Most toxic speeches
Mr. Speaker, the bottom line is that in southwestern Ontario we are angry. As a parent, as a member of Parliament, will the Prime Minister do what is right and put this convicted murderer behind bars where she belongs?
Mr. Speaker, Tori Stafford's family does not want the Prime Minister's heartfelt sentiments; it wants him to take action. The family does not want the Prime Minister's excuses; it wants Tori's killer back behind bars.The Conservatives do not respect the decision to put this killer in a healing lodge without fences. We want her back behind bars and so does Tori's family.Why does the Prime Minister not use the authority he has, take action today and put this killer behind bars?
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives continue to play a very dangerous and, quite frankly, repulsive game of politicizing a tragedy and speaking for others who they have no business speaking for.We continue to state, obviously, that this is a situation in which a previous Conservative government reclassified an offender, from a maximum security institution to a medium institution. This individual is currently in a medium security facility.As Stephen Harper's former
Mr. Speaker, we are very pleased to have eliminated chapter 11, which has cost Canadians $300 million over the years.We know that it is important to protect the government's ability to legislate on environmental protection and labour rights.We stood our ground to get rid of that chapter. We are very pleased that Canadians are no longer subject to it.
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives want to play politics with this issue. The Conservatives want to drag up this terrible murder and try and look at political gain on this. They have been politicizing this for well over a week, with all the passion they can muster, and they are debasing the nature of the House and the
Mr. Speaker, little Victoria's father wrote the Prime Minister a message last weekend. He asked him, from father to father, if the Prime Minister could kneel before his child's headstone, knowing they spent the last three hours of their life begging and pleading for mommy or daddy to come save them. He asked the Prime Minister if he could sleep soundly knowing that. He pleaded with the Prime Minister to do the right thing to ensure that this injustice is reversed and that the killer returns behind bars.The Prime Minister has the power to take action. Will he vote in favour of the motion we have moved here in the House?
Mr. Speaker, as a mother and a grandmother, I can only imagine the pain and suffering that Tori's family has experienced. Tori's father has been begging the Prime Minister to reverse the decision that has allowed Terri-Lynne McClintic to serve her time at a healing lodge in Saskatchewan. When will the Prime Minister listen to Tori's father, do the right thing, reverse this decision and put Tori's killer back behind bars?
Mr. Speaker, let me give the Prime Minister the facts. This was an eight-year-old girl who was heinously murdered and these people were convicted of first degree murder and sent to prison, behind bars. Are you telling me that sending this convicted first degree murderer
Mr. Speaker, two years ago, the Supreme Court overturned a bestiality conviction on a child molester because it ruled the law does not cover non-penetrative acts. Since then, the Prime Minister has not included this simple definition change in any of his legislation while bestiality charges are not being laid and more cases are being impacted.Why is the Prime Minister failing to protect humans and animals by refusing to pass updated bestiality legislation?
Mr. Speaker, for weeks, the Minister of Public Safety has tried to pass the buck over the outrageous decision to transfer child killer Terri-Lynne McClintic to a healing lodge. However, no matter how hard the minister tries to avoid taking responsibility, the buck stops with him. He has the authority to reverse the decision. He has the authority to put McClintic back where she belongs, behind bars. Why will he not?
Mr. Speaker, a woman who was convicted of the rape and first degree murder of an eight-year-old girl was transferred to a healing lodge that does not even have fences. Security is so lax that there were 18 recorded escapes from this type of facility between 2011 and 2016. Our motion, like the one the Ontario government unanimously adopted on Monday, calls for this decision to be reversed.My question for the Prime Minister is simple. Will he vote in favour of our motion, as Canadians from across the country are calling for, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is now promising to finally meaningfully consult indigenous peoples on the Trans Mountain pipeline proposal. No, seriously, this time he really means it. Here is his problem. He has already made up his mind about the project. Therefore, asking indigenous peoples for their opinion, but refusing to hear the word no is the very definition of paternalism. How about this? Why does the Prime Minister not go and sit with indigenous leaders so they can teach him what free, prior and informed consent actually means or does he only agree with indigenous rights and title when indigenous people agree with him?
Mr. Speaker, as I told steel and aluminum workers when I toured their plants, our government is there for them. Our countermeasures will remain in place until the unfair tariffs on steel and aluminum are removed.During the negotiations, our goal was to create the conditions to grow the middle class and provide more opportunities for Canadians. We will continue our efforts to eliminate these tariffs. That is what Canadians expect and that is what we will do.
Mr. Speaker, we will continue to stand up for Canadians in the steel and aluminum sector. Despite what the member opposite says, we have had an awful lot of wins, on top of obviously securing our access to the U.S. market. We have eliminated the ratchet clause that prevented our government from controlling access to our energy sources. We got a cultural exemption that, in the spirit of modernizing NAFTA, will now apply to digital platforms. We got rid of the ISDS platform. We got a new auto deal for Canadians that will secure our auto sector. We have enforceable environmental and labour standards, which I know the Conservatives
Mr. Speaker, I would like to apologize to the House of Commons for some unparliamentary behaviour I exhibited yesterday. It was a long day. It was a passionate debate. Unfortunately, I let the passion get the better of me. Therefore, I would like to apologize to the House of Commons for unparliamentary behaviour yesterday, and it will not happen again.
Mr. Speaker, in the new USMCA, we learned that Canada will finally eliminate chapter 11. Canadians have been hit with millions of dollars in legal fees and payouts to private corporations. Now, thanks to the tireless work of the New Democrats, labour and civil society, it is gone. Canada has been the most sued country under ISDS and, for years, the Liberals have argued to keep this clause. They argued to keep it in the CPTPP, which they will be ramming through this week, and created a whole new investor court system in CETA.Will the Liberals finally commit to no future ISDS in trade agreements?
Mr. Speaker, let me highlight that people not just from southwestern Ontario but right across the country are upset and stand with Tori Stafford's family on this terrible tragedy. Right across the country, people's hearts go out to the family.In 2014, the individual in question was reclassified from a maximum to a medium security facility. Those are the facts. The Conservatives are playing politics in a particularly inappropriate way.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians continue to call on the Prime Minister to do the right thing and send Terri-Lynne McClintic, the killer of eight-year-old Tori Stafford, back to prison. While he and his public safety minister dither with this review and refuse to review the transfer, which did not occur in 2014, but just a few months ago, with McClintic now enjoying life in a healing lodge without a fence.I ask the Prime Minister on behalf of Tori's father and on behalf of Canadians to do the right thing, to vote yes on our motion today and order McClintic back behind bars.
Mr. Speaker, I would indeed suggest that this is a moral issue. This is about the contrast between a party and a government that respects the rules and respects the independence of our judicial system, that appreciates the professionalism of our correctional services, and a party of ambulance-chasing politicians who are quite frankly demonstrating a contempt for the principles of law and debate in the House. It is inexcusable.
I am sorry Mr. Speaker. He is misleading the House.
Mr. Speaker, nine months ago, Tori Stafford's killer was behind bars and today she is in a healing lodge. Tori's killer was convicted of the most heinous crime imaginable, something the public safety minister called bad practices.Tori's family has called on the Prime Minister to use all of the tools available to him to fix this situation. Today, members will be voting on a motion that would do just that.Does the Prime Minister agree with the decision to transfer Tori's killer to a healing lodge?
Mr. Speaker, in the NAFTA renegotiation, the Prime Minister left steel and aluminum industries hanging in the wind, but he has also abandoned small businesses across the country, like northern boat sellers who are paying punishing import duties because of the Prime Minister's tit-for-tat war with Donald Trump. Would he explain his logic to Clint Chartrand of Guiho Saw Sales in Timmins, who is being hammered by punitive penalties from the government, why the government has squeezed $300 million out of hard-working Canadian businesses and has only paid $11,000 back? When are these penalties going to end against Canadian businesses?
Mr. Speaker, today, the Liberals have decided not to appeal the Federal Court ruling on the Trans Mountain expansion. Why? Because the court is right.Despite their promises, the Liberals used the same process that the Conservatives used and failed to have meaningful consultations with indigenous communities. Now the court is slapping them on the wrist and they have to go back to the drawing board.They want to restart the consultation process, but how can this consultation be honest and sincere when the government has already made up its mind? It is no different than saying, Your call is important to us, but the answer is no.
Mr. Speaker, at least the Prime Minister can show some kind of emotion, even though it is self-righteous indignation that we would actually question him on an issue as important as making sure convicted killers of children are in appropriate institutions, both to protect the integrity of the justice system, but as well to protect the public and any visitors within that institution.If he is blind to it, get out of the way and let us go back to government and get this right.
Mr. Speaker, in the course of question period today, the Prime Minister answered a question that I posed to him, and in it he indicated that I was an ambulance chaser. An ambulance chaser is a term for an unethical lawyer. I am a lawyer in my profession. I take great offence to being called an ambulance chaser. I would like to give the Prime Minister the opportunity to do the right thing and apologize, since only last evening, he said himself that he was not going to play this kind of politics.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians want to know where is the justice in a criminal receiving benefits while he is serving his sentence. Veterans want to know where is the justice in a criminal receiving benefits reserved for our brave veterans.Once again, is Christopher Garnier still receiving these benefits?When will the Prime Minister demand justice for Canadians, for our brave veterans, and for the family of Constable Catherine Campbell?
Mr. Speaker, not only did we secure access to the United States for our middle class and for our workers at a time of protectionism and uncertainty, we got rid of the ratchet clause. It infringed on our sovereignty by preventing our government from controlling our access to energy resources. In the face of stiff opposition from the Americans, we kept chapter 19 in the dispute resolution system. We got a cultural exemption that now will apply to digital platforms. That is modernizing NAFTA. We got rid of the ISDS that cost Canadians so much. The auto sector got a big win here in Canada and we have new, enforceable environmental and labour standards.
