sense that even he does not believe his own spin anymore? The PM needs to change his slogan from “real change” to “Please hold. Your call is important to us. Waiting time is forever.” The Auditor General has exposed how the government is totally failing Canadians. CRA has been blocking half the calls, and the one-third that actually make it through get bad or wrong advice. For those looking to avoid paying their taxes, Liberals have a good answer for them. For Canadians trying to pay their taxes, they put them on hold. Let us all listen to the Prime Minister explain how this mess is helping out the middle class and those working hard to join it.

Mr. Speaker, I have asked the revenue minister the following question countless times and she refuses to come clean with Canadians. We have proof that the minister changed the policy interpretation for approving diabetics for the disability tax credit. Now 80% of the disability tax credit applicants who used to be approved are being rejected. She rejects 80% of vulnerable diabetics, but goes after 0% of wealthy Liberal friends hiding money offshore.When will the revenue minister focus efforts on real tax cheats instead of targeting the vulnerable?

Mr. Speaker, the government promised to invest billions of dollars in infrastructure, but we have now learned that over 20% of VIA Rail's fleet will be retired by 2024. To make matters worse, the negative impact of this decision will be felt in the Quebec-Windsor corridor as early as 2020. If nothing is done, communities in this corridor could lose their passenger rail service, and Canada will have squandered yet another opportunity to effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions.Does the Minister of Transport believe in passenger rail? If so, when will he take action and reinvest in VIA Rail?

Mr. Speaker, every member of this House, when they arrive to serve, works with the Ethics Commissioner to ensure that their personal situation, their financial situation, is in order and aligned with the high expectations that Canadians have of each of us in this House. The Minister of Finance worked with the Ethics Commissioner to ensure that the decisions he would take, whether it was putting in a screen or whether it was various personal dispositions, would ensure that Canadians could have confidence that everyone in this House is following the rules.

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated yesterday, the number is approximately 60. That is exactly the same number as under the previous government, of which the hon. gentleman is a defender. Yes, indeed, I can assure him that all of the police and security agencies of Canada are doing their job to make sure that the threat is properly contained.

Mr. Speaker, of course we are committed to passenger rail.That is why, in the 2016 budget, we allocated $7.7 million to look at replacing VIA Rail's fleet. We are working with VIA Rail and will replace the fleet in due course to continue providing modern facilities for Canadian rail passengers.

Mr. Speaker, these Liberals only work with the Ethics Commissioner after they get caught breaking the ethics laws.Therefore, let us be clear. Either the finance minister lied to the Prime Minister, or the Prime Minister did not even bother to ask, or the Prime Minister simply believes that Liberals are just above the rules. Which is it? Did anyone ever tell the Prime Minister that his finance minister was clear to table Bill C-27 before the bill was introduced in Parliament?

Mr. Speaker, this side of the House supports dairy, egg, and poultry producers and supply management. We have always been very clear and have said all along that we will continue to support our farmers and their families, as well as Canada's agricultural interests.My hon. colleagues opposite should speak to the member from Beauce and convince him to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister's so-called ethical screen gets weaker every day. After introducing Bill C-27, which helps his own family business, the only argument the minister has left is to say that he now miraculously has some integrity because he sold his shares and made a donation. What does the government have to say about the level of integrity he has shown over the past two years?Will the Prime Minister finally admit what all Canadians know, that his finance minister has been in a direct conflict of interest for the past two years?

Mr. Speaker, this is exactly what happens when governments choose to balance the books at all costs. They cut services to Canadians, and Canadians suffer. We are working hard to fix their messes. We are working hard to improve services for Canadians. We thank the Auditor General for his report, which is very helpful. We will endeavour to do even more to serve Canadians the way they need.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to have the chance to contrast our track record with that of my colleague opposite. Our government is fully committed to fighting tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance. In our last two budgets, we allocated nearly $1 billion to doing just that, and we are on track to recoup $25 billion. Our plan is working. We are targeting four jurisdictions a year, and we are working to finalize the hiring of 100 auditors. There have been 627 cases transferred to criminal investigations, 268 search warrants—

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for asking this very relevant question.This government is the first government that will put in place a poverty reduction strategy. We are working very hard with partners around the country, who have been waiting for us for a long time, to build this strategy. They are very dedicated to assisting us in making poverty something that is going to be not only falling over time but disappearing in the long term.

Mr. Speaker, all members of this House work with the Ethics Commissioner to ensure that their personal finances, their personal interests are in line with the expectations that Canadians have of all members of this House to live up to the high expectations of citizens. All of us, including the finance minister, work with the Ethics Commissioner and listen to and follow her counsel.

Mr. Speaker, Canadians expect the Prime Minister to safeguard integrity, but the Prime Minister is the first Canadian prime minister under investigation by the Ethics Commissioner; and the finance minister is being investigated for using his public powers to enrich himself and his family. He claims he worked with the Ethics Commissioner and that there was a so-called ethical screen in place, but apparently she was not aware they were working together because now she is investigating him for it, and obviously that screen was a wide-open window. At first, he also said he told her about his French company, but she did not know about that either and she fined him for hiding it. Again, how can Canadians trust the Prime Minister, the finance minister, or any of—

Mr. Speaker, let us lay out the facts for the Prime Minister. First, before entering “public service” the finance minister advocated for targeted pensions. That makes sense. He made millions off of it. Second, his company buys Mercer Canada that runs the pensions for 93,000 Canada Post workers and retirees. Then after being elected and still owning and controlling millions of dollars of shares in Morneau Shepell, he sponsors a bill that would benefit Morneau Shepell and himself personally.If this does not qualify as a conflict of interest in the heart and mind of the Prime Minister, then what does?

Mr. Speaker, what is expected of all parliamentarians is to work with the Ethics Commissioner, who is responsible to safeguard the integrity of this Parliament. The finance minister has always worked in full transparency with the Ethics Commissioner, has always followed her recommendations, will continue to do so, and of his own accord has decided to go above and beyond, divesting all his shares in Morneau Shepell, and placing all of his assets in a blind trust so that he can continue to do the important work and avoid any further distraction. I understand the opposition. Members do not want to talk about his record because, when it comes to the economy, he has steered the ship in the right direction for the last two years, creating half a million jobs.

Mr. Speaker, we were elected on a promise to improve services to Canadians.We recognize that we had a lot of work to do, because for years under the Conservative government, massive cuts were made to the Canada Revenue Agency. That is why, in our first budget, we invested $50 million to improve services to Canadians.However, we know that there is still a lot of work to be done, and we are working on it. We thank the Auditor General for his report, and we continue to work together.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance is working with the Ethics Commissioner, who is responsible for determining if there is conflict of interest, and that is what he has always done. Upon arriving in Ottawa, he did what is expected of all parliamentarians. He disclosed his situation transparently and acted on her recommendations to ensure he was complying with the laws and rules that govern us and the strictest ethical standards. That is what the minister did.

