2018-02-14

Mr. Speaker, let us look at the facts regarding the Liberals and pipelines.The Prime Minister was a failure on northern gateway. That one is dead. The Liberals' anti-development policy has killed energy east. That is dead. Trans Mountain is now under threat because the Prime Minister is abdicating his responsibility and missing in action. The Prime Minister's standing up and spouting platitudes is not leadership.Does he have a plan, and when is Kinder Morgan going to get started?

Mr. Speaker, again, the Conservatives are trying to divert attention from their own failure on this file. The Conservative government perpetuated a system that made it easier for young people to access marijuana in Canada than in 29 other countries in the world. Their system was a total failure. We want to better protect our young people. We want to keep profits out of the hands of organized crime. That is exactly what we are doing and they have nothing to say about it.

Mr. Speaker, right now the sale of marijuana across this country puts billions of dollars in the pockets of organized crime. That is a failure of the current, actual system. We know that by legalizing and controlling the sale of marijuana, not only will we reduce the profits going to organized crime, street gangs, and gun runners but we will do a better job of protecting our kids and their communities with a legalized framework.

Mr. Speaker, the night that Colten Boushie was killed, the RCMP raided the home of his grieving mother and treated her as if she were an accomplice. They left his body lying in a field in the rain for two days. They handcuffed his friends and took them on a high-speed police chase. This is not how to treat victims of crime, so no one should say that race was not a huge part of this tragedy. Will the Prime Minister agree to an independent investigation into the RCMP's handling of the Boushie killing, and tell the House that the RCMP in Saskatchewan will finally be brought under an independent review process to deal with police complaints?

Mr. Speaker, part of our framework for the sale of marijuana and associated investments involves extensive screenings and background checks of everyone who works in the marijuana industry, including investors. Yes, we will ensure that no one involved in organized crime invests in the sale and production of marijuana.

Mr. Speaker, here is the situation and here is why the Liberals want to push through the marijuana legislation. Anonymous investors from tax havens have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Canadian companies owned by Liberal cronies. Can the Prime Minister assure Canadians that no one involved in organized crime and none of his Liberal friends are involved with these marijuana producers?

Mr. Speaker, it is very simple, the current system is failing. It fails to protect our children, it fails to protect our communities, and it fails to keep organized crime from making billions of dollars per year in profits from marijuana sales. That is why we are bringing forward a system that will control and regulate the sale and production of marijuana to better protect our kids, better protect our communities, and keep billions of dollars in profits out of the hands of organized crime.

Mr. Speaker, one of the fundamental reasons for legalizing and controlling the sale of marijuana is to reduce the amount of profit going into the coffers of organized crime across the country. For 10 years, the Conservative government allowed to perpetuate a system of prohibition that actually created sources of funding for organized crime, street gangs, and gun runners to continue to expand their illicit activities. We are moving forward to limit the profits to organized crime through the legal framework for marijuana. That is what we are sticking with.

Mr. Speaker, if the Liberals have a plan of action and they are going to actually do what it takes to get Trans Mountain built, why did they refuse to tell Canadians exactly what that plan is? The only consistent action by the Liberals has been inaction, and the Prime Minister's failure of leadership has directly led to the escalating interprovincial dispute. Clearly, he has lost control of this national priority. The pipeline opponents say that they will use all tools available to kill it. What tools will the Prime Minister commit to using to get the pipeline built?

Mr. Speaker, despite all the warnings, the Prime Minister insists on legalizing marijuana by July 1, less than five months from now. The closer we get to the deadline, the more we understand why. Wherever there is money and tax havens, there are Liberal Party cronies ready to do anything to line their pockets.Is this why the Prime Minister is being stubborn and interfering with the work of the senators in the Senate?

Mr. Speaker, regarding the Davie shipyard, it is high time the Liberals put their money where their mouth is. The Minister of National Revenue showed a lack of respect yesterday for my constituents and the people represented by all opposition members with her contemptuous remarks in question period, although she did apologize.Will the Prime Minister, who is the grand master of apologies, follow suit and apologize to honest taxpayers, the people who pay their taxes, while his government is giving a free pass to the wealthy by signing more agreements with tax havens?This deserves a real apology.

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister said, in legalizing marijuana, that he was doing it because he wanted to keep organized crime out of the market. We are learning today of significant investments being made in Quebec cannabis companies by offshore accounts that have anonymous members. Can the Prime Minister give us assurances that these are not companies set up by organized crime?

Mr. Speaker, simply there is no due diligence. We are talking about $277 million coming to Canada from secret tax havens benefiting from the poor management by the government of cannabis. We do not even know who is involved. Is it Liberal insiders again, is it organized crime, or is it both? The Prime Minister's willingness to sign anything with overseas tax havens and poor fiscal rules means these secretive funds do not even have to report their capital gains in Canada. Perfect for money laundering. Why is the Prime Minister being so utterly irresponsible?

Mr. Speaker, 7,000 people across Quebec have signed a petition calling on the Prime Minister, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, and the Minister of Finance to take urgent action to support our media and our journalism. Seven thousand people is a lot of people.Journalists came to Parliament today to present this petition. Unfortunately, only one Liberal was on hand to welcome them. What a shame. This sector has shed 16,000 jobs and now our media, journalists, and democracy need urgent measures.Will the Prime Minister commit to include urgent measures in his next budget?

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, Liberals voted down an NDP motion that would have taken real action in fighting tax havens. Why the Prime Minister will not stand up to tax cheats and the unaccountable leadership of the Canada Revenue Agency is beyond me. What is clear to me and what is clear to Canadians is that highly connected Liberal insiders are not shy about exploiting Canada's weakness on tax havens to invest in cannabis production. Why is the Prime Minister so slow in acting on the unaccountability of the CRA, so slow in acting against tax havens, and even slower in addressing the critical issue of anonymous tax haven investors in cannabis production?

Mr. Speaker, I want to be clear. On behalf of the opposition, we fully endorse the Ethics Commissioner's finding of guilt of the Prime Minister. He broke four sections of the ethics law, and now he wants to turn himself into the victim because the opposition is asking legitimate questions about section 121 of the Criminal Code.Does he dispute that he accepted thousands of dollars of benefits from somebody who had official dealings with his government and with him personally?

Mr. Speaker, for 30 years Canada Post fought its female workers in court. It is shameful. Two years ago, the Liberals voted for our NDP motion to give women the respect we deserve and implement pay equity, but we still have not seen any movement. The Prime Minister claims to be a feminist, yet the government has not legislated pay equity in law. Women want concrete action today. We have waited far too long already.With the budget coming in two weeks, will the government finally introduce measures to legislate equal pay for women? We are looking for action, not words.

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House we are always unequivocal about standing up for LGBTQ rights. We are, of course, deeply troubled by the deaths and detentions of protesters during protests in Iran. The Iranian people must be able to freely assemble without facing violence or imprisonment. We will always defend human rights. That is why Canada rallied more countries than ever before at the UN in November on a resolution calling on Iran to comply with its international human rights obligations. Our government is committed to holding Iran to account for its violation of human and democratic rights.

Mr. Speaker, once again I merely quoted sections out of the Criminal Code without referring to the Prime Minister. He instantaneously assumed that I was making a personal attack against him. This is a Prime Minister who accepted a gift that is worth approximately $200,000 from someone who was seeking a $15 million grant from the Government of Canada. Does he dispute these facts?

Mr. Speaker, I am trying to bring to the Prime Minister's attention an actual issue, and I do not need his talking points given back to me.There is a company based in the Cayman Islands. It has secret investors. It has just invested $271 million in a Quebec cannabis company, and guess what. The founder of that company is the former chief financial officer of the Liberal Party of Canada. Canadians deserve to have the assurance that there is no organized crime element within these secret investors.

Mr. Speaker, rural and suburban mail carriers are paid 25% less per hour than their urban counterparts. They also receive fewer benefits. Two-thirds of rural mail carriers are women, while urban units have mostly men. Canada Post refuses to even acknowledge the existence of a pay gap, and the government is dragging its feet. Women have been waiting for far too long.When will the government keep its promise and stop this injustice?

Mr. Speaker, the number of ties between the Liberal Party of Canada, companies that produce cannabis, and investments from tax havens is simply mind-boggling.On top of that, the secretive operations of shell companies in tax havens really raise concerns about who is ultimately making money from those companies.The government simply failed to establish strict rules governing the financing of that industry, and the proposed regulatory framework is a smokescreen.What are the Prime Minister's real intentions in legalizing cannabis? Is it simply so that friends of the Liberal Party of Canada can make more money?

Mr. Speaker, an independent investigation from the Government of Iran? After those town halls, maybe it is hard to know when the Prime Minister is joking, but this joke is not funny. The Government of Iran is a regime that gives LGBTQ children electric shock therapy. The government should stop cozying up to the regime. This is his chance. The Prime Minister has said nothing thus far on the protest. Could he stand up and finally support the cause of protesters who are fighting for democracy, human rights, justice, and the rule of law?

Mr. Speaker, again, the Ethics Commissioner did a complete and thorough investigation, at the request of members opposite. I co-operated with the Ethics Commissioner every step of the way, and her report is fulsome and rigorous. If the Conservatives choose to question the work that she has done, the quality of the work that the former ethics commissioner did, that is their prerogative. Quite frankly, it is consistent with the approach that the Conservative government under Stephen Harper always had, which was to minimize, discard, and ignore the great work done by officers of Parliament.

Mr. Speaker, it is not the Ethics Commissioner who is responsible for investigating matters under the Criminal Code. The RCMP is responsible for that.Did the Prime Minister or his office ever discuss his island vacation with any member of the RCMP?

Mr. Speaker, Canadians watching question period could be alarmed at the tone and the attacks that go back and forth in this place, but they should be reassured that above the partisanship, above the mudslinging, we have an Ethics Commissioner who looks into allegations and looks into behaviours, and makes determinations on what happened and what needs to happen going forward.I am actually pleased that the Ethics Commissioner made clarifications, significantly put forward recommendations. I accepted responsibility and have endeavoured and will commit to following all the recommendations of the Ethics Commissioner.

Mr. Speaker, the issue we have run into before with this particular member opposite is that he was able to say things in the House of Commons under parliamentary immunity that he would no longer repeat outside. The fact is that we have an Ethics Commissioner whose job it is to look at the facts to determine what is public, what is private, what is responsible and what is not, what are personal attacks and what are not. I accepted responsibility. I accept the full findings and recommendations of the Ethics Commissioner, and that is what reassures Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, we are just trying to help Liberal cabinet ministers understand what the rules are. That is why I am asking the Prime Minister.The Prime Minister's cabinet is here and they are listening. He has an opportunity to inform them. If a minister, for example, got a $200,000 gift from someone who is lobbying that minister, would the Prime Minister take action? What action would he take? Would he fire the minister? Would he force them to give the gift back? Would he refer the matter to the RCMP, or just shrug?

Mr. Speaker, we have heard the Prime Minister, his top advisers, and many of his own caucus say that they think our oil should stay in the ground and pipelines should not even be built. Now the Prime Minister has said that approving Trans Mountain was a trade-off. He admitted that he used it as a bargaining chip to negotiate with. It is clear that the Prime Minister does not value or respect our natural resources and the people who work in them. He sees them as pawns for his own benefit.When will the Prime Minister stand up for energy workers' interests and get Trans Mountain started?