Mr. Speaker, small and medium-sized businesses, entrepreneurs and workers across Quebec and the rest of Canada are glad we have signed this agreement with the United States. All the same, as I told steel and aluminum workers when I visited their plants, our government will protect them. Canada's countermeasures will remain in place until the unfair steel and aluminum tariffs are lifted. Throughout the negotiations, our goal was always to create conditions that will help grow the middle class and provide more benefits to Canadians.We will keep working to protect our workers.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister accuses us of games, but I remember being in the Ontario legislature as an MPP 18 years ago when the Ontario legislature voted unanimously to ask the federal government to stop a transfer of a cop killer to Club Fed.The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, who was solicitor general at the time, stood in the House and reversed the transfer. Why was that good enough 18 years ago? Why is he playing political games now, saying he cannot do anything on behalf of Tori Stafford's family and on behalf of Canadians? He should do the right thing.
Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the Prime Minister needed all the help he could get when it came to his negotiating position with Donald Trump. Even after all of that, he still had to back down on so many key areas. He backed down on pharmaceuticals, meaning that Canadian patients and the provincial health care systems will have to pay billions more.Can the Prime Minister tell us exactly how much Canadian patients will have to pay after he has adopted Donald Trump's rules on prescription drug costs?
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives cannot help but play politics on big issues, but we are staying focused on Canadians.It is wonderful to hear the Conservatives suddenly preoccupied with prescription drug costs, because they have never wanted to do anything on that. However, we have made sure that Canadians know that we are serious about moving forward with pharmacare. We will move forward in lowering prescription drug costs for Canadians, and nothing in this deal prevents us from being able to do that for Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians actually expected these tariffs to be eliminated during the negotiations with the United States, but they are still in place.In Quebec alone, the aluminum sector represents 20,000 jobs, the steel sector represents 15,000 jobs, and the softwood lumber sector represents 46,000 jobs.Need I remind the Prime Minister that he has been the member for Papineau, Quebec, for 10 years?What does he have to say to workers in the industries targeted by the U.S. tariffs, given that he has failed to do anything for them?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government is trying so hard to find a positive angle to this deal with Donald Trump that it is wilfully misleading the House on this.Yesterday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and today the Prime Minister are bragging about the fact that the elimination of chapter 11 of NAFTA is a great victory for them and their government. The problem is that they are the ones who fought to try to keep it. Donald Trump was the one who tried to get rid of it.Of course, we are glad that chapter 11 is gone, but how desperate is the Prime Minister that he now wants to rewrite history?
Mr. Speaker, says the Prime Minister who has been repeatedly misrepresenting the position of the Conservative Party on this negotiation from the very start. It is true that many Conservatives entered on a rescue mission to try and help the Prime Minister who was clearly floundering from the beginning. Now we have the result. He backed down on pharmaceuticals with higher drug prices for Canadian seniors. He backed down on dairy, imposing Canadian tariffs on Canadian farmers. Why did he give up so much to get absolutely nothing that we did not already have?
Mr. Speaker, our hearts go out to Tori's father, to her entire family, on this terrible tragedy. We understand the anguish and the questions they have and the difficulties they have lived with over the past years.The corrections act does not permit a minister to weigh in directly on the classification of an individual prisoner. The minister has asked the corrections services to look into what happened here to ensure everything was done according to proper procedures and to make recommendations if the procedures need to be changed.
Mr. Speaker, I continue to find it puzzling as to why Conservatives insist on making pollution free. We believe the polluters should pay, and that is why we are putting a price on pollution. We would prefer to work with provinces right across the country, but if they are unwilling to make sure that polluters pay, we will bring in federal measures to both collect a price on pollution and return that money to hard-working citizens right across the country.
Mr. Speaker, we thank the court for its clarifications on what to do to engage in even better consultations with indigenous peoples, to show them that we are serious and that we sincerely want to have new nation-to-nation relationships with indigenous peoples. That is exactly what we are going to do.We are going to sit down with them to hold even more consultations and to ensure that this project is done right if we move forward. That is what Canadians, indigenous peoples, and our justice system expect.
Mr. Speaker, I am sorry. Instead of wilfully misleading the House, I will claim that he is misleading the House.
Mr. Speaker, we in the House should not be surprised when the Conservatives choose to play politics.I have to admit I am surprised on this one, given that just last year Stephen Harper and the Conservatives were imploring us to capitulate and accept any deal at any price. Stephen Harper's memo said, It does not matter whether current American proposals are worse than what we have now.Over and over, the Conservatives urged us to take Harper's advice and surrender immediately. That was not our approach. We stood up for Canadians and got a good deal.
Mr. Speaker, the deputy leader of the Conservative Party has just asked the Prime Minister to apologize for using an unparliamentary term. I would like to know from you, Mr. Speaker, if ambulance chaser is an unparliamentary term.
Mr. Speaker, right across the country, Canadians have been clear that they want us to stand strong, be firm and stand up for Canadian jobs. That is exactly what we did. The members opposite do not have to take my word for it. They can ask Jerry Dias of Unifor, who said that this is a much better deal than the deal that was signed 24 years ago. Perhaps they will listen to Hassan Yussuff, the president of the Canadian Labour Congress, who said, The USMCA gets it right on labour provisions, including provisions to protect workers against employment discrimination on the basis of gender. This deal is a good news story for middle-class Canadians right across the country.
Mr. Speaker, it is funny to hear the Prime Minister talk about playing political games here.No less than three times yesterday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs talked about the elimination of chapter 11 of NAFTA as a great victory for her and her government.The thing is that the Liberals are the ones who fought at the negotiating table to keep a version of that provision, which allows companies to go after governments directly. Donald Trump is the one who wanted to get rid of chapter 11. We are glad to see it go.Are the Liberals so desperate that they have to rewrite history?
Mr. Speaker, I am surprised to hear the Conservatives playing Monday morning quarterback, considering that last year, Stephen Harper and the Conservatives begged us to give in and accept an agreement at any cost. Stephen Harper's memo said, and I quote, it does not matter whether current American proposals are worse than what we have now.We on this side of the House refused to give in. We were patient and persistent, and we succeeded in negotiating a good deal for Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, former prime minister Stephen Harper predicted the Liberal government would capitulate and he was absolutely right. For the first time in the history of trade deals, there are more tariffs after the conclusion of the deal than there were when the negotiations actually started. My colleague asked when the steel tariffs will be removed. The Prime Minister has backed down on pharmaceuticals, dairy, and so much else. I ask again, when will the steel tariffs be removed? When?
Mr. Speaker, I would ask the Conservative members to not make guesses about what Tori's family wants and instead be honest about what they want. They want to play politics with a heinous tragedy. They want
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Vimy for her question and for her dedication to new Canadians.Since we amended the act, nearly 150,000 newcomers have joined our great Canadian family. That is 40% more than we had under the Conservatives. We also reduced the wait time for applications from 24 months to 10.Next week, we will hold 54 citizenship ceremonies and welcome 13,000 new Canadians. On this side of the House, a Canadian is a Canadian.
Mr. Speaker, the member for Essex knows well that the people in Windsor are very happy with this deal, which secures Canada's auto industry for the coming decades. It demonstrates a real win for the Canadian auto and auto parts suppliers' industry. However, yes, we also got rid of the investor-state dispute resolution system, which has cost the federal government more than $300 million in penalties and legal fees. I am glad to hear the member opposite's support for the USMCA. We continue to work to defend people in Windsor and right across the country.
Mr. Speaker, I have been listening to the excuses that the Prime Minister continuously gives to the House and to the Canadian public with respect to his unwillingness to transfer Terri-Lynne McClintic from a healing lodge, with no fences and no barriers, back to where she came from, Grand Valley Institution, with fences and bars.I understand the government will not be voting in favour of our motion today, but does the Prime Minister know whether there will be some of his backbenchers who will see the light and know that this is a moral issue and that they should do the right thing?
Mr. Speaker, it was under the Conservatives that the decision was taken to reclassify from a maximum security to a medium security. Of course, we point out that I am sure they just followed the recommendations and the proper functioning of their public servants, of the professionals in our corrections agency when that transfer happened.All we are asking is that the Conservatives continue to respect the system in place, which we have asked be verified and be followed up on to ensure that all the rules were appropriately followed.
Mr. Speaker, no matter how great the Prime Minister says the new USMCA is, it comes with no guarantee the 10% surtax on aluminum and the 25% surtax on steel will be eliminated, so it is not a success.Small and medium-sized businesses in Quebec, our small businesses, are vulnerable to fluctuating prices because of those taxes. Workers are worried.Does the government have a plan to fix this situation soon, or will it be taking things one day at a time as usual?
Mr. Speaker, I take this opportunity to highlight what the member opposite well knows, that proper consultations with indigenous peoples are possible and lead to good outcomes for everyone. A great example is the LNG Canada announcement that highlighted how much we could work with indigenous peoples. I know the member must be very pleased, because it will benefit people right across northern British Columbia, to have moved forward on this LNG Canada proposal, which will help indigenous peoples, will grow our economy, will get our resources to markets other than the United States. This is a good day for Canada and it happened because of proper consultation with indigenous peoples.
Mr. Speaker, Davenport residents have let me know that their data privacy, their online information and the threat of hacking are a priority and a worry for them. Our government takes our responsibility to protect the private information of citizens and the integrity of our critical infrastructure systems very seriously. We committed $155 million for a new Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, establishing a unified government source of unique expertise and support. Can the Prime Minister update this House on the implementation of the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security?