Mr. Speaker, it was the current government that said that the system was good to go. The Liberals have no idea what is causing the problem, nor do they know the extent of it, and to top it off, they are making the situation worse.The Auditor General made it clear that fixing Phoenix, if indeed it can be fixed, will take years and cost us over $1 billion. In response, the Prime Minister said the same thing he said last year, the same thing he said the year before, and the same thing he is likely to say a year from now.When Canadians buy something that does not work, they take it back for a refund.Have the Liberals kept the receipt so they can get their money back, or will Canadians end up paying for this?

Mr. Speaker, I did give the member the numbers yesterday. I would also inform him that, in the usual course, we publish an annual report on the threat assessment with respect to Canada. That is a normal thing that the Government of Canada does periodically to make sure Canadians are fully informed about the nature of the threats Canada faces.That next threat assessment will be made public in the course of the next several weeks. The hon. member and all Canadians will be able to be right up to date with all of the necessary information.

Mr. Speaker, if we place ourselves back in 2015 during the last election campaign, Canadians were wondering if we were in or heading into a recession. This government made smart investments in infrastructure and jump-started the Canada child benefit to make sure that our economy started growing again, and it has grown by 500,000 jobs over the last two years. I can say that we are very proud that our debt to GDP ratio has gone down from 32.5% when we took office to 30.5%, and will fall below the levels it was in 1977 in due time, in the course of the next few years.

That is ridiculous, Mr. Speaker. I bet that the accounts payable calls get answered pretty quickly under the Liberal government.Today we learned that the minister did not get the Ethics Commissioner's permission to introduce his pension legislation, even though he claimed otherwise. This legislation enables the exact product that his family's company specializes in and for which the finance minister himself lobbied for before he entered politics.Did the Prime Minister ever request assurances from the finance minister that he was working with the Ethics Commissioner before introducing the legislation?

Mr. Speaker, I think that the hon. member for Beauce knows how the House works, as well as the institutions that protect the integrity of the House. One institution that we on this side of the House respect is the Ethics Commissioner. We respect her judgment and her recommendations.After presenting his entire situation, the Minister of Finance followed every one of the Ethics Commissioner's recommendations and will continue to do so. He divested himself of all his shares in Morneau Shepell and made a charitable donation of the difference in value in his shares since the election. He announced that was putting all his assets in a blind trust so that he can continue the important work that he has been doing for Canadians for two years now.

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister made his shares in Morneau Shepell go above and beyond. Let us break this down. He had shares in a pension company and introduced a pension bill. That pension bill was on targeted benefit pension plans. His company designs targeted benefit pension plans. The model of choice was New Brunswick. His company had designed New Brunswick's system of targeted benefit pension plans.Is there anything about his bill that was not previously written by his own company?

Mr. Speaker, Campaign 2000's latest report has confirmed, yet again, staggering rates of poverty for indigenous children, both on and off reserve. The message from today's parliamentary budget officer's report is equally clear.If the Liberals are really serious about addressing child poverty, they need an action plan that includes concrete targets and a timeline to meet them. If two whole years in office were not enough for the government to act, can the Liberals tell us how much longer they are going to ask these children to wait?

Mr. Speaker, the police of this country, particularly the RCMP, but also in collaboration with all other police forces in Canada, and the CBSA at the border, and CSIS, our intelligence service, do the monitoring to make sure that every threat to the national security of Canada is properly monitored, surveilled, and investigated, and that when evidence is found of any offence, charges are laid.

Mr. Speaker, hello, you have reached the Canada Revenue Agency. Your call is important to us.Seriously, if you expect to speak with a person, good luck. Half the time your call will be blocked, and more often than not, you will not get through to a person. If you actually happen to speak to someone, there is a 30% chance that you will be given the wrong information. Have a nice day.While the Liberals allow their friends to get richer using tax havens, they are turning their backs on Canadians who could use a little help.Is this how the Liberals deliver public services to Canadians and Quebeckers?

Mr. Speaker, Canadians deserve easy access to accurate information from the Canada Revenue Agency.However, the Auditor General announced today that CRA call centre agents block nearly half of all the calls they receive.This Prime Minister is the one who is causing so much confusion and raising taxes for small businesses and middle-class families.Why then, when Canadians are looking for answers, does the Prime Minister respond with nothing more than a busy signal?

Mr. Speaker, I know that we are going to have a great discussion today about the Auditor General's report. It is an excellent report that will be very helpful for our government in improving services. We realize that there are things that we could have done better, and we will do better.However, at the same time, it is important to recognize the fact that the previous government's decision to spend 10 years cutting services, particularly near the end, so that it could balance its budget at any cost, was not without consequences. We are working hard to bring services to Canadians back to the way they should be, and we will continue to do so.

Mr. Speaker, the minister misled the House because he did not in fact work with the Ethics Commissioner. That is what we read today in the Globe and Mail. He decided to work with the commissioner only after he was in complete conflict of interest. That is what really happened. There are no ethics.It is important to note that he benefited from legislation. He got sums of money that drove up his shares on the stock market. He was in conflict of interest.Why does the Prime Minister continue to protect the Minister of Finance?

Mr. Speaker, these days, reliable access to the Internet is critical and even vital to economic development. This is a major issue in rural Canada, where computer and telecommunications systems do not meet basic standards and access to broadband is limited or even non-existent.I am happy to have the opportunity to ask my colleague, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, how the connect to innovate program will provide Canadians with better Internet access.

Mr. Speaker, the safety of passengers and the air transportation system remains a top priority. We periodically review the lists of permitted and non-permitted items. In this case, we decided to allow certain items with a view to harmonizing our policies with international standards. This had nothing to do with pleasing any particular group. It was done for one reason and one reason only, namely to ensure the safety of certain items that will be permitted or not permitted.

Mr. Speaker, with Trump's latest move, close to 60,000 Haitians in the U.S. may face deportation. This would no doubt lead to more Haitians trying to make irregular crossings to Canada. With winter setting in, it is dangerous, and no one wants to see more tragedies. It is time for Canada to reconsider the safe third country agreement. The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination's most recent report called on Canada to at least temporarily suspend the safe third country agreement. Will the government do just that?

Mr. Speaker, it seems the minister does not actually know how many Canadians have fought for ISIS or other terrorist groups around the world. The figures he gave us yesterday seem to contradict those put out by his own department. We know that some have returned to Canada, that some are planning to return, and that some did not have permission to travel abroad to fight because they were known to have hostile intentions.Can the minister finally give us the correct figures and show some transparency?

Mr. Speaker, yesterday we celebrated International Children's Rights Day, although there was really nothing worth celebrating. According to a Campaign 2000 report, nearly one child in five lives in a family that struggles with poverty. Even more disgraceful, one indigenous child in three living on reserve is poor.How is it that we are still in this situation in 2017? When will the government finally assume its responsibilities and lift all children out of poverty?