Mr. Speaker, again, above the mudslinging, we have a Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, who is tasked with looking into the facts of issues, making recommendations, and holding all parliamentarians to account. When the commissioner put forward her report, I fully accepted that report, took responsibility, and have been implementing the advice and recommendations she made. The opposition may continue to want to sling mud and make personal attacks, but Canadians can be reassured that the Ethics Commissioner has done her job.

Mr. Speaker, in this place we have a system where different parties ask questions and hold governments to account, and it works very well. What also works very well is that Canadians can be reassured that above the mudslinging and personal attacks, we have officers of Parliament, like the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, who will dig into the actual facts of the matter and make thorough investigations. We worked with the Ethics Commissioner throughout the fall and can say that we fully accept all her findings and have moved forward on accepting all her recommendations.

Mr. Speaker, the leadership we have demonstrated on growing the economy and protecting the environment, together, is showing its fruits. It is showing benefits. We have the fastest-growing economy in the G7 right now and the lowest unemployment rate in 40 years, and that is partially because we have restored Canadians' trust in our process. They know that we can both reduce our carbon emissions to meet our Paris targets, and build outlets for our resources to new markets, such as the Kinder Morgan pipeline.That is what Canadians expect. That is what the Conservatives failed at.

Mr. Speaker, tax haven is synonymous with Liberal haven. The former national director of the Liberal Party of Canada, the former chief financial officer of the Liberal Party, former Liberal ministers of health, justice, and national revenue, and major Liberal Party donors are all involved. What do they have in common? They are all affluent Liberals, people the Prime Minister knows personally, and they are all going to get richer with the legalization of cannabis.Is this another sponsorship scandal?

Mr. Speaker, the commissioner's job does not include investigating matters under the Criminal Code. There are two essential elements to paragraph 121(1)(c) of the Criminal Code: one, a government official accepting a benefit, and two, “from a person who has dealings with the government”.Did the Prime Minister accept a benefit from the Aga Khan? Does the Aga Khan have dealings with the government?

Mr. Speaker, it is nice to see the NDP and Conservatives working together for once. The Minister of Finance recently reached an agreement with his provincial and territorial counterparts to ensure that we know who owns which corporations, which will prevent Canadian or international companies from facilitating tax evasion, money laundering, and other criminal activities. There will be background checks on significant investors in any marijuana organization. That is the kind of framework that we are putting in place to protect Canadians, to reduce the profits of organized crime, and to protect our communities.

Mr. Speaker, government after government, be it Liberal or Conservative, has left seasonal workers out in the cold.The spring gap is when workers' benefits run out during the off-season because of bad employment insurance reforms. For some, the spring gap can last over four months. The Liberals broke their promise to scrap the Conservatives' reform, which penalizes seasonal workers and their families.When will this government keep its promises and help seasonal workers? Maybe in the upcoming budget?

Mr. Speaker, we understand that protecting the environment and growing the economy go together, and that is exactly what we have done. We have focused on building a world-class carbon reduction plan that is actually going to deliver on our Paris targets. We have invested over $1.5 billion in protecting our coasts, and we are moving forward on getting our resources to new markets through the Kinder Morgan pipeline. These are the things that Canadians expect of a government, to pull things together and create an economy and an environment that go together. That is what the Conservatives failed to do. That is what we are doing.

Mr. Speaker, the problem is that under the tax agreements that this government has signed we cannot find out who is part of those tax havens.Automatic information-sharing agreements do not work. We still do not know who owns these corporations and who is investing in tax havens. How do we know whether they will invest here next? Oddly enough, we learned today that friends of the Liberal Party, including a former treasurer and a former advisor, are using these tax havens to invest in the production of cannabis, just a few months before it is legalized. We are understandably concerned.This is a wake-up call the Prime Minister is ignoring. When will he wake up and realize that the involvement of these Liberal friends is just the tip of the iceberg?

Mr. Speaker, I was touched and honoured to be able to sit with Colten Boushie's family members just yesterday, and to reflect with them on the challenges facing not just them, but indigenous peoples across the country, facing the justice system and facing police services. What I was incredibly inspired by in their conversation was that despite all the pain and anger, they are very much focused on fixing the system for the future for other families. We are going to work with them. We are going to fix our justice system and our police systems to make sure everyone is treated fairly.

Mr. Speaker, organizations are swiftly ending their affiliation with Oxfam after serious allegations of its staff sexually exploiting Haitian women surfaced. In November, the Prime Minister announced $17.5 million to Oxfam's Philippine operations to empower women and girls in gender-sensitive sexual health services. Today, Oxfam's regional director for Asia said she knew of claims of sexual abuse involving their staff in the Philippines. Will the Prime Minister suspend funding to Oxfam?

Mr. Speaker, paragraph 121(1)(c) of the Criminal Code says it is an offence for a government official “to accept from a person who has dealings with the government a commission, reward, advantage or benefit of any kind for themselves or another person”. If the Prime Minister learned that one of his ministers had accepted a benefit from someone who had dealings with the government, what would he do about it?

Mr. Speaker, it is in questions like this that we see the Conservatives have learned nothing from the 2015 election campaign. They still refuse to accept that the environment and the economy need to go together. They fought against that for 10 years. Not only were they unable to protect our environment, but they did not get anything done on the economic side, because they refuse to understand that the only way to grow the economy and create jobs in the future for Canadians is to be responsible on the environment at the same time. They refuse to get that.

Mr. Speaker, this government has been consistent in standing up for human rights everywhere around the world. Whenever I meet with any leader around the world, I bring up human rights and we talk about the importance of protecting Canadian interests. In this tragic case coming out of Iran, we have communicated clearly our desire for an autopsy, for a complete independent investigation. We demand that Canadians be treated fairly, that their families be supported, and that we get to the bottom of this situation.

Mr. Speaker, we are going to continue to crack down on tax evasion and tax avoidance by making investments. We invested nearly $1 billion in the Canada Revenue Agency for that very purpose. I am also pleased to repeat the announcement that was made today. Across the country, 30 CRA investigators are taking action in Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto to ensure that we are continuing to crack down on tax evasion and tax avoidance.

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister of Canada has been silent on the Iranian protest, which Amnesty International yesterday confirmed has led to thousands being imprisoned. He has been silent on drones and missiles financed by Iran facing our ally Israel. He has been silent even on the death of a Canadian, Professor Seyed-Emami, in an Iranian prison on the weekend.Instead of silence from the Prime Minister, when can we have him stand up for human rights, for democracy, and for Canadians, instead of cozying up to the Iranian regime?

Mr. Speaker, today is another sad day for journalism. The Toronto Star has laid off over 50 people. The news media are undergoing unprecedented changes, yet the Minister of Canadian Heritage has not acted on any of the recommendations from either her commissioned report or the parliamentary committee report. Months have passed and job losses are a daily occurrence in the media. How many consultations, reports, and recommendations will it take for the government to decide to do something, even to act on a single recommendation?

Mr. Speaker, we strongly condemn all forms of exploitation and abuse of women and children in the conduct of international aid operations and we take these situations and these allegations very seriously. Oxfam Canada and Oxfam-Québec confirm that no employee or Canadian funds are connected to the deplorable situation in Haiti. In regard to the Philippines, we are following up. We require that all partners we work with in disaster or humanitarian situations adhere to internationally agreed on codes of conduct and code principles related to sexual exploitation and abuse.

Mr. Speaker, the very first thing we did in government was lower taxes for the middle class and ask the wealthy to do a little more and pay more taxes. Next, we introduced the Canada child benefit, which is giving more money to nine out of ten families and will lift 40% of young people out of poverty. We are talking about roughly 100,000 young people. We will continue to combat tax evasion and tax avoidance, specifically through the $1-billion investment we made in our first two years so that the Canada Revenue Agency can do its job.

Mr. Speaker, Bill C-452, introduced by a female member of Parliament to help women who are victims of human trafficking, was shelved by a Prime Minister who claims to be a feminist.Instead of accepting the decisions made by the House and the Senate, he came back with his own bill, which favours the offenders over the women.Why will he not acknowledge that his bill is sloppy, and when will he help and protect these vulnerable women?

Mr. Speaker, these are all questions that the Ethics Commissioner dug into in her report and made clear recommendations on. However, what is clear is that on this side of the House we value and respect the work done by officers of Parliament. On that side of the House, they continue to question the work of the Ethics Commissioner, just as they did for 10 years of insulting, minimizing, and discarding the advice of officers of Parliament. That is what they did when they were in government. We take a different approach. We respect the great work done by our officers of Parliament.

Mr. Speaker, immediately after the Ethics Commissioner released her report, I accepted the findings of the report, took responsibility, and am following up on every single element of her advice or recommendations.That is what Canadians expect, and that following of the Ethic Commissioner's advice and recommendations is exactly what Canadians expect of any of us.

Mr. Speaker, a gender pay gap in 2018 is unacceptable. After 10 years of inaction by the previous government, we are working to eliminate the pay gap and support women’s participation in the workforce. We have invested $7 billion into early childhood education and daycare. We have increased parental and maternity benefits. We have invested in affordable housing and home care infrastructure. We are introducing flexible work arrangements for employees under federal jurisdiction. I could go on. I know that there is work left to do, and we will continue to work on that.

Mr. Speaker, paragraph 121(1)(c) of the Criminal Code makes it an offence for a government official “to accept from a person who has dealings with the government a commission, reward, advantage or benefit of any kind for themselves or another person”. Was the Prime Minister aware of this paragraph of the Criminal Code when he accepted a $200,000 gift from a person who has dealings with his government?

Mr. Speaker, protecting the health and safety of Canadians is a top priority for our government, and that is why we are moving forward on a legalized regime for the sale of marijuana.Under our proposed regulations, security clearances will be mandatory for individuals who occupy key positions in any organization, as well as background checks on significant investors to any marijuana company. In addition, the Minister of Finance recently reached an agreement with his provincial and territorial counterparts to ensure that we know who owns which corporations, which will help prevent Canadian or international companies from facilitating tax evasion.

Mr. Speaker, that is confidence building, but that was the wrong one.The minister says that he will not accept any undue delays on the Trans Mountain expansion, although he will not define them, even though it has already been held up for 142 days. Construction is stalled. Spending is slowed, and operations are postponed. The Prime Minister says that he will not allow it to be stalled or stopped, and he claims the pipeline will be built. However, yesterday the Liberals defeated a motion just asking them to set out a concrete plan of action, and he will not answer today.Is the Prime Minister not willing to announce his plan because he actually does not even have one?

Mr. Speaker, on the subject of ministers receiving valuable and improper gifts, the Liberal vice-chair of the ethics committee, a Liberal member of the Prime Minister's caucus said, “I do think repayment of the reasonable value of an improper gift that one receives is prudent and reasonable under the act.”Does the Prime Minister agree with the Liberal vice-chair of the ethics committee that ministers should return the commercial value of any improper gift they receive?

Mr. Speaker, Canadians understand and appreciate that the function of an opposition in this parliamentary system is to ask tough questions and challenge the government. What is important to know, however, is that we have a system that goes above the partisan attacks and the personal mudslinging and actually charges the Ethics Commissioner with looking into issues and allegations of this, making findings of fact, and making determinations on the path forward. I have fully accepted all the findings, all the advice, and all the recommendations by the Ethics Commissioner. I thanked her for her work and will keep going—

Mr. Speaker, what is interesting is that we have the best economic growth numbers in years, the lowest rate of unemployment in 40 years, the fastest growth rate in the G7, and the members opposite spend their time slinging mud, making personal attacks, and trying to stir up stories that have already been dealt with.I took responsibility. I accept the full recommendations and advice of the Ethics Commissioner. They do not have anything else to criticize us on.