Mr. Speaker, as steadfast friends of Israel, we are extremely concerned by the potential demolition of the Bedouin village, Khan-al Ahmar.Canada has been actively communicating with Israeli officials to prevent this demolition. We are particularly concerned about the demolition of the school's village last week. We believe that no party should take unilateral action that could compromise the prospects for a two-state solution.
Mr. Speaker, once again, the Conservatives are showing they will not let the facts get in the way of a political opportunity, and that is a real challenge for them and for Canadians watching.Let me set the facts straight. As reports have shown, the Corrections and Conditional Release Act does not permit politicians to make one-off decisions in regard to the placement of individual inmates. Those are the facts. The Conservatives, yet again, are playing politics.
Mr. Speaker, the court ruling on TMX actually gives us a blueprint to move forward in the right way. We know that proper, deep consultation with indigenous peoples is essential for moving forward on any projects. They have to be moved forward in the right way. That means working with indigenous peoples. It means getting community consultations right. It means working to ensure that the environmental science is top-notch. That is what we recognize. That is what we will move forward with in a responsible way to get things done the right way, because that is what all Canadians expect.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for actually acknowledging that there are people from indigenous communities who are saying yes to this project and there are people from indigenous communities who are saying no. We will work with them, as the court has asked. We recognize that improvements can be made to the consultations and to partnerships with first nations, and we are working on that in the meaningful way required by the court.
Mr. Speaker, today, October 3, is the NEB deadline for comments on the list of issues in the redo of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline review. As an intervenor in the initial failed and flawed process, I have written the National Energy Board asking that it include the upstream and downstream climate impacts of the proposed pipeline, just as it did in the case of the private sector's energy east. It certainly seems fair that it be held to the same standard. Does the Prime Minister not agree?
Mr. Speaker, Chapter 11 has cost the Canadian government hundreds of millions of dollars over the years, which is why we are pleased that we signed an agreement that eliminates chapter 11.The ISDS provisions, which we worked hard with people on in the CPTPP and CETA to diminish and even eliminate, is something that we have always stood against. We believe that governments should have every right to protect the environment, to protect labour standards, and that is what we ensured with this accord.
Mr. Speaker, next week is Citizenship Week.Our government made significant reforms to the Citizenship Act in order to ensure fairness while preserving the integrity of our citizenship program, which was exploited by the Harper Conservatives to create division.Can the Prime Minister tell the House about the progress that has been made since our government made changes to Canada's citizenship program?
Mr. Speaker, just moments ago, in Manitoba, the Premier of Manitoba, my premier, Brian Pallister, announced that Manitoba is rejecting the carbon tax. There will be no carbon tax in Manitoba.Now that another province has said no carbon tax for its province, will the Prime Minister recognize that a carbon tax penalizes Canadians, penalizes farmers, penalizes industry and penalizes Canadians? It does nothing to help the environment. Will he do the right thing and do what Brian Pallister did today and say no to the carbon tax?
Mr. Speaker, speaking of Canadians, unfortunately hundreds of thousands of Canadians working in the steel, aluminum and softwood lumber industries are directly affected by the U.S. tariffs.In Quebec, the aluminium industry is essential. It represents $5 billion, nine aluminum plants and 20,000 jobs.The Prime Minister keeps repeating that the deal with the Americans is a good one. Can he tell us, yes or no, if the U.S. tariffs on aluminum are still in place?
Mr. Speaker, Lucille's husband, Morris, served our country for 28 years. He developed PTSD while serving his country dutifully and honourably. He witnessed acts of violence and faced unimaginable horrors. When the minister did not respond to her letter, Lucille contacted my office, saying how horrified she is that Garnier, who never served a day in his life, is receiving veterans benefits due to the PTSD he developed while murdering officer Campbell.Could the Prime Minister explain to Lucille why Chris Garnier is still receiving veterans benefits?
Mr. Speaker, we take the integrity of our justice system very seriously and will continue to look for ways to improve it to ensure what Canadians expect and the values that are shared among Canadians are upheld and defended, while at the same time we uphold the law.
Mr. Speaker, let me quote the Federal Court of Appeal again, that Canada's efforts fell well short of the mark set by the Supreme Court of Canada when it came to consulting indigenous peoples on Trans Mountain.How can the Prime Minister claim that he will consult again when he has repeatedly said in the House that this project will be built no matter what?Does the Prime Minister not realize that he is in fact totally abdicating his constitutional duty to consult and accommodate indigenous peoples and obtain their consent?
Mr. Speaker, I would ask all members of this House to begin to respect a little bit more the sanctity of this place, of respecting that robust debate can happen, but dragging in the name of a family, or indeed the stories of tragedy, should not be a cause for political attacks in this place.
Mr. Speaker, there is a major difference. The deal under the CPTPP and CETA was to exchange gains in terms of market access in other countries. These concessions have nothing in return. The Prime Minister tries to compare these concessions to other deals, but under the agreement he just signed, the Canadian government will be imposing tariffs on Canadian exports. We know that the United States has a wide variety of supports and billions of dollars worth in subsidies for its dairy producers. Therefore, in exchange for backing down on what Donald Trump wanted, can the Prime Minister tell us exactly which measures the U.S. has agreed to eliminate?
Mr. Speaker, the failure of the Liberal government to get the U.S. to lift the steel and aluminum tariffs is hurting employers in my riding of Windsor, in Essex County and the rest of southwestern Ontario. Tool and mould manufacturers that rely on specialized metals from the United States are fed up. The government failed to secure an end to the punitive tariffs imposed by the U.S. during the recent USMCA negotiations, and some of these businesses have already had to relocate to the United States. What is the government doing to keep jobs in Canada now?
Mr. Speaker, all of us here are mourning with Constable Campbell's family.This is a tragic situation, and the minister took steps to change the policy so that this kind of thing will never happen again.The minister increased oversight measures, and the department is reviewing the policy. We will continue to support veterans and family members who need help, all while maintaining the integrity of the system.
Mr. Speaker, the planned demolition of the Palestinian village of Khan al-Ahmar by the Israeli government contravenes international law.The European Parliament, for example, passed a resolution stating that this demolition would further threaten the viability of the two-state solution and undermine prospects for peace.Meanwhile, we are still waiting for our Prime Minister's reaction and for him to say something.Why is he remaining silent on this serious problem that affects peace, security and human rights?
Mr. Speaker, our government places the highest priority on ensuring veterans and their families have the support and services they need when and where they need them. The member knows well that I cannot talk about the specifics of any individual case on the floor of the House. However, we have been firm in our commitment to enhance access to veterans benefits, unlike the Conservatives, who cut front-line staff, closed offices and balanced the budget on the backs of veterans. We continue to follow up on making sure all the rules have been followed, and we will make modifications if necessary.
Mr. Speaker, throughout the NAFTA negotiations, the Prime Minister said that he would protect supply management, but he failed to do so. The Prime Minister made major concessions on access to our dairy market and agreed to limit our milk protein exports. We know that the United States is very generous to its dairy farmers, with annual subsidies of approximately $22 billion.Can the Prime Minister confirm what concessions he received regarding the support given to American dairy farmers in return for the ones he made at the expense of Canadian farmers?
Mr. Speaker, I will highlight that even though the Conservatives in the House are continuing to play politics, there are Conservatives across the country who understood that standing together for the good of the country was important. That is why former Conservative prime ministers like Brian Mulroney and Kim Campbell, premiers like Brad Wall, Scott Moe and Brian Pallister and others stood strongly on team Canada to make sure we negotiated a good and right deal. It is why we were able to count on smart Conservatives like Rona Ambrose and James Moore, who stood with us understanding that relations with the United States are bigger than mere political points. Unfortunately, not all Conservatives
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Davenport for her hard work on behalf of her citizens.We know that good cybersecurity is critical to Canada's competitiveness, economic stability and long-term prosperity. This week we launched the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security we had promised in budget 2018. This new centre will provide Canadian citizens and businesses with a trusted place for cybersecurity advice. Canadians can rest assured that their government is prepared to meet the cybersecurity challenges of today and tomorrow.
Mr. Speaker, we know that the Prime Minister backed down to Donald Trump on so many files. In fact, Donald Trump's senior economic adviser thanked him for backing down so graciously. After combing through the deal trying to find something to latch onto that he can claim as a positive, he tells us it is investor state and the ratchet clause. The Prime Minister actually fought to get the investor-state proposition into the TPP, and the energy ratchet clause has never been used. However, steel and aluminum tariffs have been in effect and are hurting Canadian jobs. Has he removed those tariffs?
Mr. Speaker, there is something in this deal that would make that program even more expensive. The Prime Minister has just backed down, by giving Donald Trump's policy preference over Canadian pharmaceuticals, meaning higher prices for patients. In return for backing down on pharmaceuticals, on accepting a cap on autos, what has he got in return? Yesterday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said that the most important gain from this agreement is retaining what we already had.Specifically, did the Prime Minister receive an end to tariffs on steel and aluminum for all of his concessions?
Mr. Speaker, I know well, having heard from many Canadians in Windsor and across southwestern Ontario, that they are very pleased we have moved forward to secure the auto industry in southwestern Ontario and in Windsor. We protected good, middle-class Canadian jobs that will continue long into the future, because we have secured the future of Canada's auto industry with the USMCA. I look forward to getting the support of the members from Windsor, because folks in Windsor are really pleased we have moved forward on protecting their jobs long into the future.