Mr. Speaker, Canada will always be an open and welcoming country for people seeking refuge. Our government will nevertheless ensure an orderly immigration process. We have always maintained that entering Canada irregularly does not guarantee status in this country. There are very strict rules that must be followed. We are stepping up our efforts to raise awareness among people likely to have their temporary status in the United States revoked. We want to make sure they are familiar with Canadian immigration laws.We will launch other awareness-raising initiatives led by MPs and government officials to make sure those affected know Canadian immigration laws.

Mr. Speaker, MPs on both sides of the House often engage in attacks that are sometimes personal and sometimes based on facts. That is how democracy works. That is how we know that a government is rigorous in the way it deals with various issues. However, we are working with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner to go beyond partisan politics and to make sure Canadians know that every person in this House follows the rules and is worthy of the confidence of Canadians. That is what the Minister of Finance did.

Mr. Speaker, the U.S. government announced that it will end temporary resident status for millions of Haitians living in the United States.This summer, many of those people chose to come to Canada. The government should have seen that coming, but it did not.Since we know something similar is likely to happen again in the coming months, will the government do what it should have done in the first place and suspend the safe third country agreement?

Mr. Speaker, when the minister answered the call to public service, he did what is expected of every minister and parliamentarian. He sat down with the Ethics Commissioner and followed the recommendations she made based on his situation. She recommended that a conflict of interest screen be put in place. That is what she considered to be the best possible measure. Furthermore, it is important to bear in mind everything that the Minister of Finance has done in the past two years. He has reduced child poverty in this country by 40%, helped 900,000 seniors through the guaranteed income supplement, and created 500,000 jobs. That is a track record to be proud of.

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member, I am sure, would not want me to engage in operational discussions on the floor of the House of Commons that could in fact disclose the security posture of the Government of Canada. What the hon. member needs to know is that the RCMP, CSIS, and all of the other relevant agencies of the Government of Canada are doing their job to take every necessary step to make sure that Canadians are safe, and at the same time that all of the rights and freedoms of Canadian citizens are properly respected.

Mr. Speaker, today we are going to be talking about the Auditor General's report, as we should. It is an excellent report and, actually, a very helpful report. We realize that there are many things that we could have done better and we will do better, and we thank the Auditor General for his work.At the same time, we have to understand that when the previous government chose to cut government services, particularly through the last years of its mandate, in order to balance the budget at all costs, there are consequences. We are working hard to restore services to Canadians at the level they expect and we have more work to do to fix the Conservatives' messes.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to once again welcome my colleague from Lac-Saint-Jean.High-speed Internet is not a luxury. It is an essential service. That is why, yesterday, I announced an investment of over $290 million for all regions of Quebec. A total of 100,000 households will benefit. We will be announcing the details for each region in the near future. This investment will create many opportunities for all of the regions.

Mr. Speaker, what all Canadians know is that, in this place, the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner is responsible for safeguarding the integrity of Parliament. Like us, Canadians expect all parliamentarians to work with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner and follow her recommendations. They expect her to tell each of us what to do based on our own individual circumstances. That is what the commissioner did for the Minister of Finance. He always followed her advice and recommendations. He will continue to work with her to live up to the highest standards of integrity that Canadians expect.

Mr. Speaker, my colleague opposite did not answer my colleague's question, so I will give him another chance. Of the number of people who have been identified as fighting for ISIS and have returned to Canada, how many of those persons are under 24-hour surveillance?

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to ensuring that all Canadians receive the credits and benefits to which they are entitled. I want to reiterate for my colleague opposite that the eligibility requirements for this tax credit have not changed. It is important to recognize that far too many Canadians are struggling and need help. In addition, we are making it possible for low-income workers to keep more of their hard-earned money by enhancing the working income tax benefit by an additional $500 million per year, starting in 2019. We are keeping the promises we made to Canadians and to those most in need.

Mr. Speaker, after all that overspending, the government has run out of taxpayer money. To replenish its coffers, the Liberals are picking the pockets of Canadians once again. This time, it is persons with disabilities who are paying the price. A person in my riding was denied the disability tax credit for the first time in 20 years. The reason provided was that his illness does not affect him 90% of the time.Why is this government counting the seconds when persons with disabilities are affected, but not the billions of dollars that the Prime Minister's friends are hiding in tax havens?

Mr. Speaker, as I have mentioned time and time again, the finance minister has always worked with the Ethics Commissioner in full transparency, disclosing all of his assets and following her recommendation, the path she set forward. On this side of the House, we respect the Ethics Commissioner's work, and we follow her recommendations to make sure that all rules are followed.

Mr. Speaker, our government understands the importance of Arctic science as we address the challenges of climate change in the north. Recently, I joined the Minister of Environment and Climate Change to announce $1.6 million to continue the operations and research at this unique facility that monitors the changes we are seeing in the Arctic atmosphere and the environment. I want to thank the member for Guelph for his important work on this important issue.

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and the finance minister are the two most powerful lawmakers in Canada. The finance minister's Bill C-27 will directly benefit his billion dollar family business, Morneau Shepell, and he still held shares in Morneau Shepell when he introduced that bill. The Prime Minister and the finance minister and his staff all claim he has been working with the Ethics Commissioner from the start, but now, the Prime Minister and two of his cabinet ministers are under investigation by the Ethics Commissioner. How can Canadians trust the Prime Minister?

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to stand up to speak to Bill C-45, which is currently being debated. Our government has been and will always be committed to moving forward to legalize, strictly regulate, and restrict access to cannabis in order to keep it out of the hands of children and the proceeds out of the hands of criminals. We are going to continue to work collaboratively with the provinces and territories and municipalities, based on the robust consultation that we have done through the task force through engaging with Canadians, to ensure that we have a robust framework for the legalization and strict regulation of cannabis in July 2018.

Mr. Speaker, constituents in my riding of Guelph, like Pierre Fogal, who leads the PEARL research station, have been working on climate change research initiatives for many years, accumulating data for longitudinal studies. Climate science in the Canadian Arctic plays an important role globally in monitoring the effects of climate change. Can the Minister of Science please update this House as to how we are supporting this important research?

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank and congratulate my colleague on her question.I wish to remind my colleague that our government takes poverty among families and children very seriously. I would like to remind her that, across Canada, the families of six million children are currently receiving a Canada child benefit that is better and worth more than the one provided by the previous government. This also means we are lifting 300,000 children out of poverty, which will translate into the lowest child poverty rate in the history of Canada and the greatest poverty reduction ever achieved in our great nation.

Mr. Speaker, through our defence policy, our government is committed to providing unprecedented support to our people and their families. This government is committed to ensuring that our military members receive their fair compensation for their service to their country. That is why our government has recently approved a 6.3% pay raise for most of the military's members. In addition to their pay, our members are given allowances for performing unique duties and being exposed to higher risks and hardship. Most of these allowances are also benefiting from a 5.1% increase. Our members will be well compensated for the important work they do on behalf of our country.