Mr. Speaker, the Davie shipyard is a major shipyard and we recognize the expertise of its workers. They did an excellent job delivering the Asterix. After consultations with the industry, the Government of Canada started discussing options with Davie shipyard to see whether it could help meet the needs of the Canadian Coast Guard for interim icebreaker capacity.We are in the initial stages and we hope to provide more information once the discussions are complete.

Mr. Speaker, this is eerily reminiscent of the tone and approach that for 10 years failed to get pipelines built by the previous Conservative government. The Conservatives thought that ramming things through was the way to get things done, and they did not get it done.On this side of the House, we understand what Canadians know, that we protect the environment and grow the economy together, and that is exactly what we are doing. That is why we put forward a national plan on fighting climate change at the same time as we are moving forward on building the Keystone XL, or rather the Kinder Morgan pipeline.

Mr. Speaker, in my riding of Brampton East, young people are eager to share their ideas on the most pressing issues of our time. Each week, I host a basketball drop-in where a hundred young Canadians come in. We play some ball and talk about issues impacting Canada's future. Whether it is climate change, economic prosperity, or social justice issues, young Canadians are ready to have their voices added to the conversation.Will the Prime Minister please update the House and all Canadians on the launch of a national dialogue on Canada's first youth policy and how young Canadians can get involved?

Mr. Speaker, I am glad the Prime Minister mentioned the Ethics Commissioner, because his vice-chair asked the Ethics Commissioner if he agreed that a minister should return any improperly received gifts. The commissioner said, “Of course it would be—”.Does the Prime Minister agree with the Ethics Commissioner on that?

Mr. Speaker, as we know, young Canadians are not just leaders of tomorrow; they are leaders today. We announced the launch of a new interactive online platform, youthaction.ca, where young Canadians can share their ideas and perspectives on the development of a youth policy. This is the first step toward building a policy that will hold this government and future governments to account when it comes to issues that matter to young Canadians.I encourage all young Canadians to join the conversation, and I look forward to their feedback.

Mr. Speaker, I want to first thank the member for Surrey Centre for his advocacy on this family reunification issue.The Conservatives left us a backlog of over 75,000 applications and forced families to remain separated from each other for over two years. With our commitment and investments in family reunification, we have reduced the backlog to under 15,000 and maintained a service standard for processing applications in under 12 months for spouses and children. While Conservatives kept families apart, our government will continue to work to reunite loved ones.

Mr. Speaker, our approach as a feminist government has been to invest in women, support women, invest in combatting gender-based violence, and ensure that women have recourse in difficult situations.We will continue to support women. We know that empowering women, encouraging women in the workplace, and protecting women who are victims of harassment or violence are at the core of any Canadian government's mandate.

Mr. Speaker, like many people who live in Ottawa, we appreciate Gatineau Park to an extraordinary degree. The trails and the millions of Canadians who visit it every year make it a true jewel in our national capital region.We will continue to work with the National Capital Commission and various partners to ensure that we are doing everything we can to protect this beautiful wilderness area for generations to come.

Mr. Speaker, negotiations between the Canadian Coast Guard and Davie shipyard will begin tomorrow morning at 9 because we need icebreakers. Who said that? It was the Prime Minister himself.That was in Quebec City in January during the Prime Minister's tour. There has been radio silence ever since. The Davie shipyard workers are being shortchanged despite having successfully delivered the first supply ship, the Asterix, on time and on budget.When will the shipyard workers get to resume working on the four icebreakers the Prime Minister promised?

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member from Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia for his question. I would like to start by saying that all of our Atlantic and Quebec MPs are doing a great job of representing their constituents and drawing attention to the EI gap, which is a major problem. We are aware of the reality faced by seasonal workers. We are currently working to find short- and long-term solutions to this problem. I am proud of our team, whose members continue to defend their communities' interests here in Ottawa.

Mr. Speaker, I am not talking about the cost of the transportation and security. I am talking about the commercial value of a gift. I never actually mentioned the Prime Minister, by the way. I just described some conduct and he immediately attributed it to himself. It is funny. An island like the one on which he vacationed is advertised for, and they cost a lot of money, approximately $200,000 for the amount of time and the number of people the Prime Minister had vacationing as part of this gift. Does he believe that a minister, any minister, should repay an improper gift of that size?

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased that half an hour into question period we finally get a question on the upcoming budget.We consider that a gender wage gap in 2018 is unacceptable. Therefore, after 10 years of inaction from the previous government, we are taking action to help address the wage gap and support women's labour market participation. Already we have put $7 billion to address early learning and child care. We have increased parental and maternity benefits. We have invested in affordable housing and home care, and we are also going to be moving forward on pay equity.

Mr. Speaker, as has been the case for previous prime ministers, and as the former commissioner herself stated, security costs are incurred whenever and wherever the Prime Minister travels.Moving forward, of course, I am happy to follow all the advice and recommendations that the commissioner had made, including those surrounding personal and private travel.

Mr. Speaker, when we were elected, we promised to restore employment insurance and reverse the Conservatives' changes, and that is exactly what we did.I would like to thank all our members from the Atlantic provinces, Quebec, and elsewhere in the country who worked with us to give seasonal workers the employment insurance options they need.Yes, we are very aware of the upcoming spring gap. That is why we are committed to working with them to address that challenge.

Mr. Speaker, my colleagues and I work hard to represent our constituents in Ottawa. For some time now, people in our ridings have been expressing concerns about the EI gap, an issue our government is particularly sensitive to.As the Prime Minister said earlier, we have already reversed the Conservatives' EI reforms. We know that supporting seasonal workers is essential.Could the Prime Minister tell us more about this situation to address the concerns of seasonal workers?

Mr. Speaker, with regard to tax information, we are focused on transparency and increasing and expanding the sharing of information.Canada has a vast network of treaties and a number of tools that enabled the Canada Revenue Agency to share 2.2 million pieces of information last year. Thanks to our historic investment of $1 billion to combat tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance, the CRA will be able to recover over $5 billion in federal revenues over the next six years. We will continue to work hard to combat tax evasion and tax avoidance.

Mr. Speaker, high-quality local and community information is essential to our democracy.As a result of our $675-million investment in CBC/Radio-Canada, new journalists are now in communities where previously there had been no coverage. We are also modernizing the Canada periodical fund. Our goal is to ensure that the fund meets the need for local information and local magazines. We know that more needs to be done and we will continue to work with organizations to ensure that we will have a free, independent, and viable press.

Mr. Speaker, love is in the air as today is Valentine's Day. I am reminded of the Centeno family. They are a married couple with children and face difficulty due to separation. Through a spousal sponsorship, they were reunified and overjoyed that their file was approved and finalized. The Conservatives kept newcomer families apart by making them wait for over 26 months to be reunited in Canada with their spouses and children.Will the Prime Minister please give the House an update on how our government is continuing to support family reunification on this Valentine's Day?

Mr. Speaker, reliable local and community news is essential for the functioning of our democracy. For example, we have invested $675 million in CBC-Radio Canada that then turned around and introduced journalists into areas where they had never served before. We are also modernizing the Canada periodical fund to ensure that it is meeting the needs of local news and magazines, including in the transition to digital. We know there is more to do. We will continue to work with our valued friends and partners in the media to ensure they can continue to do their job of holding the democracy to account and informing citizens.

Mr. Speaker, this year marks 80 years since Gatineau Park was established, and for nearly 50 years the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society has been striving for its protection. Gatineau Park is a cherished resource within our national capital region, and home to 118 rare or endangered species, but despite its importance, there are no restrictions on development and no set borders for the park.Will the Prime Minister and the Minister of Canadian Heritage accept CPAWS' request and amend the National Capital Act to protect the ecological integrity of Gatineau Park and establish its boundaries in law?

Mr. Speaker, our approach as a feminist government has been to invest in women, support women, invest in combatting gender-based violence, and ensure that women have recourse in difficult situations.We will continue to support women. We know that empowering women, encouraging women in the workplace, and protecting women who are victims of harassment or violence are at the core of any Canadian government's mandate.

Mr. Speaker, the commissioner's job does not include investigating matters under the Criminal Code. There are two essential elements to paragraph 121(1)(c) of the Criminal Code: one, a government official accepting a benefit, and two, “from a person who has dealings with the government”.Did the Prime Minister accept a benefit from the Aga Khan? Does the Aga Khan have dealings with the government?

Mr. Speaker, government after government, be it Liberal or Conservative, has left seasonal workers out in the cold.The spring gap is when workers' benefits run out during the off-season because of bad employment insurance reforms. For some, the spring gap can last over four months. The Liberals broke their promise to scrap the Conservatives' reform, which penalizes seasonal workers and their families.When will this government keep its promises and help seasonal workers? Maybe in the upcoming budget?

Mr. Speaker, once again I merely quoted sections out of the Criminal Code without referring to the Prime Minister. He instantaneously assumed that I was making a personal attack against him. This is a Prime Minister who accepted a gift that is worth approximately $200,000 from someone who was seeking a $15 million grant from the Government of Canada. Does he dispute these facts?

Mr. Speaker, let us look at the facts regarding the Liberals and pipelines.The Prime Minister was a failure on northern gateway. That one is dead. The Liberals' anti-development policy has killed energy east. That is dead. Trans Mountain is now under threat because the Prime Minister is abdicating his responsibility and missing in action. The Prime Minister's standing up and spouting platitudes is not leadership.Does he have a plan, and when is Kinder Morgan going to get started?

Mr. Speaker, I am trying to bring to the Prime Minister's attention an actual issue, and I do not need his talking points given back to me.There is a company based in the Cayman Islands. It has secret investors. It has just invested $271 million in a Quebec cannabis company, and guess what. The founder of that company is the former chief financial officer of the Liberal Party of Canada. Canadians deserve to have the assurance that there is no organized crime element within these secret investors.

Mr. Speaker, this is eerily reminiscent of the tone and approach that for 10 years failed to get pipelines built by the previous Conservative government. The Conservatives thought that ramming things through was the way to get things done, and they did not get it done.On this side of the House, we understand what Canadians know, that we protect the environment and grow the economy together, and that is exactly what we are doing. That is why we put forward a national plan on fighting climate change at the same time as we are moving forward on building the Keystone XL, or rather the Kinder Morgan pipeline.

Mr. Speaker, that is confidence building, but that was the wrong one.The minister says that he will not accept any undue delays on the Trans Mountain expansion, although he will not define them, even though it has already been held up for 142 days. Construction is stalled. Spending is slowed, and operations are postponed. The Prime Minister says that he will not allow it to be stalled or stopped, and he claims the pipeline will be built. However, yesterday the Liberals defeated a motion just asking them to set out a concrete plan of action, and he will not answer today.Is the Prime Minister not willing to announce his plan because he actually does not even have one?

Mr. Speaker, it is very simple, the current system is failing. It fails to protect our children, it fails to protect our communities, and it fails to keep organized crime from making billions of dollars per year in profits from marijuana sales. That is why we are bringing forward a system that will control and regulate the sale and production of marijuana to better protect our kids, better protect our communities, and keep billions of dollars in profits out of the hands of organized crime.

Mr. Speaker, the night that Colten Boushie was killed, the RCMP raided the home of his grieving mother and treated her as if she were an accomplice. They left his body lying in a field in the rain for two days. They handcuffed his friends and took them on a high-speed police chase. This is not how to treat victims of crime, so no one should say that race was not a huge part of this tragedy. Will the Prime Minister agree to an independent investigation into the RCMP's handling of the Boushie killing, and tell the House that the RCMP in Saskatchewan will finally be brought under an independent review process to deal with police complaints?