Mr. Speaker, as has been demonstrated, the minister does not intervene on a case-by-case basis.If we want to talk about things in the past, let us talk about the Conservative member for BellechasseLes EtcheminsLévis, who said, in his capacity as public safety minister, just a few years, I do not control the security classification of individual prisoners. Perhaps the Conservatives will listen to Ben Perrin, who was Stephen Harper's former lawyer, who said, Im concerned with politicians being the ones who decide how any particular individual offender is treated.
Mr. Speaker, our hearts obviously go out to Tori Stafford's family for their loss.The inmate was transferred from a maximum-security facility to a medium-security one in 2014, while the Conservatives were in government, and that is where she remains today. As news articles have shown, the Corrections and Conditional Release Act does not allow politicians to make decisions on individual inmate transfers. The minister has asked the commissioner to ensure that this decision is consistent with long-standing policies.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Richmond Hill for his passion on this file.We recognize the potential of a data-driven economy must be balanced against the right of Canadians to have their data and privacy protected. We have launched a national consultation on digital and data transformation to better understand how we can drive innovation and ensure Canadians have trust and confidence in how their data is used. We want to hear directly from Canadians on how to grow the economy while protecting their data, ensuring privacy and building trust.
Mr. Speaker, new technologies have changed the way we access information, shop, live, socialize and work. As a result of these changes, our economy has transformed to become increasingly data driven. These transformations have brought with them new and uncharted challenges surrounding the changing nature of work, privacy, information and consent.Can the Prime Minister tell the House how our government is helping to unlock the potential of a data-driven economy while balancing Canadians' right to have their data and privacy protected?
Mr. Speaker, we believe that the Prime Minister must be true to his word. If he is prepared to recognize those who have the right to say yes to this project, he must recognize the equal right of others to say no to the pipeline project.Does the Prime Minister not recognize that consulting when the decision has already been made is not the type of consultation required by the Supreme Court of Canada?
Mr. Speaker, I think most Canadians understand that Sunday night was a good moment for Canadians. We secured access to our most important trading partner in a time of uncertainty. We demonstrated that our approach of standing up for Canadians and staying firm in our principles was the right one.The relationship with the United States goes beyond politics, as it should. I want to give a specific shout-out to the many Conservatives, from Brad Wall to Scott Moe, Brian Pallister, Brian Mulroney, Kim Campbell, Jean Charest, Rona Ambrose and James Moore, who all stood up for
Mr. Speaker, our hearts go out to the family of Tori Stafford for the loss they have endured. The offender in question was moved from maximum security to medium security in 2014 under the Conservatives. She remains in medium security today. As reports have shown, the Corrections and Conditional Release Act does not permit politicians to make one-off decisions in regard to the placement of individual inmates. However, the minister has asked the commissioner of correctional services to review this decision to ensure that it was taken properly and in accordance with long-standing policy.
Mr. Speaker, the review the NEB will undertake is related to the recent court decision on marine scoping. Direct and upstream impacts were reviewed under our interim principles, announced in January 2016. As we have demonstrated, we are moving forward with this project in the right way. We are ensuring that we protect the environment and consult properly with indigenous peoples. To grow the economy and protect the environment, we need to do both at the same time. That is exactly what we will do.
Mr. Speaker, this agreement preserves and maintains supply management. Its future is no longer in question.With regard to market shares, we promised farmers that they would receive full and fair compensation. The changes to market access in this agreement are similar to those in the TPP, which was lauded by the Conservatives. Supply management is protected and farmers will be compensated. As always, the Conservatives are playing political games.
Mr. Speaker, just like all Canadians across the country, our hearts go out to Rodney Stafford. The inmate was transferred from a maximum-security facility to a medium-security facility in 2014, under the Conservatives. She remains in a medium-security facility today. The Conservatives should know that the minister does not intervene in such decisions, because that is precisely what the member for BellechasseLes EtcheminsLévis has stated in the past, when he was minister. The minister has asked the commissioner to review her decision. As the Conservative member for KamloopsThompsonCariboo said, the independent judiciary process must be allowed to take its course without political interference.
Mr. Speaker, the bottom line is that in southwestern Ontario we are angry. As a parent, as a member of Parliament, will the Prime Minister do what is right and put this convicted murderer behind bars where she belongs?
Mr. Speaker, Tori Stafford's family does not want the Prime Minister's heartfelt sentiments; it wants him to take action. The family does not want the Prime Minister's excuses; it wants Tori's killer back behind bars.The Conservatives do not respect the decision to put this killer in a healing lodge without fences. We want her back behind bars and so does Tori's family.Why does the Prime Minister not use the authority he has, take action today and put this killer behind bars?
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives continue to play a very dangerous and, quite frankly, repulsive game of politicizing a tragedy and speaking for others who they have no business speaking for.We continue to state, obviously, that this is a situation in which a previous Conservative government reclassified an offender, from a maximum security institution to a medium institution. This individual is currently in a medium security facility.As Stephen Harper's former
Mr. Speaker, we are very pleased to have eliminated chapter 11, which has cost Canadians $300 million over the years.We know that it is important to protect the government's ability to legislate on environmental protection and labour rights.We stood our ground to get rid of that chapter. We are very pleased that Canadians are no longer subject to it.
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives want to play politics with this issue. The Conservatives want to drag up this terrible murder and try and look at political gain on this. They have been politicizing this for well over a week, with all the passion they can muster, and they are debasing the nature of the House and the
Mr. Speaker, little Victoria's father wrote the Prime Minister a message last weekend. He asked him, from father to father, if the Prime Minister could kneel before his child's headstone, knowing they spent the last three hours of their life begging and pleading for mommy or daddy to come save them. He asked the Prime Minister if he could sleep soundly knowing that. He pleaded with the Prime Minister to do the right thing to ensure that this injustice is reversed and that the killer returns behind bars.The Prime Minister has the power to take action. Will he vote in favour of the motion we have moved here in the House?
Mr. Speaker, as a mother and a grandmother, I can only imagine the pain and suffering that Tori's family has experienced. Tori's father has been begging the Prime Minister to reverse the decision that has allowed Terri-Lynne McClintic to serve her time at a healing lodge in Saskatchewan. When will the Prime Minister listen to Tori's father, do the right thing, reverse this decision and put Tori's killer back behind bars?
Mr. Speaker, let me give the Prime Minister the facts. This was an eight-year-old girl who was heinously murdered and these people were convicted of first degree murder and sent to prison, behind bars. Are you telling me that sending this convicted first degree murderer
Mr. Speaker, two years ago, the Supreme Court overturned a bestiality conviction on a child molester because it ruled the law does not cover non-penetrative acts. Since then, the Prime Minister has not included this simple definition change in any of his legislation while bestiality charges are not being laid and more cases are being impacted.Why is the Prime Minister failing to protect humans and animals by refusing to pass updated bestiality legislation?
Mr. Speaker, for weeks, the Minister of Public Safety has tried to pass the buck over the outrageous decision to transfer child killer Terri-Lynne McClintic to a healing lodge. However, no matter how hard the minister tries to avoid taking responsibility, the buck stops with him. He has the authority to reverse the decision. He has the authority to put McClintic back where she belongs, behind bars. Why will he not?
Mr. Speaker, a woman who was convicted of the rape and first degree murder of an eight-year-old girl was transferred to a healing lodge that does not even have fences. Security is so lax that there were 18 recorded escapes from this type of facility between 2011 and 2016. Our motion, like the one the Ontario government unanimously adopted on Monday, calls for this decision to be reversed.My question for the Prime Minister is simple. Will he vote in favour of our motion, as Canadians from across the country are calling for, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is now promising to finally meaningfully consult indigenous peoples on the Trans Mountain pipeline proposal. No, seriously, this time he really means it. Here is his problem. He has already made up his mind about the project. Therefore, asking indigenous peoples for their opinion, but refusing to hear the word no is the very definition of paternalism. How about this? Why does the Prime Minister not go and sit with indigenous leaders so they can teach him what free, prior and informed consent actually means or does he only agree with indigenous rights and title when indigenous people agree with him?
Mr. Speaker, as I told steel and aluminum workers when I toured their plants, our government is there for them. Our countermeasures will remain in place until the unfair tariffs on steel and aluminum are removed.During the negotiations, our goal was to create the conditions to grow the middle class and provide more opportunities for Canadians. We will continue our efforts to eliminate these tariffs. That is what Canadians expect and that is what we will do.
Mr. Speaker, we will continue to stand up for Canadians in the steel and aluminum sector. Despite what the member opposite says, we have had an awful lot of wins, on top of obviously securing our access to the U.S. market. We have eliminated the ratchet clause that prevented our government from controlling access to our energy sources. We got a cultural exemption that, in the spirit of modernizing NAFTA, will now apply to digital platforms. We got rid of the ISDS platform. We got a new auto deal for Canadians that will secure our auto sector. We have enforceable environmental and labour standards, which I know the Conservatives
Mr. Speaker, I would like to apologize to the House of Commons for some unparliamentary behaviour I exhibited yesterday. It was a long day. It was a passionate debate. Unfortunately, I let the passion get the better of me. Therefore, I would like to apologize to the House of Commons for unparliamentary behaviour yesterday, and it will not happen again.
Mr. Speaker, in the new USMCA, we learned that Canada will finally eliminate chapter 11. Canadians have been hit with millions of dollars in legal fees and payouts to private corporations. Now, thanks to the tireless work of the New Democrats, labour and civil society, it is gone. Canada has been the most sued country under ISDS and, for years, the Liberals have argued to keep this clause. They argued to keep it in the CPTPP, which they will be ramming through this week, and created a whole new investor court system in CETA.Will the Liberals finally commit to no future ISDS in trade agreements?