Mr. Speaker, that conflict of interest screen that was put in place following the recommendation of the Ethics Commissioner, which she deemed to be the best measure of compliance, was a measure that was good enough for the member for Milton and for Denis Lebel when they were in office. The finance minister has always worked with the Ethics Commissioner and will always work with the Ethics Commissioner. He has mentioned he would go above and beyond to continue the work that he has done remarkably well over the last two years for the Canadian economy and for Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, as I just said, we have always maintained that anyone who crosses irregularly into Canada will not have guaranteed status in Canada. We are intensifying our efforts to raise awareness among people likely to have their temporary protection in the United States taken away, to make sure that they are familiar with Canada's immigration laws.Many members will be going to the U.S., and some are there now, to make sure that people are familiar with our immigration laws and know how our asylum system works.

The Minister of Transport went to Paris in September and to Seoul last week on behalf of the federal government to support keeping the World Anti-Doping Agency's headquarters in Montreal. Montrealers are proud that their city has been home to the agency's headquarters since 2001.Can the minister tell my constituents and all Montrealers about the work our governments are doing to keep the agency's headquarters in Montreal?

Mr. Speaker, the nail care lobby seems to have a lot of influence with the Minister of Transport. His claim that six-centimetre blades will allow people to clean their nails on the plane is ludicrous. There is no reason to allow knives in an aircraft cabin when they can easily be stowed in the hold. Will the minister listen to reason and leave knives on the prohibited items list?

Mr. Speaker, I would be happy to. I thank my colleague from Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle for her excellent question.We are very proud that the World Anti-Doping Agency is going to stay in Montreal until at least 2031. This is a good example of co-operation between three levels of government. The City of Montreal, the Province of Quebec, and the federal government worked with Montréal International to keep this agency in the great Canadian city of Montreal until at least 2031.

Mr. Speaker, I believe that Canadians can trust that the Ethics Commissioner will do her job, will guide parliamentarians, and will ensure that the rules are obeyed in order to avoid any conflict of interest, real or perceived.The minister has always worked with the Ethics Commissioner from the very beginning. He put in place a conflict of interest screen, and the commissioner herself believed that it was the best option. The minister will continue to work with the Ethics Commissioner.

Mr. Speaker, just yesterday, the Prime Minister said that the Minister of Finance had always worked closely with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner.Therefore, I am asking him one more time: did the Prime Minister verify with the Minister of Finance that the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner had allowed him to introduce his pension legislation, Bill C-27?

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance introduced Bill C-27 to ensure that Canadians have a secure and stable retirement, so that they may live out their retirement with dignity. The Minister of Finance has always worked with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner. He followed through on her recommendation to set up a conflict of interest screen. The commissioner felt that this was the best way to prevent any appearance of conflict of interest or any conflict of interest. The Minister of Finance will continue to work with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner to ensure that all the rules are followed and he will continue to serve Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance introduced Bill C-27 to ensure that Canadians have a secure and stable retirement, so that they may live out their retirement with dignity. The Minister of Finance has always worked with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner. He followed through on her recommendation to set up a conflict of interest screen. The commissioner felt that this was the best way to prevent any appearance of conflict of interest or any conflict of interest. The Minister of Finance will continue to work with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner to ensure that all the rules are followed and he will continue to serve Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, just yesterday, the Prime Minister said that the Minister of Finance had always worked closely with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner.Therefore, I am asking him one more time: did the Prime Minister verify with the Minister of Finance that the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner had allowed him to introduce his pension legislation, Bill C-27?

Mr. Speaker, I believe that Canadians can trust that the Ethics Commissioner will do her job, will guide parliamentarians, and will ensure that the rules are obeyed in order to avoid any conflict of interest, real or perceived.The minister has always worked with the Ethics Commissioner from the very beginning. He put in place a conflict of interest screen, and the commissioner herself believed that it was the best option. The minister will continue to work with the Ethics Commissioner.

Mr. Speaker, I would be happy to. I thank my colleague from Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle for her excellent question.We are very proud that the World Anti-Doping Agency is going to stay in Montreal until at least 2031. This is a good example of co-operation between three levels of government. The City of Montreal, the Province of Quebec, and the federal government worked with Montréal International to keep this agency in the great Canadian city of Montreal until at least 2031.

The Minister of Transport went to Paris in September and to Seoul last week on behalf of the federal government to support keeping the World Anti-Doping Agency's headquarters in Montreal. Montrealers are proud that their city has been home to the agency's headquarters since 2001.Can the minister tell my constituents and all Montrealers about the work our governments are doing to keep the agency's headquarters in Montreal?

Mr. Speaker, the nail care lobby seems to have a lot of influence with the Minister of Transport. His claim that six-centimetre blades will allow people to clean their nails on the plane is ludicrous. There is no reason to allow knives in an aircraft cabin when they can easily be stowed in the hold. Will the minister listen to reason and leave knives on the prohibited items list?

Mr. Speaker, that conflict of interest screen that was put in place following the recommendation of the Ethics Commissioner, which she deemed to be the best measure of compliance, was a measure that was good enough for the member for Milton and for Denis Lebel when they were in office. The finance minister has always worked with the Ethics Commissioner and will always work with the Ethics Commissioner. He has mentioned he would go above and beyond to continue the work that he has done remarkably well over the last two years for the Canadian economy and for Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, as I just said, we have always maintained that anyone who crosses irregularly into Canada will not have guaranteed status in Canada. We are intensifying our efforts to raise awareness among people likely to have their temporary protection in the United States taken away, to make sure that they are familiar with Canada's immigration laws.Many members will be going to the U.S., and some are there now, to make sure that people are familiar with our immigration laws and know how our asylum system works.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank and congratulate my colleague on her question.I wish to remind my colleague that our government takes poverty among families and children very seriously. I would like to remind her that, across Canada, the families of six million children are currently receiving a Canada child benefit that is better and worth more than the one provided by the previous government. This also means we are lifting 300,000 children out of poverty, which will translate into the lowest child poverty rate in the history of Canada and the greatest poverty reduction ever achieved in our great nation.

Mr. Speaker, through our defence policy, our government is committed to providing unprecedented support to our people and their families. This government is committed to ensuring that our military members receive their fair compensation for their service to their country. That is why our government has recently approved a 6.3% pay raise for most of the military's members. In addition to their pay, our members are given allowances for performing unique duties and being exposed to higher risks and hardship. Most of these allowances are also benefiting from a 5.1% increase. Our members will be well compensated for the important work they do on behalf of our country.

Mr. Speaker, constituents in my riding of Guelph, like Pierre Fogal, who leads the PEARL research station, have been working on climate change research initiatives for many years, accumulating data for longitudinal studies. Climate science in the Canadian Arctic plays an important role globally in monitoring the effects of climate change. Can the Minister of Science please update this House as to how we are supporting this important research?

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and the finance minister are the two most powerful lawmakers in Canada. The finance minister's Bill C-27 will directly benefit his billion dollar family business, Morneau Shepell, and he still held shares in Morneau Shepell when he introduced that bill. The Prime Minister and the finance minister and his staff all claim he has been working with the Ethics Commissioner from the start, but now, the Prime Minister and two of his cabinet ministers are under investigation by the Ethics Commissioner. How can Canadians trust the Prime Minister?