Mr. Speaker, an independent investigation from the Government of Iran? After those town halls, maybe it is hard to know when the Prime Minister is joking, but this joke is not funny. The Government of Iran is a regime that gives LGBTQ children electric shock therapy. The government should stop cozying up to the regime. This is his chance. The Prime Minister has said nothing thus far on the protest. Could he stand up and finally support the cause of protesters who are fighting for democracy, human rights, justice, and the rule of law?

Mr. Speaker, Bill C-452, introduced by a female member of Parliament to help women who are victims of human trafficking, was shelved by a Prime Minister who claims to be a feminist.Instead of accepting the decisions made by the House and the Senate, he came back with his own bill, which favours the offenders over the women.Why will he not acknowledge that his bill is sloppy, and when will he help and protect these vulnerable women?

Mr. Speaker, the problem is that under the tax agreements that this government has signed we cannot find out who is part of those tax havens.Automatic information-sharing agreements do not work. We still do not know who owns these corporations and who is investing in tax havens. How do we know whether they will invest here next? Oddly enough, we learned today that friends of the Liberal Party, including a former treasurer and a former advisor, are using these tax havens to invest in the production of cannabis, just a few months before it is legalized. We are understandably concerned.This is a wake-up call the Prime Minister is ignoring. When will he wake up and realize that the involvement of these Liberal friends is just the tip of the iceberg?

Mr. Speaker, I am not talking about the cost of the transportation and security. I am talking about the commercial value of a gift. I never actually mentioned the Prime Minister, by the way. I just described some conduct and he immediately attributed it to himself. It is funny. An island like the one on which he vacationed is advertised for, and they cost a lot of money, approximately $200,000 for the amount of time and the number of people the Prime Minister had vacationing as part of this gift. Does he believe that a minister, any minister, should repay an improper gift of that size?

Mr. Speaker, the leadership we have demonstrated on growing the economy and protecting the environment, together, is showing its fruits. It is showing benefits. We have the fastest-growing economy in the G7 right now and the lowest unemployment rate in 40 years, and that is partially because we have restored Canadians' trust in our process. They know that we can both reduce our carbon emissions to meet our Paris targets, and build outlets for our resources to new markets, such as the Kinder Morgan pipeline.That is what Canadians expect. That is what the Conservatives failed at.

Mr. Speaker, I want to be clear. On behalf of the opposition, we fully endorse the Ethics Commissioner's finding of guilt of the Prime Minister. He broke four sections of the ethics law, and now he wants to turn himself into the victim because the opposition is asking legitimate questions about section 121 of the Criminal Code.Does he dispute that he accepted thousands of dollars of benefits from somebody who had official dealings with his government and with him personally?

Mr. Speaker, we understand that protecting the environment and growing the economy go together, and that is exactly what we have done. We have focused on building a world-class carbon reduction plan that is actually going to deliver on our Paris targets. We have invested over $1.5 billion in protecting our coasts, and we are moving forward on getting our resources to new markets through the Kinder Morgan pipeline. These are the things that Canadians expect of a government, to pull things together and create an economy and an environment that go together. That is what the Conservatives failed to do. That is what we are doing.

Mr. Speaker, a gender pay gap in 2018 is unacceptable. After 10 years of inaction by the previous government, we are working to eliminate the pay gap and support women’s participation in the workforce. We have invested $7 billion into early childhood education and daycare. We have increased parental and maternity benefits. We have invested in affordable housing and home care infrastructure. We are introducing flexible work arrangements for employees under federal jurisdiction. I could go on. I know that there is work left to do, and we will continue to work on that.

Mr. Speaker, simply there is no due diligence. We are talking about $277 million coming to Canada from secret tax havens benefiting from the poor management by the government of cannabis. We do not even know who is involved. Is it Liberal insiders again, is it organized crime, or is it both? The Prime Minister's willingness to sign anything with overseas tax havens and poor fiscal rules means these secretive funds do not even have to report their capital gains in Canada. Perfect for money laundering. Why is the Prime Minister being so utterly irresponsible?

Mr. Speaker, it is in questions like this that we see the Conservatives have learned nothing from the 2015 election campaign. They still refuse to accept that the environment and the economy need to go together. They fought against that for 10 years. Not only were they unable to protect our environment, but they did not get anything done on the economic side, because they refuse to understand that the only way to grow the economy and create jobs in the future for Canadians is to be responsible on the environment at the same time. They refuse to get that.

Mr. Speaker, we strongly condemn all forms of exploitation and abuse of women and children in the conduct of international aid operations and we take these situations and these allegations very seriously. Oxfam Canada and Oxfam-Québec confirm that no employee or Canadian funds are connected to the deplorable situation in Haiti. In regard to the Philippines, we are following up. We require that all partners we work with in disaster or humanitarian situations adhere to internationally agreed on codes of conduct and code principles related to sexual exploitation and abuse.

Mr. Speaker, here is the situation and here is why the Liberals want to push through the marijuana legislation. Anonymous investors from tax havens have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Canadian companies owned by Liberal cronies. Can the Prime Minister assure Canadians that no one involved in organized crime and none of his Liberal friends are involved with these marijuana producers?

Mr. Speaker, part of our framework for the sale of marijuana and associated investments involves extensive screenings and background checks of everyone who works in the marijuana industry, including investors. Yes, we will ensure that no one involved in organized crime invests in the sale and production of marijuana.

Mr. Speaker, again, above the mudslinging, we have a Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, who is tasked with looking into the facts of issues, making recommendations, and holding all parliamentarians to account. When the commissioner put forward her report, I fully accepted that report, took responsibility, and have been implementing the advice and recommendations she made. The opposition may continue to want to sling mud and make personal attacks, but Canadians can be reassured that the Ethics Commissioner has done her job.

Mr. Speaker, it is not the Ethics Commissioner who is responsible for investigating matters under the Criminal Code. The RCMP is responsible for that.Did the Prime Minister or his office ever discuss his island vacation with any member of the RCMP?

Mr. Speaker, these are all questions that the Ethics Commissioner dug into in her report and made clear recommendations on. However, what is clear is that on this side of the House we value and respect the work done by officers of Parliament. On that side of the House, they continue to question the work of the Ethics Commissioner, just as they did for 10 years of insulting, minimizing, and discarding the advice of officers of Parliament. That is what they did when they were in government. We take a different approach. We respect the great work done by our officers of Parliament.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, Liberals voted down an NDP motion that would have taken real action in fighting tax havens. Why the Prime Minister will not stand up to tax cheats and the unaccountable leadership of the Canada Revenue Agency is beyond me. What is clear to me and what is clear to Canadians is that highly connected Liberal insiders are not shy about exploiting Canada's weakness on tax havens to invest in cannabis production. Why is the Prime Minister so slow in acting on the unaccountability of the CRA, so slow in acting against tax havens, and even slower in addressing the critical issue of anonymous tax haven investors in cannabis production?

Mr. Speaker, Canadians understand and appreciate that the function of an opposition in this parliamentary system is to ask tough questions and challenge the government. What is important to know, however, is that we have a system that goes above the partisan attacks and the personal mudslinging and actually charges the Ethics Commissioner with looking into issues and allegations of this, making findings of fact, and making determinations on the path forward. I have fully accepted all the findings, all the advice, and all the recommendations by the Ethics Commissioner. I thanked her for her work and will keep going—

Mr. Speaker, paragraph 121(1)(c) of the Criminal Code makes it an offence for a government official “to accept from a person who has dealings with the government a commission, reward, advantage or benefit of any kind for themselves or another person”. Was the Prime Minister aware of this paragraph of the Criminal Code when he accepted a $200,000 gift from a person who has dealings with his government?

Mr. Speaker, immediately after the Ethics Commissioner released her report, I accepted the findings of the report, took responsibility, and am following up on every single element of her advice or recommendations.That is what Canadians expect, and that following of the Ethic Commissioner's advice and recommendations is exactly what Canadians expect of any of us.

Mr. Speaker, for 30 years Canada Post fought its female workers in court. It is shameful. Two years ago, the Liberals voted for our NDP motion to give women the respect we deserve and implement pay equity, but we still have not seen any movement. The Prime Minister claims to be a feminist, yet the government has not legislated pay equity in law. Women want concrete action today. We have waited far too long already.With the budget coming in two weeks, will the government finally introduce measures to legislate equal pay for women? We are looking for action, not words.

Mr. Speaker, this government has been consistent in standing up for human rights everywhere around the world. Whenever I meet with any leader around the world, I bring up human rights and we talk about the importance of protecting Canadian interests. In this tragic case coming out of Iran, we have communicated clearly our desire for an autopsy, for a complete independent investigation. We demand that Canadians be treated fairly, that their families be supported, and that we get to the bottom of this situation.

Mr. Speaker, tax haven is synonymous with Liberal haven. The former national director of the Liberal Party of Canada, the former chief financial officer of the Liberal Party, former Liberal ministers of health, justice, and national revenue, and major Liberal Party donors are all involved. What do they have in common? They are all affluent Liberals, people the Prime Minister knows personally, and they are all going to get richer with the legalization of cannabis.Is this another sponsorship scandal?

Mr. Speaker, rural and suburban mail carriers are paid 25% less per hour than their urban counterparts. They also receive fewer benefits. Two-thirds of rural mail carriers are women, while urban units have mostly men. Canada Post refuses to even acknowledge the existence of a pay gap, and the government is dragging its feet. Women have been waiting for far too long.When will the government keep its promise and stop this injustice?

Mr. Speaker, with regard to tax information, we are focused on transparency and increasing and expanding the sharing of information.Canada has a vast network of treaties and a number of tools that enabled the Canada Revenue Agency to share 2.2 million pieces of information last year. Thanks to our historic investment of $1 billion to combat tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance, the CRA will be able to recover over $5 billion in federal revenues over the next six years. We will continue to work hard to combat tax evasion and tax avoidance.

Mr. Speaker, on the subject of ministers receiving valuable and improper gifts, the Liberal vice-chair of the ethics committee, a Liberal member of the Prime Minister's caucus said, “I do think repayment of the reasonable value of an improper gift that one receives is prudent and reasonable under the act.”Does the Prime Minister agree with the Liberal vice-chair of the ethics committee that ministers should return the commercial value of any improper gift they receive?

Mr. Speaker, we are just trying to help Liberal cabinet ministers understand what the rules are. That is why I am asking the Prime Minister.The Prime Minister's cabinet is here and they are listening. He has an opportunity to inform them. If a minister, for example, got a $200,000 gift from someone who is lobbying that minister, would the Prime Minister take action? What action would he take? Would he fire the minister? Would he force them to give the gift back? Would he refer the matter to the RCMP, or just shrug?

Mr. Speaker, in this place we have a system where different parties ask questions and hold governments to account, and it works very well. What also works very well is that Canadians can be reassured that above the mudslinging and personal attacks, we have officers of Parliament, like the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, who will dig into the actual facts of the matter and make thorough investigations. We worked with the Ethics Commissioner throughout the fall and can say that we fully accept all her findings and have moved forward on accepting all her recommendations.

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister of Canada has been silent on the Iranian protest, which Amnesty International yesterday confirmed has led to thousands being imprisoned. He has been silent on drones and missiles financed by Iran facing our ally Israel. He has been silent even on the death of a Canadian, Professor Seyed-Emami, in an Iranian prison on the weekend.Instead of silence from the Prime Minister, when can we have him stand up for human rights, for democracy, and for Canadians, instead of cozying up to the Iranian regime?