Mr. Speaker, let me highlight that people not just from southwestern Ontario but right across the country are upset and stand with Tori Stafford's family on this terrible tragedy. Right across the country, people's hearts go out to the family.In 2014, the individual in question was reclassified from a maximum to a medium security facility. Those are the facts. The Conservatives are playing politics in a particularly inappropriate way.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians continue to call on the Prime Minister to do the right thing and send Terri-Lynne McClintic, the killer of eight-year-old Tori Stafford, back to prison. While he and his public safety minister dither with this review and refuse to review the transfer, which did not occur in 2014, but just a few months ago, with McClintic now enjoying life in a healing lodge without a fence.I ask the Prime Minister on behalf of Tori's father and on behalf of Canadians to do the right thing, to vote yes on our motion today and order McClintic back behind bars.
Mr. Speaker, I would indeed suggest that this is a moral issue. This is about the contrast between a party and a government that respects the rules and respects the independence of our judicial system, that appreciates the professionalism of our correctional services, and a party of ambulance-chasing politicians who are quite frankly demonstrating a contempt for the principles of law and debate in the House. It is inexcusable.
I am sorry Mr. Speaker. He is misleading the House.
Mr. Speaker, nine months ago, Tori Stafford's killer was behind bars and today she is in a healing lodge. Tori's killer was convicted of the most heinous crime imaginable, something the public safety minister called bad practices.Tori's family has called on the Prime Minister to use all of the tools available to him to fix this situation. Today, members will be voting on a motion that would do just that.Does the Prime Minister agree with the decision to transfer Tori's killer to a healing lodge?
Mr. Speaker, in the NAFTA renegotiation, the Prime Minister left steel and aluminum industries hanging in the wind, but he has also abandoned small businesses across the country, like northern boat sellers who are paying punishing import duties because of the Prime Minister's tit-for-tat war with Donald Trump. Would he explain his logic to Clint Chartrand of Guiho Saw Sales in Timmins, who is being hammered by punitive penalties from the government, why the government has squeezed $300 million out of hard-working Canadian businesses and has only paid $11,000 back? When are these penalties going to end against Canadian businesses?
Mr. Speaker, today, the Liberals have decided not to appeal the Federal Court ruling on the Trans Mountain expansion. Why? Because the court is right.Despite their promises, the Liberals used the same process that the Conservatives used and failed to have meaningful consultations with indigenous communities. Now the court is slapping them on the wrist and they have to go back to the drawing board.They want to restart the consultation process, but how can this consultation be honest and sincere when the government has already made up its mind? It is no different than saying, Your call is important to us, but the answer is no.
Mr. Speaker, at least the Prime Minister can show some kind of emotion, even though it is self-righteous indignation that we would actually question him on an issue as important as making sure convicted killers of children are in appropriate institutions, both to protect the integrity of the justice system, but as well to protect the public and any visitors within that institution.If he is blind to it, get out of the way and let us go back to government and get this right.
Mr. Speaker, in the course of question period today, the Prime Minister answered a question that I posed to him, and in it he indicated that I was an ambulance chaser. An ambulance chaser is a term for an unethical lawyer. I am a lawyer in my profession. I take great offence to being called an ambulance chaser. I would like to give the Prime Minister the opportunity to do the right thing and apologize, since only last evening, he said himself that he was not going to play this kind of politics.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians want to know where is the justice in a criminal receiving benefits while he is serving his sentence. Veterans want to know where is the justice in a criminal receiving benefits reserved for our brave veterans.Once again, is Christopher Garnier still receiving these benefits?When will the Prime Minister demand justice for Canadians, for our brave veterans, and for the family of Constable Catherine Campbell?
Mr. Speaker, not only did we secure access to the United States for our middle class and for our workers at a time of protectionism and uncertainty, we got rid of the ratchet clause. It infringed on our sovereignty by preventing our government from controlling our access to energy resources. In the face of stiff opposition from the Americans, we kept chapter 19 in the dispute resolution system. We got a cultural exemption that now will apply to digital platforms. That is modernizing NAFTA. We got rid of the ISDS that cost Canadians so much. The auto sector got a big win here in Canada and we have new, enforceable environmental and labour standards.
Mr. Speaker, small and medium-sized businesses, entrepreneurs and workers across Quebec and the rest of Canada are glad we have signed this agreement with the United States. All the same, as I told steel and aluminum workers when I visited their plants, our government will protect them. Canada's countermeasures will remain in place until the unfair steel and aluminum tariffs are lifted. Throughout the negotiations, our goal was always to create conditions that will help grow the middle class and provide more benefits to Canadians.We will keep working to protect our workers.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister accuses us of games, but I remember being in the Ontario legislature as an MPP 18 years ago when the Ontario legislature voted unanimously to ask the federal government to stop a transfer of a cop killer to Club Fed.The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, who was solicitor general at the time, stood in the House and reversed the transfer. Why was that good enough 18 years ago? Why is he playing political games now, saying he cannot do anything on behalf of Tori Stafford's family and on behalf of Canadians? He should do the right thing.
Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the Prime Minister needed all the help he could get when it came to his negotiating position with Donald Trump. Even after all of that, he still had to back down on so many key areas. He backed down on pharmaceuticals, meaning that Canadian patients and the provincial health care systems will have to pay billions more.Can the Prime Minister tell us exactly how much Canadian patients will have to pay after he has adopted Donald Trump's rules on prescription drug costs?
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives cannot help but play politics on big issues, but we are staying focused on Canadians.It is wonderful to hear the Conservatives suddenly preoccupied with prescription drug costs, because they have never wanted to do anything on that. However, we have made sure that Canadians know that we are serious about moving forward with pharmacare. We will move forward in lowering prescription drug costs for Canadians, and nothing in this deal prevents us from being able to do that for Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians actually expected these tariffs to be eliminated during the negotiations with the United States, but they are still in place.In Quebec alone, the aluminum sector represents 20,000 jobs, the steel sector represents 15,000 jobs, and the softwood lumber sector represents 46,000 jobs.Need I remind the Prime Minister that he has been the member for Papineau, Quebec, for 10 years?What does he have to say to workers in the industries targeted by the U.S. tariffs, given that he has failed to do anything for them?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government is trying so hard to find a positive angle to this deal with Donald Trump that it is wilfully misleading the House on this.Yesterday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and today the Prime Minister are bragging about the fact that the elimination of chapter 11 of NAFTA is a great victory for them and their government. The problem is that they are the ones who fought to try to keep it. Donald Trump was the one who tried to get rid of it.Of course, we are glad that chapter 11 is gone, but how desperate is the Prime Minister that he now wants to rewrite history?
Mr. Speaker, says the Prime Minister who has been repeatedly misrepresenting the position of the Conservative Party on this negotiation from the very start. It is true that many Conservatives entered on a rescue mission to try and help the Prime Minister who was clearly floundering from the beginning. Now we have the result. He backed down on pharmaceuticals with higher drug prices for Canadian seniors. He backed down on dairy, imposing Canadian tariffs on Canadian farmers. Why did he give up so much to get absolutely nothing that we did not already have?
Mr. Speaker, our hearts go out to Tori's father, to her entire family, on this terrible tragedy. We understand the anguish and the questions they have and the difficulties they have lived with over the past years.The corrections act does not permit a minister to weigh in directly on the classification of an individual prisoner. The minister has asked the corrections services to look into what happened here to ensure everything was done according to proper procedures and to make recommendations if the procedures need to be changed.
Mr. Speaker, I continue to find it puzzling as to why Conservatives insist on making pollution free. We believe the polluters should pay, and that is why we are putting a price on pollution. We would prefer to work with provinces right across the country, but if they are unwilling to make sure that polluters pay, we will bring in federal measures to both collect a price on pollution and return that money to hard-working citizens right across the country.
Mr. Speaker, we thank the court for its clarifications on what to do to engage in even better consultations with indigenous peoples, to show them that we are serious and that we sincerely want to have new nation-to-nation relationships with indigenous peoples. That is exactly what we are going to do.We are going to sit down with them to hold even more consultations and to ensure that this project is done right if we move forward. That is what Canadians, indigenous peoples, and our justice system expect.
Mr. Speaker, I am sorry. Instead of wilfully misleading the House, I will claim that he is misleading the House.
Mr. Speaker, we in the House should not be surprised when the Conservatives choose to play politics.I have to admit I am surprised on this one, given that just last year Stephen Harper and the Conservatives were imploring us to capitulate and accept any deal at any price. Stephen Harper's memo said, It does not matter whether current American proposals are worse than what we have now.Over and over, the Conservatives urged us to take Harper's advice and surrender immediately. That was not our approach. We stood up for Canadians and got a good deal.
Mr. Speaker, the deputy leader of the Conservative Party has just asked the Prime Minister to apologize for using an unparliamentary term. I would like to know from you, Mr. Speaker, if ambulance chaser is an unparliamentary term.
Mr. Speaker, right across the country, Canadians have been clear that they want us to stand strong, be firm and stand up for Canadian jobs. That is exactly what we did. The members opposite do not have to take my word for it. They can ask Jerry Dias of Unifor, who said that this is a much better deal than the deal that was signed 24 years ago. Perhaps they will listen to Hassan Yussuff, the president of the Canadian Labour Congress, who said, The USMCA gets it right on labour provisions, including provisions to protect workers against employment discrimination on the basis of gender. This deal is a good news story for middle-class Canadians right across the country.
Mr. Speaker, it is funny to hear the Prime Minister talk about playing political games here.No less than three times yesterday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs talked about the elimination of chapter 11 of NAFTA as a great victory for her and her government.The thing is that the Liberals are the ones who fought at the negotiating table to keep a version of that provision, which allows companies to go after governments directly. Donald Trump is the one who wanted to get rid of chapter 11. We are glad to see it go.Are the Liberals so desperate that they have to rewrite history?