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to stand up to speak to Bill C-45, which is currently being debated. Our government has been and will always be committed to moving forward to legalize, strictly regulate, and restrict access to cannabis in order to keep it out of the hands of children and the proceeds out of the hands of criminals. We are going to continue to work collaboratively with the provinces and territories and municipalities, based on the robust consultation that we have done through the task force through engaging with Canadians, to ensure that we have a robust framework for the legalization and strict regulation of cannabis in July 2018.

Mr. Speaker, our government understands the importance of Arctic science as we address the challenges of climate change in the north. Recently, I joined the Minister of Environment and Climate Change to announce $1.6 million to continue the operations and research at this unique facility that monitors the changes we are seeing in the Arctic atmosphere and the environment. I want to thank the member for Guelph for his important work on this important issue.

Mr. Speaker, as I have mentioned time and time again, the finance minister has always worked with the Ethics Commissioner in full transparency, disclosing all of his assets and following her recommendation, the path she set forward. On this side of the House, we respect the Ethics Commissioner's work, and we follow her recommendations to make sure that all rules are followed.

Mr. Speaker, my colleague opposite did not answer my colleague's question, so I will give him another chance. Of the number of people who have been identified as fighting for ISIS and have returned to Canada, how many of those persons are under 24-hour surveillance?

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to ensuring that all Canadians receive the credits and benefits to which they are entitled. I want to reiterate for my colleague opposite that the eligibility requirements for this tax credit have not changed. It is important to recognize that far too many Canadians are struggling and need help. In addition, we are making it possible for low-income workers to keep more of their hard-earned money by enhancing the working income tax benefit by an additional $500 million per year, starting in 2019. We are keeping the promises we made to Canadians and to those most in need.

Mr. Speaker, after all that overspending, the government has run out of taxpayer money. To replenish its coffers, the Liberals are picking the pockets of Canadians once again. This time, it is persons with disabilities who are paying the price. A person in my riding was denied the disability tax credit for the first time in 20 years. The reason provided was that his illness does not affect him 90% of the time.Why is this government counting the seconds when persons with disabilities are affected, but not the billions of dollars that the Prime Minister's friends are hiding in tax havens?

Mr. Speaker, what all Canadians know is that, in this place, the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner is responsible for safeguarding the integrity of Parliament. Like us, Canadians expect all parliamentarians to work with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner and follow her recommendations. They expect her to tell each of us what to do based on our own individual circumstances. That is what the commissioner did for the Minister of Finance. He always followed her advice and recommendations. He will continue to work with her to live up to the highest standards of integrity that Canadians expect.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to once again welcome my colleague from Lac-Saint-Jean.High-speed Internet is not a luxury. It is an essential service. That is why, yesterday, I announced an investment of over $290 million for all regions of Quebec. A total of 100,000 households will benefit. We will be announcing the details for each region in the near future. This investment will create many opportunities for all of the regions.

Mr. Speaker, today we are going to be talking about the Auditor General's report, as we should. It is an excellent report and, actually, a very helpful report. We realize that there are many things that we could have done better and we will do better, and we thank the Auditor General for his work.At the same time, we have to understand that when the previous government chose to cut government services, particularly through the last years of its mandate, in order to balance the budget at all costs, there are consequences. We are working hard to restore services to Canadians at the level they expect and we have more work to do to fix the Conservatives' messes.

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member, I am sure, would not want me to engage in operational discussions on the floor of the House of Commons that could in fact disclose the security posture of the Government of Canada. What the hon. member needs to know is that the RCMP, CSIS, and all of the other relevant agencies of the Government of Canada are doing their job to take every necessary step to make sure that Canadians are safe, and at the same time that all of the rights and freedoms of Canadian citizens are properly respected.

Mr. Speaker, when the minister answered the call to public service, he did what is expected of every minister and parliamentarian. He sat down with the Ethics Commissioner and followed the recommendations she made based on his situation. She recommended that a conflict of interest screen be put in place. That is what she considered to be the best possible measure. Furthermore, it is important to bear in mind everything that the Minister of Finance has done in the past two years. He has reduced child poverty in this country by 40%, helped 900,000 seniors through the guaranteed income supplement, and created 500,000 jobs. That is a track record to be proud of.

Mr. Speaker, MPs on both sides of the House often engage in attacks that are sometimes personal and sometimes based on facts. That is how democracy works. That is how we know that a government is rigorous in the way it deals with various issues. However, we are working with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner to go beyond partisan politics and to make sure Canadians know that every person in this House follows the rules and is worthy of the confidence of Canadians. That is what the Minister of Finance did.

Mr. Speaker, the U.S. government announced that it will end temporary resident status for millions of Haitians living in the United States.This summer, many of those people chose to come to Canada. The government should have seen that coming, but it did not.Since we know something similar is likely to happen again in the coming months, will the government do what it should have done in the first place and suspend the safe third country agreement?

Mr. Speaker, yesterday we celebrated International Children's Rights Day, although there was really nothing worth celebrating. According to a Campaign 2000 report, nearly one child in five lives in a family that struggles with poverty. Even more disgraceful, one indigenous child in three living on reserve is poor.How is it that we are still in this situation in 2017? When will the government finally assume its responsibilities and lift all children out of poverty?

Mr. Speaker, Canada will always be an open and welcoming country for people seeking refuge. Our government will nevertheless ensure an orderly immigration process. We have always maintained that entering Canada irregularly does not guarantee status in this country. There are very strict rules that must be followed. We are stepping up our efforts to raise awareness among people likely to have their temporary status in the United States revoked. We want to make sure they are familiar with Canadian immigration laws.We will launch other awareness-raising initiatives led by MPs and government officials to make sure those affected know Canadian immigration laws.

Mr. Speaker, it seems the minister does not actually know how many Canadians have fought for ISIS or other terrorist groups around the world. The figures he gave us yesterday seem to contradict those put out by his own department. We know that some have returned to Canada, that some are planning to return, and that some did not have permission to travel abroad to fight because they were known to have hostile intentions.Can the minister finally give us the correct figures and show some transparency?

Mr. Speaker, with Trump's latest move, close to 60,000 Haitians in the U.S. may face deportation. This would no doubt lead to more Haitians trying to make irregular crossings to Canada. With winter setting in, it is dangerous, and no one wants to see more tragedies. It is time for Canada to reconsider the safe third country agreement. The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination's most recent report called on Canada to at least temporarily suspend the safe third country agreement. Will the government do just that?

Mr. Speaker, the safety of passengers and the air transportation system remains a top priority. We periodically review the lists of permitted and non-permitted items. In this case, we decided to allow certain items with a view to harmonizing our policies with international standards. This had nothing to do with pleasing any particular group. It was done for one reason and one reason only, namely to ensure the safety of certain items that will be permitted or not permitted.