Mr. Speaker, right now the sale of marijuana across this country puts billions of dollars in the pockets of organized crime. That is a failure of the current, actual system. We know that by legalizing and controlling the sale of marijuana, not only will we reduce the profits going to organized crime, street gangs, and gun runners but we will do a better job of protecting our kids and their communities with a legalized framework.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased that half an hour into question period we finally get a question on the upcoming budget.We consider that a gender wage gap in 2018 is unacceptable. Therefore, after 10 years of inaction from the previous government, we are taking action to help address the wage gap and support women's labour market participation. Already we have put $7 billion to address early learning and child care. We have increased parental and maternity benefits. We have invested in affordable housing and home care, and we are also going to be moving forward on pay equity.

Mr. Speaker, I want to first thank the member for Surrey Centre for his advocacy on this family reunification issue.The Conservatives left us a backlog of over 75,000 applications and forced families to remain separated from each other for over two years. With our commitment and investments in family reunification, we have reduced the backlog to under 15,000 and maintained a service standard for processing applications in under 12 months for spouses and children. While Conservatives kept families apart, our government will continue to work to reunite loved ones.

Mr. Speaker, again, the Conservatives are trying to divert attention from their own failure on this file. The Conservative government perpetuated a system that made it easier for young people to access marijuana in Canada than in 29 other countries in the world. Their system was a total failure. We want to better protect our young people. We want to keep profits out of the hands of organized crime. That is exactly what we are doing and they have nothing to say about it.

Mr. Speaker, high-quality local and community information is essential to our democracy.As a result of our $675-million investment in CBC/Radio-Canada, new journalists are now in communities where previously there had been no coverage. We are also modernizing the Canada periodical fund. Our goal is to ensure that the fund meets the need for local information and local magazines. We know that more needs to be done and we will continue to work with organizations to ensure that we will have a free, independent, and viable press.

Mr. Speaker, we are going to continue to crack down on tax evasion and tax avoidance by making investments. We invested nearly $1 billion in the Canada Revenue Agency for that very purpose. I am also pleased to repeat the announcement that was made today. Across the country, 30 CRA investigators are taking action in Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto to ensure that we are continuing to crack down on tax evasion and tax avoidance.

Mr. Speaker, if the Liberals have a plan of action and they are going to actually do what it takes to get Trans Mountain built, why did they refuse to tell Canadians exactly what that plan is? The only consistent action by the Liberals has been inaction, and the Prime Minister's failure of leadership has directly led to the escalating interprovincial dispute. Clearly, he has lost control of this national priority. The pipeline opponents say that they will use all tools available to kill it. What tools will the Prime Minister commit to using to get the pipeline built?

Mr. Speaker, one of the fundamental reasons for legalizing and controlling the sale of marijuana is to reduce the amount of profit going into the coffers of organized crime across the country. For 10 years, the Conservative government allowed to perpetuate a system of prohibition that actually created sources of funding for organized crime, street gangs, and gun runners to continue to expand their illicit activities. We are moving forward to limit the profits to organized crime through the legal framework for marijuana. That is what we are sticking with.

Mr. Speaker, paragraph 121(1)(c) of the Criminal Code says it is an offence for a government official “to accept from a person who has dealings with the government a commission, reward, advantage or benefit of any kind for themselves or another person”. If the Prime Minister learned that one of his ministers had accepted a benefit from someone who had dealings with the government, what would he do about it?

Mr. Speaker, reliable local and community news is essential for the functioning of our democracy. For example, we have invested $675 million in CBC-Radio Canada that then turned around and introduced journalists into areas where they had never served before. We are also modernizing the Canada periodical fund to ensure that it is meeting the needs of local news and magazines, including in the transition to digital. We know there is more to do. We will continue to work with our valued friends and partners in the media to ensure they can continue to do their job of holding the democracy to account and informing citizens.

Mr. Speaker, today is another sad day for journalism. The Toronto Star has laid off over 50 people. The news media are undergoing unprecedented changes, yet the Minister of Canadian Heritage has not acted on any of the recommendations from either her commissioned report or the parliamentary committee report. Months have passed and job losses are a daily occurrence in the media. How many consultations, reports, and recommendations will it take for the government to decide to do something, even to act on a single recommendation?

Mr. Speaker, my colleagues and I work hard to represent our constituents in Ottawa. For some time now, people in our ridings have been expressing concerns about the EI gap, an issue our government is particularly sensitive to.As the Prime Minister said earlier, we have already reversed the Conservatives' EI reforms. We know that supporting seasonal workers is essential.Could the Prime Minister tell us more about this situation to address the concerns of seasonal workers?

Mr. Speaker, as we know, young Canadians are not just leaders of tomorrow; they are leaders today. We announced the launch of a new interactive online platform, youthaction.ca, where young Canadians can share their ideas and perspectives on the development of a youth policy. This is the first step toward building a policy that will hold this government and future governments to account when it comes to issues that matter to young Canadians.I encourage all young Canadians to join the conversation, and I look forward to their feedback.

Mr. Speaker, the number of ties between the Liberal Party of Canada, companies that produce cannabis, and investments from tax havens is simply mind-boggling.On top of that, the secretive operations of shell companies in tax havens really raise concerns about who is ultimately making money from those companies.The government simply failed to establish strict rules governing the financing of that industry, and the proposed regulatory framework is a smokescreen.What are the Prime Minister's real intentions in legalizing cannabis? Is it simply so that friends of the Liberal Party of Canada can make more money?

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House we are always unequivocal about standing up for LGBTQ rights. We are, of course, deeply troubled by the deaths and detentions of protesters during protests in Iran. The Iranian people must be able to freely assemble without facing violence or imprisonment. We will always defend human rights. That is why Canada rallied more countries than ever before at the UN in November on a resolution calling on Iran to comply with its international human rights obligations. Our government is committed to holding Iran to account for its violation of human and democratic rights.

Mr. Speaker, as has been the case for previous prime ministers, and as the former commissioner herself stated, security costs are incurred whenever and wherever the Prime Minister travels.Moving forward, of course, I am happy to follow all the advice and recommendations that the commissioner had made, including those surrounding personal and private travel.

Mr. Speaker, the issue we have run into before with this particular member opposite is that he was able to say things in the House of Commons under parliamentary immunity that he would no longer repeat outside. The fact is that we have an Ethics Commissioner whose job it is to look at the facts to determine what is public, what is private, what is responsible and what is not, what are personal attacks and what are not. I accepted responsibility. I accept the full findings and recommendations of the Ethics Commissioner, and that is what reassures Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, Canadians watching question period could be alarmed at the tone and the attacks that go back and forth in this place, but they should be reassured that above the partisanship, above the mudslinging, we have an Ethics Commissioner who looks into allegations and looks into behaviours, and makes determinations on what happened and what needs to happen going forward.I am actually pleased that the Ethics Commissioner made clarifications, significantly put forward recommendations. I accepted responsibility and have endeavoured and will commit to following all the recommendations of the Ethics Commissioner.

Mr. Speaker, it is nice to see the NDP and Conservatives working together for once. The Minister of Finance recently reached an agreement with his provincial and territorial counterparts to ensure that we know who owns which corporations, which will prevent Canadian or international companies from facilitating tax evasion, money laundering, and other criminal activities. There will be background checks on significant investors in any marijuana organization. That is the kind of framework that we are putting in place to protect Canadians, to reduce the profits of organized crime, and to protect our communities.

Mr. Speaker, in my riding of Brampton East, young people are eager to share their ideas on the most pressing issues of our time. Each week, I host a basketball drop-in where a hundred young Canadians come in. We play some ball and talk about issues impacting Canada's future. Whether it is climate change, economic prosperity, or social justice issues, young Canadians are ready to have their voices added to the conversation.Will the Prime Minister please update the House and all Canadians on the launch of a national dialogue on Canada's first youth policy and how young Canadians can get involved?

Mr. Speaker, protecting the health and safety of Canadians is a top priority for our government, and that is why we are moving forward on a legalized regime for the sale of marijuana.Under our proposed regulations, security clearances will be mandatory for individuals who occupy key positions in any organization, as well as background checks on significant investors to any marijuana company. In addition, the Minister of Finance recently reached an agreement with his provincial and territorial counterparts to ensure that we know who owns which corporations, which will help prevent Canadian or international companies from facilitating tax evasion.

Mr. Speaker, despite all the warnings, the Prime Minister insists on legalizing marijuana by July 1, less than five months from now. The closer we get to the deadline, the more we understand why. Wherever there is money and tax havens, there are Liberal Party cronies ready to do anything to line their pockets.Is this why the Prime Minister is being stubborn and interfering with the work of the senators in the Senate?

Mr. Speaker, 7,000 people across Quebec have signed a petition calling on the Prime Minister, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, and the Minister of Finance to take urgent action to support our media and our journalism. Seven thousand people is a lot of people.Journalists came to Parliament today to present this petition. Unfortunately, only one Liberal was on hand to welcome them. What a shame. This sector has shed 16,000 jobs and now our media, journalists, and democracy need urgent measures.Will the Prime Minister commit to include urgent measures in his next budget?

Mr. Speaker, the very first thing we did in government was lower taxes for the middle class and ask the wealthy to do a little more and pay more taxes. Next, we introduced the Canada child benefit, which is giving more money to nine out of ten families and will lift 40% of young people out of poverty. We are talking about roughly 100,000 young people. We will continue to combat tax evasion and tax avoidance, specifically through the $1-billion investment we made in our first two years so that the Canada Revenue Agency can do its job.

Mr. Speaker, love is in the air as today is Valentine's Day. I am reminded of the Centeno family. They are a married couple with children and face difficulty due to separation. Through a spousal sponsorship, they were reunified and overjoyed that their file was approved and finalized. The Conservatives kept newcomer families apart by making them wait for over 26 months to be reunited in Canada with their spouses and children.Will the Prime Minister please give the House an update on how our government is continuing to support family reunification on this Valentine's Day?

Mr. Speaker, again, the Ethics Commissioner did a complete and thorough investigation, at the request of members opposite. I co-operated with the Ethics Commissioner every step of the way, and her report is fulsome and rigorous. If the Conservatives choose to question the work that she has done, the quality of the work that the former ethics commissioner did, that is their prerogative. Quite frankly, it is consistent with the approach that the Conservative government under Stephen Harper always had, which was to minimize, discard, and ignore the great work done by officers of Parliament.

Mr. Speaker, I was touched and honoured to be able to sit with Colten Boushie's family members just yesterday, and to reflect with them on the challenges facing not just them, but indigenous peoples across the country, facing the justice system and facing police services. What I was incredibly inspired by in their conversation was that despite all the pain and anger, they are very much focused on fixing the system for the future for other families. We are going to work with them. We are going to fix our justice system and our police systems to make sure everyone is treated fairly.

Mr. Speaker, this year marks 80 years since Gatineau Park was established, and for nearly 50 years the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society has been striving for its protection. Gatineau Park is a cherished resource within our national capital region, and home to 118 rare or endangered species, but despite its importance, there are no restrictions on development and no set borders for the park.Will the Prime Minister and the Minister of Canadian Heritage accept CPAWS' request and amend the National Capital Act to protect the ecological integrity of Gatineau Park and establish its boundaries in law?

Mr. Speaker, when we were elected, we promised to restore employment insurance and reverse the Conservatives' changes, and that is exactly what we did.I would like to thank all our members from the Atlantic provinces, Quebec, and elsewhere in the country who worked with us to give seasonal workers the employment insurance options they need.Yes, we are very aware of the upcoming spring gap. That is why we are committed to working with them to address that challenge.