Mr. Speaker, I am surprised to hear the Conservatives playing Monday morning quarterback, considering that last year, Stephen Harper and the Conservatives begged us to give in and accept an agreement at any cost. Stephen Harper's memo said, and I quote, it does not matter whether current American proposals are worse than what we have now.We on this side of the House refused to give in. We were patient and persistent, and we succeeded in negotiating a good deal for Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, former prime minister Stephen Harper predicted the Liberal government would capitulate and he was absolutely right. For the first time in the history of trade deals, there are more tariffs after the conclusion of the deal than there were when the negotiations actually started. My colleague asked when the steel tariffs will be removed. The Prime Minister has backed down on pharmaceuticals, dairy, and so much else. I ask again, when will the steel tariffs be removed? When?
Mr. Speaker, I would ask the Conservative members to not make guesses about what Tori's family wants and instead be honest about what they want. They want to play politics with a heinous tragedy. They want
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Vimy for her question and for her dedication to new Canadians.Since we amended the act, nearly 150,000 newcomers have joined our great Canadian family. That is 40% more than we had under the Conservatives. We also reduced the wait time for applications from 24 months to 10.Next week, we will hold 54 citizenship ceremonies and welcome 13,000 new Canadians. On this side of the House, a Canadian is a Canadian.
Mr. Speaker, the member for Essex knows well that the people in Windsor are very happy with this deal, which secures Canada's auto industry for the coming decades. It demonstrates a real win for the Canadian auto and auto parts suppliers' industry. However, yes, we also got rid of the investor-state dispute resolution system, which has cost the federal government more than $300 million in penalties and legal fees. I am glad to hear the member opposite's support for the USMCA. We continue to work to defend people in Windsor and right across the country.
Mr. Speaker, I have been listening to the excuses that the Prime Minister continuously gives to the House and to the Canadian public with respect to his unwillingness to transfer Terri-Lynne McClintic from a healing lodge, with no fences and no barriers, back to where she came from, Grand Valley Institution, with fences and bars.I understand the government will not be voting in favour of our motion today, but does the Prime Minister know whether there will be some of his backbenchers who will see the light and know that this is a moral issue and that they should do the right thing?
Mr. Speaker, it was under the Conservatives that the decision was taken to reclassify from a maximum security to a medium security. Of course, we point out that I am sure they just followed the recommendations and the proper functioning of their public servants, of the professionals in our corrections agency when that transfer happened.All we are asking is that the Conservatives continue to respect the system in place, which we have asked be verified and be followed up on to ensure that all the rules were appropriately followed.
Mr. Speaker, no matter how great the Prime Minister says the new USMCA is, it comes with no guarantee the 10% surtax on aluminum and the 25% surtax on steel will be eliminated, so it is not a success.Small and medium-sized businesses in Quebec, our small businesses, are vulnerable to fluctuating prices because of those taxes. Workers are worried.Does the government have a plan to fix this situation soon, or will it be taking things one day at a time as usual?
Mr. Speaker, I take this opportunity to highlight what the member opposite well knows, that proper consultations with indigenous peoples are possible and lead to good outcomes for everyone. A great example is the LNG Canada announcement that highlighted how much we could work with indigenous peoples. I know the member must be very pleased, because it will benefit people right across northern British Columbia, to have moved forward on this LNG Canada proposal, which will help indigenous peoples, will grow our economy, will get our resources to markets other than the United States. This is a good day for Canada and it happened because of proper consultation with indigenous peoples.
Mr. Speaker, Davenport residents have let me know that their data privacy, their online information and the threat of hacking are a priority and a worry for them. Our government takes our responsibility to protect the private information of citizens and the integrity of our critical infrastructure systems very seriously. We committed $155 million for a new Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, establishing a unified government source of unique expertise and support. Can the Prime Minister update this House on the implementation of the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security?
Mr. Speaker, as steadfast friends of Israel, we are extremely concerned by the potential demolition of the Bedouin village, Khan-al Ahmar.Canada has been actively communicating with Israeli officials to prevent this demolition. We are particularly concerned about the demolition of the school's village last week. We believe that no party should take unilateral action that could compromise the prospects for a two-state solution.
Mr. Speaker, once again, the Conservatives are showing they will not let the facts get in the way of a political opportunity, and that is a real challenge for them and for Canadians watching.Let me set the facts straight. As reports have shown, the Corrections and Conditional Release Act does not permit politicians to make one-off decisions in regard to the placement of individual inmates. Those are the facts. The Conservatives, yet again, are playing politics.
Mr. Speaker, the court ruling on TMX actually gives us a blueprint to move forward in the right way. We know that proper, deep consultation with indigenous peoples is essential for moving forward on any projects. They have to be moved forward in the right way. That means working with indigenous peoples. It means getting community consultations right. It means working to ensure that the environmental science is top-notch. That is what we recognize. That is what we will move forward with in a responsible way to get things done the right way, because that is what all Canadians expect.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for actually acknowledging that there are people from indigenous communities who are saying yes to this project and there are people from indigenous communities who are saying no. We will work with them, as the court has asked. We recognize that improvements can be made to the consultations and to partnerships with first nations, and we are working on that in the meaningful way required by the court.
Mr. Speaker, today, October 3, is the NEB deadline for comments on the list of issues in the redo of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline review. As an intervenor in the initial failed and flawed process, I have written the National Energy Board asking that it include the upstream and downstream climate impacts of the proposed pipeline, just as it did in the case of the private sector's energy east. It certainly seems fair that it be held to the same standard. Does the Prime Minister not agree?
Mr. Speaker, Chapter 11 has cost the Canadian government hundreds of millions of dollars over the years, which is why we are pleased that we signed an agreement that eliminates chapter 11.The ISDS provisions, which we worked hard with people on in the CPTPP and CETA to diminish and even eliminate, is something that we have always stood against. We believe that governments should have every right to protect the environment, to protect labour standards, and that is what we ensured with this accord.
Mr. Speaker, next week is Citizenship Week.Our government made significant reforms to the Citizenship Act in order to ensure fairness while preserving the integrity of our citizenship program, which was exploited by the Harper Conservatives to create division.Can the Prime Minister tell the House about the progress that has been made since our government made changes to Canada's citizenship program?
Mr. Speaker, just moments ago, in Manitoba, the Premier of Manitoba, my premier, Brian Pallister, announced that Manitoba is rejecting the carbon tax. There will be no carbon tax in Manitoba.Now that another province has said no carbon tax for its province, will the Prime Minister recognize that a carbon tax penalizes Canadians, penalizes farmers, penalizes industry and penalizes Canadians? It does nothing to help the environment. Will he do the right thing and do what Brian Pallister did today and say no to the carbon tax?
Mr. Speaker, speaking of Canadians, unfortunately hundreds of thousands of Canadians working in the steel, aluminum and softwood lumber industries are directly affected by the U.S. tariffs.In Quebec, the aluminium industry is essential. It represents $5 billion, nine aluminum plants and 20,000 jobs.The Prime Minister keeps repeating that the deal with the Americans is a good one. Can he tell us, yes or no, if the U.S. tariffs on aluminum are still in place?
Mr. Speaker, Lucille's husband, Morris, served our country for 28 years. He developed PTSD while serving his country dutifully and honourably. He witnessed acts of violence and faced unimaginable horrors. When the minister did not respond to her letter, Lucille contacted my office, saying how horrified she is that Garnier, who never served a day in his life, is receiving veterans benefits due to the PTSD he developed while murdering officer Campbell.Could the Prime Minister explain to Lucille why Chris Garnier is still receiving veterans benefits?
Mr. Speaker, we take the integrity of our justice system very seriously and will continue to look for ways to improve it to ensure what Canadians expect and the values that are shared among Canadians are upheld and defended, while at the same time we uphold the law.
Mr. Speaker, let me quote the Federal Court of Appeal again, that Canada's efforts fell well short of the mark set by the Supreme Court of Canada when it came to consulting indigenous peoples on Trans Mountain.How can the Prime Minister claim that he will consult again when he has repeatedly said in the House that this project will be built no matter what?Does the Prime Minister not realize that he is in fact totally abdicating his constitutional duty to consult and accommodate indigenous peoples and obtain their consent?
Mr. Speaker, I would ask all members of this House to begin to respect a little bit more the sanctity of this place, of respecting that robust debate can happen, but dragging in the name of a family, or indeed the stories of tragedy, should not be a cause for political attacks in this place.
Mr. Speaker, there is a major difference. The deal under the CPTPP and CETA was to exchange gains in terms of market access in other countries. These concessions have nothing in return. The Prime Minister tries to compare these concessions to other deals, but under the agreement he just signed, the Canadian government will be imposing tariffs on Canadian exports. We know that the United States has a wide variety of supports and billions of dollars worth in subsidies for its dairy producers. Therefore, in exchange for backing down on what Donald Trump wanted, can the Prime Minister tell us exactly which measures the U.S. has agreed to eliminate?
Mr. Speaker, the failure of the Liberal government to get the U.S. to lift the steel and aluminum tariffs is hurting employers in my riding of Windsor, in Essex County and the rest of southwestern Ontario. Tool and mould manufacturers that rely on specialized metals from the United States are fed up. The government failed to secure an end to the punitive tariffs imposed by the U.S. during the recent USMCA negotiations, and some of these businesses have already had to relocate to the United States. What is the government doing to keep jobs in Canada now?
Mr. Speaker, all of us here are mourning with Constable Campbell's family.This is a tragic situation, and the minister took steps to change the policy so that this kind of thing will never happen again.The minister increased oversight measures, and the department is reviewing the policy. We will continue to support veterans and family members who need help, all while maintaining the integrity of the system.