Mr. Speaker, these days, reliable access to the Internet is critical and even vital to economic development. This is a major issue in rural Canada, where computer and telecommunications systems do not meet basic standards and access to broadband is limited or even non-existent.I am happy to have the opportunity to ask my colleague, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, how the connect to innovate program will provide Canadians with better Internet access.

Mr. Speaker, the minister misled the House because he did not in fact work with the Ethics Commissioner. That is what we read today in the Globe and Mail. He decided to work with the commissioner only after he was in complete conflict of interest. That is what really happened. There are no ethics.It is important to note that he benefited from legislation. He got sums of money that drove up his shares on the stock market. He was in conflict of interest.Why does the Prime Minister continue to protect the Minister of Finance?

Mr. Speaker, I know that we are going to have a great discussion today about the Auditor General's report. It is an excellent report that will be very helpful for our government in improving services. We realize that there are things that we could have done better, and we will do better.However, at the same time, it is important to recognize the fact that the previous government's decision to spend 10 years cutting services, particularly near the end, so that it could balance its budget at any cost, was not without consequences. We are working hard to bring services to Canadians back to the way they should be, and we will continue to do so.

Mr. Speaker, Canadians deserve easy access to accurate information from the Canada Revenue Agency.However, the Auditor General announced today that CRA call centre agents block nearly half of all the calls they receive.This Prime Minister is the one who is causing so much confusion and raising taxes for small businesses and middle-class families.Why then, when Canadians are looking for answers, does the Prime Minister respond with nothing more than a busy signal?

Mr. Speaker, hello, you have reached the Canada Revenue Agency. Your call is important to us.Seriously, if you expect to speak with a person, good luck. Half the time your call will be blocked, and more often than not, you will not get through to a person. If you actually happen to speak to someone, there is a 30% chance that you will be given the wrong information. Have a nice day.While the Liberals allow their friends to get richer using tax havens, they are turning their backs on Canadians who could use a little help.Is this how the Liberals deliver public services to Canadians and Quebeckers?

Mr. Speaker, the police of this country, particularly the RCMP, but also in collaboration with all other police forces in Canada, and the CBSA at the border, and CSIS, our intelligence service, do the monitoring to make sure that every threat to the national security of Canada is properly monitored, surveilled, and investigated, and that when evidence is found of any offence, charges are laid.

Mr. Speaker, Campaign 2000's latest report has confirmed, yet again, staggering rates of poverty for indigenous children, both on and off reserve. The message from today's parliamentary budget officer's report is equally clear.If the Liberals are really serious about addressing child poverty, they need an action plan that includes concrete targets and a timeline to meet them. If two whole years in office were not enough for the government to act, can the Liberals tell us how much longer they are going to ask these children to wait?

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister made his shares in Morneau Shepell go above and beyond. Let us break this down. He had shares in a pension company and introduced a pension bill. That pension bill was on targeted benefit pension plans. His company designs targeted benefit pension plans. The model of choice was New Brunswick. His company had designed New Brunswick's system of targeted benefit pension plans.Is there anything about his bill that was not previously written by his own company?

That is ridiculous, Mr. Speaker. I bet that the accounts payable calls get answered pretty quickly under the Liberal government.Today we learned that the minister did not get the Ethics Commissioner's permission to introduce his pension legislation, even though he claimed otherwise. This legislation enables the exact product that his family's company specializes in and for which the finance minister himself lobbied for before he entered politics.Did the Prime Minister ever request assurances from the finance minister that he was working with the Ethics Commissioner before introducing the legislation?

Mr. Speaker, I think that the hon. member for Beauce knows how the House works, as well as the institutions that protect the integrity of the House. One institution that we on this side of the House respect is the Ethics Commissioner. We respect her judgment and her recommendations.After presenting his entire situation, the Minister of Finance followed every one of the Ethics Commissioner's recommendations and will continue to do so. He divested himself of all his shares in Morneau Shepell and made a charitable donation of the difference in value in his shares since the election. He announced that was putting all his assets in a blind trust so that he can continue the important work that he has been doing for Canadians for two years now.

Mr. Speaker, if we place ourselves back in 2015 during the last election campaign, Canadians were wondering if we were in or heading into a recession. This government made smart investments in infrastructure and jump-started the Canada child benefit to make sure that our economy started growing again, and it has grown by 500,000 jobs over the last two years. I can say that we are very proud that our debt to GDP ratio has gone down from 32.5% when we took office to 30.5%, and will fall below the levels it was in 1977 in due time, in the course of the next few years.

Mr. Speaker, I did give the member the numbers yesterday. I would also inform him that, in the usual course, we publish an annual report on the threat assessment with respect to Canada. That is a normal thing that the Government of Canada does periodically to make sure Canadians are fully informed about the nature of the threats Canada faces.That next threat assessment will be made public in the course of the next several weeks. The hon. member and all Canadians will be able to be right up to date with all of the necessary information.

Mr. Speaker, it was the current government that said that the system was good to go. The Liberals have no idea what is causing the problem, nor do they know the extent of it, and to top it off, they are making the situation worse.The Auditor General made it clear that fixing Phoenix, if indeed it can be fixed, will take years and cost us over $1 billion. In response, the Prime Minister said the same thing he said last year, the same thing he said the year before, and the same thing he is likely to say a year from now.When Canadians buy something that does not work, they take it back for a refund.Have the Liberals kept the receipt so they can get their money back, or will Canadians end up paying for this?

Mr. Speaker, we were elected on a promise to improve services to Canadians.We recognize that we had a lot of work to do, because for years under the Conservative government, massive cuts were made to the Canada Revenue Agency. That is why, in our first budget, we invested $50 million to improve services to Canadians.However, we know that there is still a lot of work to be done, and we are working on it. We thank the Auditor General for his report, and we continue to work together.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance is working with the Ethics Commissioner, who is responsible for determining if there is conflict of interest, and that is what he has always done. Upon arriving in Ottawa, he did what is expected of all parliamentarians. He disclosed his situation transparently and acted on her recommendations to ensure he was complying with the laws and rules that govern us and the strictest ethical standards. That is what the minister did.

Mr. Speaker, what is expected of all parliamentarians is to work with the Ethics Commissioner, who is responsible to safeguard the integrity of this Parliament. The finance minister has always worked in full transparency with the Ethics Commissioner, has always followed her recommendations, will continue to do so, and of his own accord has decided to go above and beyond, divesting all his shares in Morneau Shepell, and placing all of his assets in a blind trust so that he can continue to do the important work and avoid any further distraction. I understand the opposition. Members do not want to talk about his record because, when it comes to the economy, he has steered the ship in the right direction for the last two years, creating half a million jobs.

Mr. Speaker, let us lay out the facts for the Prime Minister. First, before entering “public service” the finance minister advocated for targeted pensions. That makes sense. He made millions off of it. Second, his company buys Mercer Canada that runs the pensions for 93,000 Canada Post workers and retirees. Then after being elected and still owning and controlling millions of dollars of shares in Morneau Shepell, he sponsors a bill that would benefit Morneau Shepell and himself personally.If this does not qualify as a conflict of interest in the heart and mind of the Prime Minister, then what does?