Mr. Speaker, organizations are swiftly ending their affiliation with Oxfam after serious allegations of its staff sexually exploiting Haitian women surfaced. In November, the Prime Minister announced $17.5 million to Oxfam's Philippine operations to empower women and girls in gender-sensitive sexual health services. Today, Oxfam's regional director for Asia said she knew of claims of sexual abuse involving their staff in the Philippines. Will the Prime Minister suspend funding to Oxfam?

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member from Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia for his question. I would like to start by saying that all of our Atlantic and Quebec MPs are doing a great job of representing their constituents and drawing attention to the EI gap, which is a major problem. We are aware of the reality faced by seasonal workers. We are currently working to find short- and long-term solutions to this problem. I am proud of our team, whose members continue to defend their communities' interests here in Ottawa.

Mr. Speaker, the Davie shipyard is a major shipyard and we recognize the expertise of its workers. They did an excellent job delivering the Asterix. After consultations with the industry, the Government of Canada started discussing options with Davie shipyard to see whether it could help meet the needs of the Canadian Coast Guard for interim icebreaker capacity.We are in the initial stages and we hope to provide more information once the discussions are complete.

Mr. Speaker, what is interesting is that we have the best economic growth numbers in years, the lowest rate of unemployment in 40 years, the fastest growth rate in the G7, and the members opposite spend their time slinging mud, making personal attacks, and trying to stir up stories that have already been dealt with.I took responsibility. I accept the full recommendations and advice of the Ethics Commissioner. They do not have anything else to criticize us on.

Mr. Speaker, like many people who live in Ottawa, we appreciate Gatineau Park to an extraordinary degree. The trails and the millions of Canadians who visit it every year make it a true jewel in our national capital region.We will continue to work with the National Capital Commission and various partners to ensure that we are doing everything we can to protect this beautiful wilderness area for generations to come.

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister said, in legalizing marijuana, that he was doing it because he wanted to keep organized crime out of the market. We are learning today of significant investments being made in Quebec cannabis companies by offshore accounts that have anonymous members. Can the Prime Minister give us assurances that these are not companies set up by organized crime?

Mr. Speaker, we have heard the Prime Minister, his top advisers, and many of his own caucus say that they think our oil should stay in the ground and pipelines should not even be built. Now the Prime Minister has said that approving Trans Mountain was a trade-off. He admitted that he used it as a bargaining chip to negotiate with. It is clear that the Prime Minister does not value or respect our natural resources and the people who work in them. He sees them as pawns for his own benefit.When will the Prime Minister stand up for energy workers' interests and get Trans Mountain started?

Mr. Speaker, regarding the Davie shipyard, it is high time the Liberals put their money where their mouth is. The Minister of National Revenue showed a lack of respect yesterday for my constituents and the people represented by all opposition members with her contemptuous remarks in question period, although she did apologize.Will the Prime Minister, who is the grand master of apologies, follow suit and apologize to honest taxpayers, the people who pay their taxes, while his government is giving a free pass to the wealthy by signing more agreements with tax havens?This deserves a real apology.

Mr. Speaker, I am glad the Prime Minister mentioned the Ethics Commissioner, because his vice-chair asked the Ethics Commissioner if he agreed that a minister should return any improperly received gifts. The commissioner said, “Of course it would be—”.Does the Prime Minister agree with the Ethics Commissioner on that?

Mr. Speaker, negotiations between the Canadian Coast Guard and Davie shipyard will begin tomorrow morning at 9 because we need icebreakers. Who said that? It was the Prime Minister himself.That was in Quebec City in January during the Prime Minister's tour. There has been radio silence ever since. The Davie shipyard workers are being shortchanged despite having successfully delivered the first supply ship, the Asterix, on time and on budget.When will the shipyard workers get to resume working on the four icebreakers the Prime Minister promised?

Mr. Speaker, I am glad the Prime Minister mentioned the Ethics Commissioner, because his vice-chair asked the Ethics Commissioner if he agreed that a minister should return any improperly received gifts. The commissioner said, “Of course it would be—”.Does the Prime Minister agree with the Ethics Commissioner on that?

Mr. Speaker, negotiations between the Canadian Coast Guard and Davie shipyard will begin tomorrow morning at 9 because we need icebreakers. Who said that? It was the Prime Minister himself.That was in Quebec City in January during the Prime Minister's tour. There has been radio silence ever since. The Davie shipyard workers are being shortchanged despite having successfully delivered the first supply ship, the Asterix, on time and on budget.When will the shipyard workers get to resume working on the four icebreakers the Prime Minister promised?

Mr. Speaker, regarding the Davie shipyard, it is high time the Liberals put their money where their mouth is. The Minister of National Revenue showed a lack of respect yesterday for my constituents and the people represented by all opposition members with her contemptuous remarks in question period, although she did apologize.Will the Prime Minister, who is the grand master of apologies, follow suit and apologize to honest taxpayers, the people who pay their taxes, while his government is giving a free pass to the wealthy by signing more agreements with tax havens?This deserves a real apology.

Mr. Speaker, we have heard the Prime Minister, his top advisers, and many of his own caucus say that they think our oil should stay in the ground and pipelines should not even be built. Now the Prime Minister has said that approving Trans Mountain was a trade-off. He admitted that he used it as a bargaining chip to negotiate with. It is clear that the Prime Minister does not value or respect our natural resources and the people who work in them. He sees them as pawns for his own benefit.When will the Prime Minister stand up for energy workers' interests and get Trans Mountain started?

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister said, in legalizing marijuana, that he was doing it because he wanted to keep organized crime out of the market. We are learning today of significant investments being made in Quebec cannabis companies by offshore accounts that have anonymous members. Can the Prime Minister give us assurances that these are not companies set up by organized crime?

Mr. Speaker, like many people who live in Ottawa, we appreciate Gatineau Park to an extraordinary degree. The trails and the millions of Canadians who visit it every year make it a true jewel in our national capital region.We will continue to work with the National Capital Commission and various partners to ensure that we are doing everything we can to protect this beautiful wilderness area for generations to come.

Mr. Speaker, what is interesting is that we have the best economic growth numbers in years, the lowest rate of unemployment in 40 years, the fastest growth rate in the G7, and the members opposite spend their time slinging mud, making personal attacks, and trying to stir up stories that have already been dealt with.I took responsibility. I accept the full recommendations and advice of the Ethics Commissioner. They do not have anything else to criticize us on.

Mr. Speaker, the Davie shipyard is a major shipyard and we recognize the expertise of its workers. They did an excellent job delivering the Asterix. After consultations with the industry, the Government of Canada started discussing options with Davie shipyard to see whether it could help meet the needs of the Canadian Coast Guard for interim icebreaker capacity.We are in the initial stages and we hope to provide more information once the discussions are complete.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member from Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia for his question. I would like to start by saying that all of our Atlantic and Quebec MPs are doing a great job of representing their constituents and drawing attention to the EI gap, which is a major problem. We are aware of the reality faced by seasonal workers. We are currently working to find short- and long-term solutions to this problem. I am proud of our team, whose members continue to defend their communities' interests here in Ottawa.

Mr. Speaker, organizations are swiftly ending their affiliation with Oxfam after serious allegations of its staff sexually exploiting Haitian women surfaced. In November, the Prime Minister announced $17.5 million to Oxfam's Philippine operations to empower women and girls in gender-sensitive sexual health services. Today, Oxfam's regional director for Asia said she knew of claims of sexual abuse involving their staff in the Philippines. Will the Prime Minister suspend funding to Oxfam?

Mr. Speaker, when we were elected, we promised to restore employment insurance and reverse the Conservatives' changes, and that is exactly what we did.I would like to thank all our members from the Atlantic provinces, Quebec, and elsewhere in the country who worked with us to give seasonal workers the employment insurance options they need.Yes, we are very aware of the upcoming spring gap. That is why we are committed to working with them to address that challenge.

Mr. Speaker, this year marks 80 years since Gatineau Park was established, and for nearly 50 years the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society has been striving for its protection. Gatineau Park is a cherished resource within our national capital region, and home to 118 rare or endangered species, but despite its importance, there are no restrictions on development and no set borders for the park.Will the Prime Minister and the Minister of Canadian Heritage accept CPAWS' request and amend the National Capital Act to protect the ecological integrity of Gatineau Park and establish its boundaries in law?

Mr. Speaker, I was touched and honoured to be able to sit with Colten Boushie's family members just yesterday, and to reflect with them on the challenges facing not just them, but indigenous peoples across the country, facing the justice system and facing police services. What I was incredibly inspired by in their conversation was that despite all the pain and anger, they are very much focused on fixing the system for the future for other families. We are going to work with them. We are going to fix our justice system and our police systems to make sure everyone is treated fairly.

Mr. Speaker, again, the Ethics Commissioner did a complete and thorough investigation, at the request of members opposite. I co-operated with the Ethics Commissioner every step of the way, and her report is fulsome and rigorous. If the Conservatives choose to question the work that she has done, the quality of the work that the former ethics commissioner did, that is their prerogative. Quite frankly, it is consistent with the approach that the Conservative government under Stephen Harper always had, which was to minimize, discard, and ignore the great work done by officers of Parliament.

Mr. Speaker, love is in the air as today is Valentine's Day. I am reminded of the Centeno family. They are a married couple with children and face difficulty due to separation. Through a spousal sponsorship, they were reunified and overjoyed that their file was approved and finalized. The Conservatives kept newcomer families apart by making them wait for over 26 months to be reunited in Canada with their spouses and children.Will the Prime Minister please give the House an update on how our government is continuing to support family reunification on this Valentine's Day?

Mr. Speaker, the very first thing we did in government was lower taxes for the middle class and ask the wealthy to do a little more and pay more taxes. Next, we introduced the Canada child benefit, which is giving more money to nine out of ten families and will lift 40% of young people out of poverty. We are talking about roughly 100,000 young people. We will continue to combat tax evasion and tax avoidance, specifically through the $1-billion investment we made in our first two years so that the Canada Revenue Agency can do its job.

Mr. Speaker, 7,000 people across Quebec have signed a petition calling on the Prime Minister, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, and the Minister of Finance to take urgent action to support our media and our journalism. Seven thousand people is a lot of people.Journalists came to Parliament today to present this petition. Unfortunately, only one Liberal was on hand to welcome them. What a shame. This sector has shed 16,000 jobs and now our media, journalists, and democracy need urgent measures.Will the Prime Minister commit to include urgent measures in his next budget?

Mr. Speaker, despite all the warnings, the Prime Minister insists on legalizing marijuana by July 1, less than five months from now. The closer we get to the deadline, the more we understand why. Wherever there is money and tax havens, there are Liberal Party cronies ready to do anything to line their pockets.Is this why the Prime Minister is being stubborn and interfering with the work of the senators in the Senate?

Mr. Speaker, protecting the health and safety of Canadians is a top priority for our government, and that is why we are moving forward on a legalized regime for the sale of marijuana.Under our proposed regulations, security clearances will be mandatory for individuals who occupy key positions in any organization, as well as background checks on significant investors to any marijuana company. In addition, the Minister of Finance recently reached an agreement with his provincial and territorial counterparts to ensure that we know who owns which corporations, which will help prevent Canadian or international companies from facilitating tax evasion.