Mr. Speaker, the planned demolition of the Palestinian village of Khan al-Ahmar by the Israeli government contravenes international law.The European Parliament, for example, passed a resolution stating that this demolition would further threaten the viability of the two-state solution and undermine prospects for peace.Meanwhile, we are still waiting for our Prime Minister's reaction and for him to say something.Why is he remaining silent on this serious problem that affects peace, security and human rights?
Mr. Speaker, our government places the highest priority on ensuring veterans and their families have the support and services they need when and where they need them. The member knows well that I cannot talk about the specifics of any individual case on the floor of the House. However, we have been firm in our commitment to enhance access to veterans benefits, unlike the Conservatives, who cut front-line staff, closed offices and balanced the budget on the backs of veterans. We continue to follow up on making sure all the rules have been followed, and we will make modifications if necessary.
Mr. Speaker, throughout the NAFTA negotiations, the Prime Minister said that he would protect supply management, but he failed to do so. The Prime Minister made major concessions on access to our dairy market and agreed to limit our milk protein exports. We know that the United States is very generous to its dairy farmers, with annual subsidies of approximately $22 billion.Can the Prime Minister confirm what concessions he received regarding the support given to American dairy farmers in return for the ones he made at the expense of Canadian farmers?
Mr. Speaker, I will highlight that even though the Conservatives in the House are continuing to play politics, there are Conservatives across the country who understood that standing together for the good of the country was important. That is why former Conservative prime ministers like Brian Mulroney and Kim Campbell, premiers like Brad Wall, Scott Moe and Brian Pallister and others stood strongly on team Canada to make sure we negotiated a good and right deal. It is why we were able to count on smart Conservatives like Rona Ambrose and James Moore, who stood with us understanding that relations with the United States are bigger than mere political points. Unfortunately, not all Conservatives
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Davenport for her hard work on behalf of her citizens.We know that good cybersecurity is critical to Canada's competitiveness, economic stability and long-term prosperity. This week we launched the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security we had promised in budget 2018. This new centre will provide Canadian citizens and businesses with a trusted place for cybersecurity advice. Canadians can rest assured that their government is prepared to meet the cybersecurity challenges of today and tomorrow.
Mr. Speaker, we know that the Prime Minister backed down to Donald Trump on so many files. In fact, Donald Trump's senior economic adviser thanked him for backing down so graciously. After combing through the deal trying to find something to latch onto that he can claim as a positive, he tells us it is investor state and the ratchet clause. The Prime Minister actually fought to get the investor-state proposition into the TPP, and the energy ratchet clause has never been used. However, steel and aluminum tariffs have been in effect and are hurting Canadian jobs. Has he removed those tariffs?
Mr. Speaker, there is something in this deal that would make that program even more expensive. The Prime Minister has just backed down, by giving Donald Trump's policy preference over Canadian pharmaceuticals, meaning higher prices for patients. In return for backing down on pharmaceuticals, on accepting a cap on autos, what has he got in return? Yesterday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said that the most important gain from this agreement is retaining what we already had.Specifically, did the Prime Minister receive an end to tariffs on steel and aluminum for all of his concessions?
Mr. Speaker, I know well, having heard from many Canadians in Windsor and across southwestern Ontario, that they are very pleased we have moved forward to secure the auto industry in southwestern Ontario and in Windsor. We protected good, middle-class Canadian jobs that will continue long into the future, because we have secured the future of Canada's auto industry with the USMCA. I look forward to getting the support of the members from Windsor, because folks in Windsor are really pleased we have moved forward on protecting their jobs long into the future.
Mr. Speaker, as has been demonstrated, the minister does not intervene on a case-by-case basis.If we want to talk about things in the past, let us talk about the Conservative member for BellechasseLes EtcheminsLévis, who said, in his capacity as public safety minister, just a few years, I do not control the security classification of individual prisoners. Perhaps the Conservatives will listen to Ben Perrin, who was Stephen Harper's former lawyer, who said, Im concerned with politicians being the ones who decide how any particular individual offender is treated.
Mr. Speaker, our hearts obviously go out to Tori Stafford's family for their loss.The inmate was transferred from a maximum-security facility to a medium-security one in 2014, while the Conservatives were in government, and that is where she remains today. As news articles have shown, the Corrections and Conditional Release Act does not allow politicians to make decisions on individual inmate transfers. The minister has asked the commissioner to ensure that this decision is consistent with long-standing policies.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Richmond Hill for his passion on this file.We recognize the potential of a data-driven economy must be balanced against the right of Canadians to have their data and privacy protected. We have launched a national consultation on digital and data transformation to better understand how we can drive innovation and ensure Canadians have trust and confidence in how their data is used. We want to hear directly from Canadians on how to grow the economy while protecting their data, ensuring privacy and building trust.
Mr. Speaker, new technologies have changed the way we access information, shop, live, socialize and work. As a result of these changes, our economy has transformed to become increasingly data driven. These transformations have brought with them new and uncharted challenges surrounding the changing nature of work, privacy, information and consent.Can the Prime Minister tell the House how our government is helping to unlock the potential of a data-driven economy while balancing Canadians' right to have their data and privacy protected?
Mr. Speaker, we believe that the Prime Minister must be true to his word. If he is prepared to recognize those who have the right to say yes to this project, he must recognize the equal right of others to say no to the pipeline project.Does the Prime Minister not recognize that consulting when the decision has already been made is not the type of consultation required by the Supreme Court of Canada?
Mr. Speaker, I think most Canadians understand that Sunday night was a good moment for Canadians. We secured access to our most important trading partner in a time of uncertainty. We demonstrated that our approach of standing up for Canadians and staying firm in our principles was the right one.The relationship with the United States goes beyond politics, as it should. I want to give a specific shout-out to the many Conservatives, from Brad Wall to Scott Moe, Brian Pallister, Brian Mulroney, Kim Campbell, Jean Charest, Rona Ambrose and James Moore, who all stood up for
Mr. Speaker, our hearts go out to the family of Tori Stafford for the loss they have endured. The offender in question was moved from maximum security to medium security in 2014 under the Conservatives. She remains in medium security today. As reports have shown, the Corrections and Conditional Release Act does not permit politicians to make one-off decisions in regard to the placement of individual inmates. However, the minister has asked the commissioner of correctional services to review this decision to ensure that it was taken properly and in accordance with long-standing policy.
Mr. Speaker, the review the NEB will undertake is related to the recent court decision on marine scoping. Direct and upstream impacts were reviewed under our interim principles, announced in January 2016. As we have demonstrated, we are moving forward with this project in the right way. We are ensuring that we protect the environment and consult properly with indigenous peoples. To grow the economy and protect the environment, we need to do both at the same time. That is exactly what we will do.
Mr. Speaker, this agreement preserves and maintains supply management. Its future is no longer in question.With regard to market shares, we promised farmers that they would receive full and fair compensation. The changes to market access in this agreement are similar to those in the TPP, which was lauded by the Conservatives. Supply management is protected and farmers will be compensated. As always, the Conservatives are playing political games.
Mr. Speaker, just like all Canadians across the country, our hearts go out to Rodney Stafford. The inmate was transferred from a maximum-security facility to a medium-security facility in 2014, under the Conservatives. She remains in a medium-security facility today. The Conservatives should know that the minister does not intervene in such decisions, because that is precisely what the member for BellechasseLes EtcheminsLévis has stated in the past, when he was minister. The minister has asked the commissioner to review her decision. As the Conservative member for KamloopsThompsonCariboo said, the independent judiciary process must be allowed to take its course without political interference.
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I am sorry Mr. Speaker. He is misleading the House.
Mr. Speaker, I am sorry. Instead of wilfully misleading the House, I will claim that he is misleading the House.
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives want to play politics with this issue. The Conservatives want to drag up this terrible murder and try and look at political gain on this. They have been politicizing this for well over a week, with all the passion they can muster, and they are debasing the nature of the House and the
Mr. Speaker, Canadians actually expected these tariffs to be eliminated during the negotiations with the United States, but they are still in place.In Quebec alone, the aluminum sector represents 20,000 jobs, the steel sector represents 15,000 jobs, and the softwood lumber sector represents 46,000 jobs.Need I remind the Prime Minister that he has been the member for Papineau, Quebec, for 10 years?What does he have to say to workers in the industries targeted by the U.S. tariffs, given that he has failed to do anything for them?
Mr. Speaker, for weeks, the Minister of Public Safety has tried to pass the buck over the outrageous decision to transfer child killer Terri-Lynne McClintic to a healing lodge. However, no matter how hard the minister tries to avoid taking responsibility, the buck stops with him. He has the authority to reverse the decision. He has the authority to put McClintic back where she belongs, behind bars. Why will he not?
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives continue to play a very dangerous and, quite frankly, repulsive game of politicizing a tragedy and speaking for others who they have no business speaking for.We continue to state, obviously, that this is a situation in which a previous Conservative government reclassified an offender, from a maximum security institution to a medium institution. This individual is currently in a medium security facility.As Stephen Harper's former
Mr. Speaker, we take the integrity of our justice system very seriously and will continue to look for ways to improve it to ensure what Canadians expect and the values that are shared among Canadians are upheld and defended, while at the same time we uphold the law.
Mr. Speaker, the bottom line is that in southwestern Ontario we are angry. As a parent, as a member of Parliament, will the Prime Minister do what is right and put this convicted murderer behind bars where she belongs?