Mr. Speaker, Canadians expect the Prime Minister to safeguard integrity, but the Prime Minister is the first Canadian prime minister under investigation by the Ethics Commissioner; and the finance minister is being investigated for using his public powers to enrich himself and his family. He claims he worked with the Ethics Commissioner and that there was a so-called ethical screen in place, but apparently she was not aware they were working together because now she is investigating him for it, and obviously that screen was a wide-open window. At first, he also said he told her about his French company, but she did not know about that either and she fined him for hiding it. Again, how can Canadians trust the Prime Minister, the finance minister, or any of—

Mr. Speaker, all members of this House work with the Ethics Commissioner to ensure that their personal finances, their personal interests are in line with the expectations that Canadians have of all members of this House to live up to the high expectations of citizens. All of us, including the finance minister, work with the Ethics Commissioner and listen to and follow her counsel.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for asking this very relevant question.This government is the first government that will put in place a poverty reduction strategy. We are working very hard with partners around the country, who have been waiting for us for a long time, to build this strategy. They are very dedicated to assisting us in making poverty something that is going to be not only falling over time but disappearing in the long term.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to have the chance to contrast our track record with that of my colleague opposite. Our government is fully committed to fighting tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance. In our last two budgets, we allocated nearly $1 billion to doing just that, and we are on track to recoup $25 billion. Our plan is working. We are targeting four jurisdictions a year, and we are working to finalize the hiring of 100 auditors. There have been 627 cases transferred to criminal investigations, 268 search warrants—

Mr. Speaker, this is exactly what happens when governments choose to balance the books at all costs. They cut services to Canadians, and Canadians suffer. We are working hard to fix their messes. We are working hard to improve services for Canadians. We thank the Auditor General for his report, which is very helpful. We will endeavour to do even more to serve Canadians the way they need.

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister's so-called ethical screen gets weaker every day. After introducing Bill C-27, which helps his own family business, the only argument the minister has left is to say that he now miraculously has some integrity because he sold his shares and made a donation. What does the government have to say about the level of integrity he has shown over the past two years?Will the Prime Minister finally admit what all Canadians know, that his finance minister has been in a direct conflict of interest for the past two years?

Mr. Speaker, this side of the House supports dairy, egg, and poultry producers and supply management. We have always been very clear and have said all along that we will continue to support our farmers and their families, as well as Canada's agricultural interests.My hon. colleagues opposite should speak to the member from Beauce and convince him to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, these Liberals only work with the Ethics Commissioner after they get caught breaking the ethics laws.Therefore, let us be clear. Either the finance minister lied to the Prime Minister, or the Prime Minister did not even bother to ask, or the Prime Minister simply believes that Liberals are just above the rules. Which is it? Did anyone ever tell the Prime Minister that his finance minister was clear to table Bill C-27 before the bill was introduced in Parliament?

Mr. Speaker, of course we are committed to passenger rail.That is why, in the 2016 budget, we allocated $7.7 million to look at replacing VIA Rail's fleet. We are working with VIA Rail and will replace the fleet in due course to continue providing modern facilities for Canadian rail passengers.

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated yesterday, the number is approximately 60. That is exactly the same number as under the previous government, of which the hon. gentleman is a defender. Yes, indeed, I can assure him that all of the police and security agencies of Canada are doing their job to make sure that the threat is properly contained.

Mr. Speaker, every member of this House, when they arrive to serve, works with the Ethics Commissioner to ensure that their personal situation, their financial situation, is in order and aligned with the high expectations that Canadians have of each of us in this House. The Minister of Finance worked with the Ethics Commissioner to ensure that the decisions he would take, whether it was putting in a screen or whether it was various personal dispositions, would ensure that Canadians could have confidence that everyone in this House is following the rules.

Mr. Speaker, the government promised to invest billions of dollars in infrastructure, but we have now learned that over 20% of VIA Rail's fleet will be retired by 2024. To make matters worse, the negative impact of this decision will be felt in the Quebec-Windsor corridor as early as 2020. If nothing is done, communities in this corridor could lose their passenger rail service, and Canada will have squandered yet another opportunity to effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions.Does the Minister of Transport believe in passenger rail? If so, when will he take action and reinvest in VIA Rail?

Mr. Speaker, I have asked the revenue minister the following question countless times and she refuses to come clean with Canadians. We have proof that the minister changed the policy interpretation for approving diabetics for the disability tax credit. Now 80% of the disability tax credit applicants who used to be approved are being rejected. She rejects 80% of vulnerable diabetics, but goes after 0% of wealthy Liberal friends hiding money offshore.When will the revenue minister focus efforts on real tax cheats instead of targeting the vulnerable?

Mr. Speaker, do we all get the sense that even he does not believe his own spin anymore? The PM needs to change his slogan from “real change” to “Please hold. Your call is important to us. Waiting time is forever.” The Auditor General has exposed how the government is totally failing Canadians. CRA has been blocking half the calls, and the one-third that actually make it through get bad or wrong advice. For those looking to avoid paying their taxes, Liberals have a good answer for them. For Canadians trying to pay their taxes, they put them on hold. Let us all listen to the Prime Minister explain how this mess is helping out the middle class and those working hard to join it.

Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary budget officer's report on the 2017 fall economic statement came out today, and I have bad news. The budgetary outlook means more deficits as far as the eye can see. Now, the Minister of Finance appeared at the finance committee, and we did not ask just him once when the budget would be balanced, but 13 times. He evaded the question every single time. We asked him what day it would be balanced. He did not know. What week would it be balanced? He did not know. What decade would it be balanced? He did not know.Mr. Speaker, since Batman is not in the House today, is there any minister in the government who can tell us when the budget will be balanced?

Mr. Speaker, however, the Ethics Commissioner did not recommend that the minister could introduce a bill on pensions while he had shares in a pension company. He made ill-gotten gains that he now claims he is going to give back to charity. That will entitle him to a massive tax break. There are numerous tax benefits people can get for donating to charity. Which one will the finance minister use?

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. It is in reference to question period. I would like to seek unanimous consent to table documents that illustrate what the Leader of the Official Opposition was saying, that in fact there is Liberal culpability on the Phoenix pay fiasco.

Mr. Speaker, getting in touch with the Prime Minister's Canada Revenue Agency is notoriously difficult. The Auditor General reports that 29 million calls from Canadians went unanswered. Canadians who need advice on their tax situation are blocked, get a busy signal, are told to call back, or are disconnected, but when his friend, Stephen Bronfman, needed an answer on his tax situation, the Prime Minister answered the call pretty darn quick and gave him the answer that he was looking for.Why is it that Liberal friends get their calls answered and the answers they want and ordinary Canadians have to be put on hold?