Mr. Speaker, in my riding of Brampton East, young people are eager to share their ideas on the most pressing issues of our time. Each week, I host a basketball drop-in where a hundred young Canadians come in. We play some ball and talk about issues impacting Canada's future. Whether it is climate change, economic prosperity, or social justice issues, young Canadians are ready to have their voices added to the conversation.Will the Prime Minister please update the House and all Canadians on the launch of a national dialogue on Canada's first youth policy and how young Canadians can get involved?

Mr. Speaker, it is nice to see the NDP and Conservatives working together for once. The Minister of Finance recently reached an agreement with his provincial and territorial counterparts to ensure that we know who owns which corporations, which will prevent Canadian or international companies from facilitating tax evasion, money laundering, and other criminal activities. There will be background checks on significant investors in any marijuana organization. That is the kind of framework that we are putting in place to protect Canadians, to reduce the profits of organized crime, and to protect our communities.

Mr. Speaker, Canadians watching question period could be alarmed at the tone and the attacks that go back and forth in this place, but they should be reassured that above the partisanship, above the mudslinging, we have an Ethics Commissioner who looks into allegations and looks into behaviours, and makes determinations on what happened and what needs to happen going forward.I am actually pleased that the Ethics Commissioner made clarifications, significantly put forward recommendations. I accepted responsibility and have endeavoured and will commit to following all the recommendations of the Ethics Commissioner.

Mr. Speaker, the issue we have run into before with this particular member opposite is that he was able to say things in the House of Commons under parliamentary immunity that he would no longer repeat outside. The fact is that we have an Ethics Commissioner whose job it is to look at the facts to determine what is public, what is private, what is responsible and what is not, what are personal attacks and what are not. I accepted responsibility. I accept the full findings and recommendations of the Ethics Commissioner, and that is what reassures Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, as has been the case for previous prime ministers, and as the former commissioner herself stated, security costs are incurred whenever and wherever the Prime Minister travels.Moving forward, of course, I am happy to follow all the advice and recommendations that the commissioner had made, including those surrounding personal and private travel.

Mr. Speaker, the number of ties between the Liberal Party of Canada, companies that produce cannabis, and investments from tax havens is simply mind-boggling.On top of that, the secretive operations of shell companies in tax havens really raise concerns about who is ultimately making money from those companies.The government simply failed to establish strict rules governing the financing of that industry, and the proposed regulatory framework is a smokescreen.What are the Prime Minister's real intentions in legalizing cannabis? Is it simply so that friends of the Liberal Party of Canada can make more money?

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House we are always unequivocal about standing up for LGBTQ rights. We are, of course, deeply troubled by the deaths and detentions of protesters during protests in Iran. The Iranian people must be able to freely assemble without facing violence or imprisonment. We will always defend human rights. That is why Canada rallied more countries than ever before at the UN in November on a resolution calling on Iran to comply with its international human rights obligations. Our government is committed to holding Iran to account for its violation of human and democratic rights.

Mr. Speaker, as we know, young Canadians are not just leaders of tomorrow; they are leaders today. We announced the launch of a new interactive online platform, youthaction.ca, where young Canadians can share their ideas and perspectives on the development of a youth policy. This is the first step toward building a policy that will hold this government and future governments to account when it comes to issues that matter to young Canadians.I encourage all young Canadians to join the conversation, and I look forward to their feedback.

Mr. Speaker, my colleagues and I work hard to represent our constituents in Ottawa. For some time now, people in our ridings have been expressing concerns about the EI gap, an issue our government is particularly sensitive to.As the Prime Minister said earlier, we have already reversed the Conservatives' EI reforms. We know that supporting seasonal workers is essential.Could the Prime Minister tell us more about this situation to address the concerns of seasonal workers?

Mr. Speaker, today is another sad day for journalism. The Toronto Star has laid off over 50 people. The news media are undergoing unprecedented changes, yet the Minister of Canadian Heritage has not acted on any of the recommendations from either her commissioned report or the parliamentary committee report. Months have passed and job losses are a daily occurrence in the media. How many consultations, reports, and recommendations will it take for the government to decide to do something, even to act on a single recommendation?

Mr. Speaker, one of the fundamental reasons for legalizing and controlling the sale of marijuana is to reduce the amount of profit going into the coffers of organized crime across the country. For 10 years, the Conservative government allowed to perpetuate a system of prohibition that actually created sources of funding for organized crime, street gangs, and gun runners to continue to expand their illicit activities. We are moving forward to limit the profits to organized crime through the legal framework for marijuana. That is what we are sticking with.

Mr. Speaker, paragraph 121(1)(c) of the Criminal Code says it is an offence for a government official “to accept from a person who has dealings with the government a commission, reward, advantage or benefit of any kind for themselves or another person”. If the Prime Minister learned that one of his ministers had accepted a benefit from someone who had dealings with the government, what would he do about it?

Mr. Speaker, reliable local and community news is essential for the functioning of our democracy. For example, we have invested $675 million in CBC-Radio Canada that then turned around and introduced journalists into areas where they had never served before. We are also modernizing the Canada periodical fund to ensure that it is meeting the needs of local news and magazines, including in the transition to digital. We know there is more to do. We will continue to work with our valued friends and partners in the media to ensure they can continue to do their job of holding the democracy to account and informing citizens.

Mr. Speaker, if the Liberals have a plan of action and they are going to actually do what it takes to get Trans Mountain built, why did they refuse to tell Canadians exactly what that plan is? The only consistent action by the Liberals has been inaction, and the Prime Minister's failure of leadership has directly led to the escalating interprovincial dispute. Clearly, he has lost control of this national priority. The pipeline opponents say that they will use all tools available to kill it. What tools will the Prime Minister commit to using to get the pipeline built?

Mr. Speaker, we are going to continue to crack down on tax evasion and tax avoidance by making investments. We invested nearly $1 billion in the Canada Revenue Agency for that very purpose. I am also pleased to repeat the announcement that was made today. Across the country, 30 CRA investigators are taking action in Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto to ensure that we are continuing to crack down on tax evasion and tax avoidance.

Mr. Speaker, high-quality local and community information is essential to our democracy.As a result of our $675-million investment in CBC/Radio-Canada, new journalists are now in communities where previously there had been no coverage. We are also modernizing the Canada periodical fund. Our goal is to ensure that the fund meets the need for local information and local magazines. We know that more needs to be done and we will continue to work with organizations to ensure that we will have a free, independent, and viable press.

Mr. Speaker, again, the Conservatives are trying to divert attention from their own failure on this file. The Conservative government perpetuated a system that made it easier for young people to access marijuana in Canada than in 29 other countries in the world. Their system was a total failure. We want to better protect our young people. We want to keep profits out of the hands of organized crime. That is exactly what we are doing and they have nothing to say about it.

Mr. Speaker, I want to first thank the member for Surrey Centre for his advocacy on this family reunification issue.The Conservatives left us a backlog of over 75,000 applications and forced families to remain separated from each other for over two years. With our commitment and investments in family reunification, we have reduced the backlog to under 15,000 and maintained a service standard for processing applications in under 12 months for spouses and children. While Conservatives kept families apart, our government will continue to work to reunite loved ones.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased that half an hour into question period we finally get a question on the upcoming budget.We consider that a gender wage gap in 2018 is unacceptable. Therefore, after 10 years of inaction from the previous government, we are taking action to help address the wage gap and support women's labour market participation. Already we have put $7 billion to address early learning and child care. We have increased parental and maternity benefits. We have invested in affordable housing and home care, and we are also going to be moving forward on pay equity.

Mr. Speaker, right now the sale of marijuana across this country puts billions of dollars in the pockets of organized crime. That is a failure of the current, actual system. We know that by legalizing and controlling the sale of marijuana, not only will we reduce the profits going to organized crime, street gangs, and gun runners but we will do a better job of protecting our kids and their communities with a legalized framework.

Mr. Speaker, we are just trying to help Liberal cabinet ministers understand what the rules are. That is why I am asking the Prime Minister.The Prime Minister's cabinet is here and they are listening. He has an opportunity to inform them. If a minister, for example, got a $200,000 gift from someone who is lobbying that minister, would the Prime Minister take action? What action would he take? Would he fire the minister? Would he force them to give the gift back? Would he refer the matter to the RCMP, or just shrug?

Mr. Speaker, in this place we have a system where different parties ask questions and hold governments to account, and it works very well. What also works very well is that Canadians can be reassured that above the mudslinging and personal attacks, we have officers of Parliament, like the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, who will dig into the actual facts of the matter and make thorough investigations. We worked with the Ethics Commissioner throughout the fall and can say that we fully accept all her findings and have moved forward on accepting all her recommendations.

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister of Canada has been silent on the Iranian protest, which Amnesty International yesterday confirmed has led to thousands being imprisoned. He has been silent on drones and missiles financed by Iran facing our ally Israel. He has been silent even on the death of a Canadian, Professor Seyed-Emami, in an Iranian prison on the weekend.Instead of silence from the Prime Minister, when can we have him stand up for human rights, for democracy, and for Canadians, instead of cozying up to the Iranian regime?

Mr. Speaker, with regard to tax information, we are focused on transparency and increasing and expanding the sharing of information.Canada has a vast network of treaties and a number of tools that enabled the Canada Revenue Agency to share 2.2 million pieces of information last year. Thanks to our historic investment of $1 billion to combat tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance, the CRA will be able to recover over $5 billion in federal revenues over the next six years. We will continue to work hard to combat tax evasion and tax avoidance.

Mr. Speaker, on the subject of ministers receiving valuable and improper gifts, the Liberal vice-chair of the ethics committee, a Liberal member of the Prime Minister's caucus said, “I do think repayment of the reasonable value of an improper gift that one receives is prudent and reasonable under the act.”Does the Prime Minister agree with the Liberal vice-chair of the ethics committee that ministers should return the commercial value of any improper gift they receive?

Mr. Speaker, rural and suburban mail carriers are paid 25% less per hour than their urban counterparts. They also receive fewer benefits. Two-thirds of rural mail carriers are women, while urban units have mostly men. Canada Post refuses to even acknowledge the existence of a pay gap, and the government is dragging its feet. Women have been waiting for far too long.When will the government keep its promise and stop this injustice?

Mr. Speaker, tax haven is synonymous with Liberal haven. The former national director of the Liberal Party of Canada, the former chief financial officer of the Liberal Party, former Liberal ministers of health, justice, and national revenue, and major Liberal Party donors are all involved. What do they have in common? They are all affluent Liberals, people the Prime Minister knows personally, and they are all going to get richer with the legalization of cannabis.Is this another sponsorship scandal?

Mr. Speaker, for 30 years Canada Post fought its female workers in court. It is shameful. Two years ago, the Liberals voted for our NDP motion to give women the respect we deserve and implement pay equity, but we still have not seen any movement. The Prime Minister claims to be a feminist, yet the government has not legislated pay equity in law. Women want concrete action today. We have waited far too long already.With the budget coming in two weeks, will the government finally introduce measures to legislate equal pay for women? We are looking for action, not words.

Mr. Speaker, this government has been consistent in standing up for human rights everywhere around the world. Whenever I meet with any leader around the world, I bring up human rights and we talk about the importance of protecting Canadian interests. In this tragic case coming out of Iran, we have communicated clearly our desire for an autopsy, for a complete independent investigation. We demand that Canadians be treated fairly, that their families be supported, and that we get to the bottom of this situation.

Mr. Speaker, immediately after the Ethics Commissioner released her report, I accepted the findings of the report, took responsibility, and am following up on every single element of her advice or recommendations.That is what Canadians expect, and that following of the Ethic Commissioner's advice and recommendations is exactly what Canadians expect of any of us.