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to ensuring that all Canadians receive the benefits and credits to which they are entitled. We are introducing national legislation on persons with disabilities that will eliminate the obstacles by focusing on accessibility for all Canadians living with a disability. We have made it easier to access the disability tax credit. We simplified the forms. We are allowing specialized nurse practitioners to fill out the forms if the applicants do not have a doctor. In budget 2017, we continue to work for the most vulnerable.

The answer to that question should be all of them, Mr. Speaker.It concerns me that the minister will not give that number. I wonder what he is hiding, especially given the fact that the Prime Minister said yesterday that even one ISIS fighter posed a threat to this country. We know that these people have fought for a group that has beheaded people, burned allied soldiers, raped women, and indeed carried out terrorist attacks on countries around the world, including Canada. Why is every single one of these people not under 24-hour surveillance?

Mr. Speaker, what is expected of all parliamentarians in the House is that they work with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner. The Minister of Finance did so as soon as he took office. He has always followed the recommendations of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, including setting up a screen to prevent conflicts of interest, which he did at the outset. That screen is still in place today. The minister announced that he would go the extra mile and divest himself of all his shares in Morneau Shepell and place all his assets in a blind trust so he could continue focusing on the important work he has been doing for two years. I can understand that the opposition members do not want to talk about the Minister of Finance's record, which includes 500,000 jobs and the lowest unemployment rate in 10 years, because such an achievement is beyond their wildest dreams.

Mr. Speaker, as Canadians know, the former Conservative government bought the system, developed it, and fired the workers who were supposed to handle the transition.We are fixing Phoenix. We are working with the public service, with unions, and with all our private-sector partners to fix and improve the system. We are working hard because people not getting paid, not getting the money they are entitled to, is unacceptable.

Mr. Speaker, we can sit around and wait for the reports to come out, but in the meantime, the terrorists who went abroad to fight are coming back to Canada. We need information sooner rather than later.The other thing I wanted to mention is that the minister says he wants to create reintegration programs for ISIS fighters. Yesterday, the minister cited all kinds of reasons to justify his inability to arrest these traitors in Canada or provide any information about them.How can he tell Canadians their safety is not being jeopardized? Can he at least assure us that these people are under round-the-clock surveillance?

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government bought this system, created this system, and we will fix this system. It is unacceptable that Canadians not be paid for the work they are doing. That is why we are working so hard with different ministries, public servants, and different unions to ensure that we fix this Phoenix pay system. It is something that Canadians expect, and it is something that we are going to fix.

Mr. Speaker, when we ask about the Phoenix pay system fiasco, every answer from the Liberals is to blame the Conservatives for it. Against the advice of their experts and public servants, they decided to push the button. They cannot hide behind the Conservatives. They have underestimated the problems. They still do not have a comprehensive plan, and worse, they do not know the full extent and causes of those problems. While they act like amateurs, hundreds of thousands of public servants are feeling the pain.How long will the Liberals keep throwing good money after bad? Who will be held accountable and who will fix this mess?

Mr. Speaker, that is not true. The Minister of Finance did not sit down with the Ethics Commissioner. He did so only after he was in conflict of interest.We know that Morneau Shepell deals in target benefit pension plans, and that is what the minister put forward in his Bill C-27.The question here is simple. How can the minister think that he is not in conflict of interest when he makes the laws that govern a business in which he holds shares? How can the Minister of Finance say that he is not in conflict of interest?

Mr. Speaker, for two years the finance minister sheltered millions in Morneau Shepell shares in a numbered company, shares that skyrocketed after he introduced pension reform legislation that benefited his family company. Now that he has been caught and forced to dispose of those shares, he says that he can now start to work for Canadians. I guess we know who he has been working for over the last two years. He misled Canadians about his personal assets. He misled Canadians about working with the Ethics Commissioner. He is under investigation yet again.Why should Canadians trust anything he says?

Mr. Speaker, this member wants to talk about what the Minister of Finance is doing for Canadians. We can talk about that.We can talk about the Canada child benefit, which has lifted 300,000 children out of poverty. We can talk about the guaranteed income supplement, which is helping 900,000 seniors living in poverty. We can talk about the 500,000 jobs he created. This is the most jobs created in the past 10 years. The Conservatives have the worst job creation record since the Second World War.That is what it means to work for Canadians, and that is what the minister has been doing for two years.

Mr. Speaker, Ottawa is handing off its problems to the provinces. It is not the Liberals who will have to deal with the health and safety problems caused by the legalization of cannabis. All they will do is collect the money and distribute licences to their cronies.The Quebec government and first nations are calling for a one-year delay on marijuana legalization. It is frankly irresponsible to forge ahead blindly when no one is ready.Can the Prime Minister explain just why legalizing pot is so urgent?

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government did not create this mess, but we are going to fix this mess.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Agriculture is not involved in the NAFTA and TPP negotiations, and supply management is being pummelled. Yesterday, the parliamentary secretary spread concern in the agriculture sector by refusing to confirm that supply management is excluded from the TPP. Meanwhile, the United States is getting more aggressive in demanding an end to supply management.Did the Prime Minister trade away supply management to make up for his insulting attitude towards the leaders of the 10 other TPP partners?Dairy, egg, and poultry producers want answers, not excuses.

Mr. Speaker, for two years, the Minister of Finance led Canadians to believe that his personal assets were in a blind trust. That was not true. He controlled his millions of Morneau Shepell shares the entire time. He also said that he worked with the Ethics Commissioner before introducing pension reform legislation, legislation that just happened to benefit his family business. We know that was not true and she never signed off on that blatant conflict of interest.Why should Canadians trust the finance minister, when he is under investigation yet again for misleading Canadians and breaking the rules?

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance swore that he put his shares in a blind trust and then we learned that he never did. The Minister of Finance assured us that he had declared all his assets and then we learned that he was fined by the commissioner for failing to disclose a company. From the beginning of the session, the minister has repeated that he has always worked with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner and, oddly enough, today we read in the Globe and Mail that the minister never worked with the commissioner on his Bill C-27.Can the Prime Minister tell us why Canadians would still trust the Minister of Finance?

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals' denying tax credits for diabetics and chronically ill Canadians is a heartless Liberal policy, and it gets worse. The Liberals' asinine policy of cutting pay for injured members of the Canadian Armed Forces is also wrong. These members have sustained mental and physical injuries in service of Canada, and instead of thanking them, what does the defence minister do? He cuts their pay.When will the Liberal government reverse this cold-hearted policy and actually start to support our injured troops and give back the money they deserve?

Mr. Speaker, in the last election, two parties, the Conservatives and the NDP, committed to balance the budget at all costs, including through cutting services—

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Party's chief fundraiser sent money to a tax haven. This morning, the NDP asked that Stephen Bronfman appear before the Standing Committee on Finance. The Liberals refused.The Minister of Finance failed to put his assets in a blind trust. He also introduced Bill C-27, which helped Morneau Shepell rake in millions of dollars without running this by the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner. He is currently under investigation.Is that the Liberals' approach to governing?They do nothing about tax havens and introduce bills to get richer and to make their millionaire friends richer?