Mr. Speaker, paragraph 121(1)(c) of the Criminal Code makes it an offence for a government official “to accept from a person who has dealings with the government a commission, reward, advantage or benefit of any kind for themselves or another person”. Was the Prime Minister aware of this paragraph of the Criminal Code when he accepted a $200,000 gift from a person who has dealings with his government?

Mr. Speaker, Canadians understand and appreciate that the function of an opposition in this parliamentary system is to ask tough questions and challenge the government. What is important to know, however, is that we have a system that goes above the partisan attacks and the personal mudslinging and actually charges the Ethics Commissioner with looking into issues and allegations of this, making findings of fact, and making determinations on the path forward. I have fully accepted all the findings, all the advice, and all the recommendations by the Ethics Commissioner. I thanked her for her work and will keep going—

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, Liberals voted down an NDP motion that would have taken real action in fighting tax havens. Why the Prime Minister will not stand up to tax cheats and the unaccountable leadership of the Canada Revenue Agency is beyond me. What is clear to me and what is clear to Canadians is that highly connected Liberal insiders are not shy about exploiting Canada's weakness on tax havens to invest in cannabis production. Why is the Prime Minister so slow in acting on the unaccountability of the CRA, so slow in acting against tax havens, and even slower in addressing the critical issue of anonymous tax haven investors in cannabis production?

Mr. Speaker, these are all questions that the Ethics Commissioner dug into in her report and made clear recommendations on. However, what is clear is that on this side of the House we value and respect the work done by officers of Parliament. On that side of the House, they continue to question the work of the Ethics Commissioner, just as they did for 10 years of insulting, minimizing, and discarding the advice of officers of Parliament. That is what they did when they were in government. We take a different approach. We respect the great work done by our officers of Parliament.

Mr. Speaker, here is the situation and here is why the Liberals want to push through the marijuana legislation. Anonymous investors from tax havens have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Canadian companies owned by Liberal cronies. Can the Prime Minister assure Canadians that no one involved in organized crime and none of his Liberal friends are involved with these marijuana producers?

Mr. Speaker, part of our framework for the sale of marijuana and associated investments involves extensive screenings and background checks of everyone who works in the marijuana industry, including investors. Yes, we will ensure that no one involved in organized crime invests in the sale and production of marijuana.

Mr. Speaker, again, above the mudslinging, we have a Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, who is tasked with looking into the facts of issues, making recommendations, and holding all parliamentarians to account. When the commissioner put forward her report, I fully accepted that report, took responsibility, and have been implementing the advice and recommendations she made. The opposition may continue to want to sling mud and make personal attacks, but Canadians can be reassured that the Ethics Commissioner has done her job.

Mr. Speaker, it is not the Ethics Commissioner who is responsible for investigating matters under the Criminal Code. The RCMP is responsible for that.Did the Prime Minister or his office ever discuss his island vacation with any member of the RCMP?

Mr. Speaker, we strongly condemn all forms of exploitation and abuse of women and children in the conduct of international aid operations and we take these situations and these allegations very seriously. Oxfam Canada and Oxfam-Québec confirm that no employee or Canadian funds are connected to the deplorable situation in Haiti. In regard to the Philippines, we are following up. We require that all partners we work with in disaster or humanitarian situations adhere to internationally agreed on codes of conduct and code principles related to sexual exploitation and abuse.

Mr. Speaker, it is in questions like this that we see the Conservatives have learned nothing from the 2015 election campaign. They still refuse to accept that the environment and the economy need to go together. They fought against that for 10 years. Not only were they unable to protect our environment, but they did not get anything done on the economic side, because they refuse to understand that the only way to grow the economy and create jobs in the future for Canadians is to be responsible on the environment at the same time. They refuse to get that.

Mr. Speaker, simply there is no due diligence. We are talking about $277 million coming to Canada from secret tax havens benefiting from the poor management by the government of cannabis. We do not even know who is involved. Is it Liberal insiders again, is it organized crime, or is it both? The Prime Minister's willingness to sign anything with overseas tax havens and poor fiscal rules means these secretive funds do not even have to report their capital gains in Canada. Perfect for money laundering. Why is the Prime Minister being so utterly irresponsible?

Mr. Speaker, a gender pay gap in 2018 is unacceptable. After 10 years of inaction by the previous government, we are working to eliminate the pay gap and support women’s participation in the workforce. We have invested $7 billion into early childhood education and daycare. We have increased parental and maternity benefits. We have invested in affordable housing and home care infrastructure. We are introducing flexible work arrangements for employees under federal jurisdiction. I could go on. I know that there is work left to do, and we will continue to work on that.

Mr. Speaker, we understand that protecting the environment and growing the economy go together, and that is exactly what we have done. We have focused on building a world-class carbon reduction plan that is actually going to deliver on our Paris targets. We have invested over $1.5 billion in protecting our coasts, and we are moving forward on getting our resources to new markets through the Kinder Morgan pipeline. These are the things that Canadians expect of a government, to pull things together and create an economy and an environment that go together. That is what the Conservatives failed to do. That is what we are doing.

Mr. Speaker, I want to be clear. On behalf of the opposition, we fully endorse the Ethics Commissioner's finding of guilt of the Prime Minister. He broke four sections of the ethics law, and now he wants to turn himself into the victim because the opposition is asking legitimate questions about section 121 of the Criminal Code.Does he dispute that he accepted thousands of dollars of benefits from somebody who had official dealings with his government and with him personally?

Mr. Speaker, the leadership we have demonstrated on growing the economy and protecting the environment, together, is showing its fruits. It is showing benefits. We have the fastest-growing economy in the G7 right now and the lowest unemployment rate in 40 years, and that is partially because we have restored Canadians' trust in our process. They know that we can both reduce our carbon emissions to meet our Paris targets, and build outlets for our resources to new markets, such as the Kinder Morgan pipeline.That is what Canadians expect. That is what the Conservatives failed at.

Mr. Speaker, I am not talking about the cost of the transportation and security. I am talking about the commercial value of a gift. I never actually mentioned the Prime Minister, by the way. I just described some conduct and he immediately attributed it to himself. It is funny. An island like the one on which he vacationed is advertised for, and they cost a lot of money, approximately $200,000 for the amount of time and the number of people the Prime Minister had vacationing as part of this gift. Does he believe that a minister, any minister, should repay an improper gift of that size?

Mr. Speaker, the problem is that under the tax agreements that this government has signed we cannot find out who is part of those tax havens.Automatic information-sharing agreements do not work. We still do not know who owns these corporations and who is investing in tax havens. How do we know whether they will invest here next? Oddly enough, we learned today that friends of the Liberal Party, including a former treasurer and a former advisor, are using these tax havens to invest in the production of cannabis, just a few months before it is legalized. We are understandably concerned.This is a wake-up call the Prime Minister is ignoring. When will he wake up and realize that the involvement of these Liberal friends is just the tip of the iceberg?

Mr. Speaker, an independent investigation from the Government of Iran? After those town halls, maybe it is hard to know when the Prime Minister is joking, but this joke is not funny. The Government of Iran is a regime that gives LGBTQ children electric shock therapy. The government should stop cozying up to the regime. This is his chance. The Prime Minister has said nothing thus far on the protest. Could he stand up and finally support the cause of protesters who are fighting for democracy, human rights, justice, and the rule of law?

Mr. Speaker, Bill C-452, introduced by a female member of Parliament to help women who are victims of human trafficking, was shelved by a Prime Minister who claims to be a feminist.Instead of accepting the decisions made by the House and the Senate, he came back with his own bill, which favours the offenders over the women.Why will he not acknowledge that his bill is sloppy, and when will he help and protect these vulnerable women?

Mr. Speaker, the night that Colten Boushie was killed, the RCMP raided the home of his grieving mother and treated her as if she were an accomplice. They left his body lying in a field in the rain for two days. They handcuffed his friends and took them on a high-speed police chase. This is not how to treat victims of crime, so no one should say that race was not a huge part of this tragedy. Will the Prime Minister agree to an independent investigation into the RCMP's handling of the Boushie killing, and tell the House that the RCMP in Saskatchewan will finally be brought under an independent review process to deal with police complaints?

Mr. Speaker, it is very simple, the current system is failing. It fails to protect our children, it fails to protect our communities, and it fails to keep organized crime from making billions of dollars per year in profits from marijuana sales. That is why we are bringing forward a system that will control and regulate the sale and production of marijuana to better protect our kids, better protect our communities, and keep billions of dollars in profits out of the hands of organized crime.

Mr. Speaker, that is confidence building, but that was the wrong one.The minister says that he will not accept any undue delays on the Trans Mountain expansion, although he will not define them, even though it has already been held up for 142 days. Construction is stalled. Spending is slowed, and operations are postponed. The Prime Minister says that he will not allow it to be stalled or stopped, and he claims the pipeline will be built. However, yesterday the Liberals defeated a motion just asking them to set out a concrete plan of action, and he will not answer today.Is the Prime Minister not willing to announce his plan because he actually does not even have one?

Mr. Speaker, this is eerily reminiscent of the tone and approach that for 10 years failed to get pipelines built by the previous Conservative government. The Conservatives thought that ramming things through was the way to get things done, and they did not get it done.On this side of the House, we understand what Canadians know, that we protect the environment and grow the economy together, and that is exactly what we are doing. That is why we put forward a national plan on fighting climate change at the same time as we are moving forward on building the Keystone XL, or rather the Kinder Morgan pipeline.

Mr. Speaker, I am trying to bring to the Prime Minister's attention an actual issue, and I do not need his talking points given back to me.There is a company based in the Cayman Islands. It has secret investors. It has just invested $271 million in a Quebec cannabis company, and guess what. The founder of that company is the former chief financial officer of the Liberal Party of Canada. Canadians deserve to have the assurance that there is no organized crime element within these secret investors.

Mr. Speaker, let us look at the facts regarding the Liberals and pipelines.The Prime Minister was a failure on northern gateway. That one is dead. The Liberals' anti-development policy has killed energy east. That is dead. Trans Mountain is now under threat because the Prime Minister is abdicating his responsibility and missing in action. The Prime Minister's standing up and spouting platitudes is not leadership.Does he have a plan, and when is Kinder Morgan going to get started?

Mr. Speaker, once again I merely quoted sections out of the Criminal Code without referring to the Prime Minister. He instantaneously assumed that I was making a personal attack against him. This is a Prime Minister who accepted a gift that is worth approximately $200,000 from someone who was seeking a $15 million grant from the Government of Canada. Does he dispute these facts?

Mr. Speaker, government after government, be it Liberal or Conservative, has left seasonal workers out in the cold.The spring gap is when workers' benefits run out during the off-season because of bad employment insurance reforms. For some, the spring gap can last over four months. The Liberals broke their promise to scrap the Conservatives' reform, which penalizes seasonal workers and their families.When will this government keep its promises and help seasonal workers? Maybe in the upcoming budget?

Mr. Speaker, the commissioner's job does not include investigating matters under the Criminal Code. There are two essential elements to paragraph 121(1)(c) of the Criminal Code: one, a government official accepting a benefit, and two, “from a person who has dealings with the government”.Did the Prime Minister accept a benefit from the Aga Khan? Does the Aga Khan have dealings with the government?

Mr. Speaker, our approach as a feminist government has been to invest in women, support women, invest in combatting gender-based violence, and ensure that women have recourse in difficult situations.We will continue to support women. We know that empowering women, encouraging women in the workplace, and protecting women who are victims of harassment or violence are at the core of any Canadian government's mandate.