Mr. Speaker, our hearts go out to Tori's father, to her entire family, on this terrible tragedy. We understand the anguish and the questions they have and the difficulties they have lived with over the past years.The corrections act does not permit a minister to weigh in directly on the classification of an individual prisoner. The minister has asked the corrections services to look into what happened here to ensure everything was done according to proper procedures and to make recommendations if the procedures need to be changed.
Mr. Speaker, throughout the NAFTA negotiations, the Prime Minister said that he would protect supply management, but he failed to do so. The Prime Minister made major concessions on access to our dairy market and agreed to limit our milk protein exports. We know that the United States is very generous to its dairy farmers, with annual subsidies of approximately $22 billion.Can the Prime Minister confirm what concessions he received regarding the support given to American dairy farmers in return for the ones he made at the expense of Canadian farmers?
Mr. Speaker, the failure of the Liberal government to get the U.S. to lift the steel and aluminum tariffs is hurting employers in my riding of Windsor, in Essex County and the rest of southwestern Ontario. Tool and mould manufacturers that rely on specialized metals from the United States are fed up. The government failed to secure an end to the punitive tariffs imposed by the U.S. during the recent USMCA negotiations, and some of these businesses have already had to relocate to the United States. What is the government doing to keep jobs in Canada now?
Mr. Speaker, all of us here are mourning with Constable Campbell's family.This is a tragic situation, and the minister took steps to change the policy so that this kind of thing will never happen again.The minister increased oversight measures, and the department is reviewing the policy. We will continue to support veterans and family members who need help, all while maintaining the integrity of the system.
Mr. Speaker, in the NAFTA renegotiation, the Prime Minister left steel and aluminum industries hanging in the wind, but he has also abandoned small businesses across the country, like northern boat sellers who are paying punishing import duties because of the Prime Minister's tit-for-tat war with Donald Trump. Would he explain his logic to Clint Chartrand of Guiho Saw Sales in Timmins, who is being hammered by punitive penalties from the government, why the government has squeezed $300 million out of hard-working Canadian businesses and has only paid $11,000 back? When are these penalties going to end against Canadian businesses?
Mr. Speaker, Tori Stafford's family does not want the Prime Minister's heartfelt sentiments; it wants him to take action. The family does not want the Prime Minister's excuses; it wants Tori's killer back behind bars.The Conservatives do not respect the decision to put this killer in a healing lodge without fences. We want her back behind bars and so does Tori's family.Why does the Prime Minister not use the authority he has, take action today and put this killer behind bars?
Mr. Speaker, the planned demolition of the Palestinian village of Khan al-Ahmar by the Israeli government contravenes international law.The European Parliament, for example, passed a resolution stating that this demolition would further threaten the viability of the two-state solution and undermine prospects for peace.Meanwhile, we are still waiting for our Prime Minister's reaction and for him to say something.Why is he remaining silent on this serious problem that affects peace, security and human rights?
Mr. Speaker, let me highlight that people not just from southwestern Ontario but right across the country are upset and stand with Tori Stafford's family on this terrible tragedy. Right across the country, people's hearts go out to the family.In 2014, the individual in question was reclassified from a maximum to a medium security facility. Those are the facts. The Conservatives are playing politics in a particularly inappropriate way.
Mr. Speaker, as has been demonstrated, the minister does not intervene on a case-by-case basis.If we want to talk about things in the past, let us talk about the Conservative member for BellechasseLes EtcheminsLévis, who said, in his capacity as public safety minister, just a few years, I do not control the security classification of individual prisoners. Perhaps the Conservatives will listen to Ben Perrin, who was Stephen Harper's former lawyer, who said, Im concerned with politicians being the ones who decide how any particular individual offender is treated.
Mr. Speaker, nine months ago, Tori Stafford's killer was behind bars and today she is in a healing lodge. Tori's killer was convicted of the most heinous crime imaginable, something the public safety minister called bad practices.Tori's family has called on the Prime Minister to use all of the tools available to him to fix this situation. Today, members will be voting on a motion that would do just that.Does the Prime Minister agree with the decision to transfer Tori's killer to a healing lodge?
Mr. Speaker, I would like to apologize to the House of Commons for some unparliamentary behaviour I exhibited yesterday. It was a long day. It was a passionate debate. Unfortunately, I let the passion get the better of me. Therefore, I would like to apologize to the House of Commons for unparliamentary behaviour yesterday, and it will not happen again.
Mr. Speaker, no matter how great the Prime Minister says the new USMCA is, it comes with no guarantee the 10% surtax on aluminum and the 25% surtax on steel will be eliminated, so it is not a success.Small and medium-sized businesses in Quebec, our small businesses, are vulnerable to fluctuating prices because of those taxes. Workers are worried.Does the government have a plan to fix this situation soon, or will it be taking things one day at a time as usual?
Mr. Speaker, as steadfast friends of Israel, we are extremely concerned by the potential demolition of the Bedouin village, Khan-al Ahmar.Canada has been actively communicating with Israeli officials to prevent this demolition. We are particularly concerned about the demolition of the school's village last week. We believe that no party should take unilateral action that could compromise the prospects for a two-state solution.
Mr. Speaker, today, October 3, is the NEB deadline for comments on the list of issues in the redo of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline review. As an intervenor in the initial failed and flawed process, I have written the National Energy Board asking that it include the upstream and downstream climate impacts of the proposed pipeline, just as it did in the case of the private sector's energy east. It certainly seems fair that it be held to the same standard. Does the Prime Minister not agree?
Mr. Speaker, our hearts go out to the family of Tori Stafford for the loss they have endured. The offender in question was moved from maximum security to medium security in 2014 under the Conservatives. She remains in medium security today. As reports have shown, the Corrections and Conditional Release Act does not permit politicians to make one-off decisions in regard to the placement of individual inmates. However, the minister has asked the commissioner of correctional services to review this decision to ensure that it was taken properly and in accordance with long-standing policy.
Mr. Speaker, let me quote the Federal Court of Appeal again, that Canada's efforts fell well short of the mark set by the Supreme Court of Canada when it came to consulting indigenous peoples on Trans Mountain.How can the Prime Minister claim that he will consult again when he has repeatedly said in the House that this project will be built no matter what?Does the Prime Minister not realize that he is in fact totally abdicating his constitutional duty to consult and accommodate indigenous peoples and obtain their consent?
Mr. Speaker, I would indeed suggest that this is a moral issue. This is about the contrast between a party and a government that respects the rules and respects the independence of our judicial system, that appreciates the professionalism of our correctional services, and a party of ambulance-chasing politicians who are quite frankly demonstrating a contempt for the principles of law and debate in the House. It is inexcusable.
Mr. Speaker, as I told steel and aluminum workers when I toured their plants, our government is there for them. Our countermeasures will remain in place until the unfair tariffs on steel and aluminum are removed.During the negotiations, our goal was to create the conditions to grow the middle class and provide more opportunities for Canadians. We will continue our efforts to eliminate these tariffs. That is what Canadians expect and that is what we will do.
Mr. Speaker, the deputy leader of the Conservative Party has just asked the Prime Minister to apologize for using an unparliamentary term. I would like to know from you, Mr. Speaker, if ambulance chaser is an unparliamentary term.
Mr. Speaker, there is a major difference. The deal under the CPTPP and CETA was to exchange gains in terms of market access in other countries. These concessions have nothing in return. The Prime Minister tries to compare these concessions to other deals, but under the agreement he just signed, the Canadian government will be imposing tariffs on Canadian exports. We know that the United States has a wide variety of supports and billions of dollars worth in subsidies for its dairy producers. Therefore, in exchange for backing down on what Donald Trump wanted, can the Prime Minister tell us exactly which measures the U.S. has agreed to eliminate?
Mr. Speaker, little Victoria's father wrote the Prime Minister a message last weekend. He asked him, from father to father, if the Prime Minister could kneel before his child's headstone, knowing they spent the last three hours of their life begging and pleading for mommy or daddy to come save them. He asked the Prime Minister if he could sleep soundly knowing that. He pleaded with the Prime Minister to do the right thing to ensure that this injustice is reversed and that the killer returns behind bars.The Prime Minister has the power to take action. Will he vote in favour of the motion we have moved here in the House?
Mr. Speaker, Davenport residents have let me know that their data privacy, their online information and the threat of hacking are a priority and a worry for them. Our government takes our responsibility to protect the private information of citizens and the integrity of our critical infrastructure systems very seriously. We committed $155 million for a new Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, establishing a unified government source of unique expertise and support. Can the Prime Minister update this House on the implementation of the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security?
Mr. Speaker, Lucille's husband, Morris, served our country for 28 years. He developed PTSD while serving his country dutifully and honourably. He witnessed acts of violence and faced unimaginable horrors. When the minister did not respond to her letter, Lucille contacted my office, saying how horrified she is that Garnier, who never served a day in his life, is receiving veterans benefits due to the PTSD he developed while murdering officer Campbell.Could the Prime Minister explain to Lucille why Chris Garnier is still receiving veterans benefits?
Mr. Speaker, just like all Canadians across the country, our hearts go out to Rodney Stafford. The inmate was transferred from a maximum-security facility to a medium-security facility in 2014, under the Conservatives. She remains in a medium-security facility today. The Conservatives should know that the minister does not intervene in such decisions, because that is precisely what the member for BellechasseLes EtcheminsLévis has stated in the past, when he was minister. The minister has asked the commissioner to review her decision. As the Conservative member for KamloopsThompsonCariboo said, the independent judiciary process must be allowed to take its course without political interference.
Mr. Speaker, let me give the Prime Minister the facts. This was an eight-year-old girl who was heinously murdered and these people were convicted of first degree murder and sent to prison, behind bars. Are you telling me that sending this convicted first degree murderer
Mr. Speaker, our government places the highest priority on ensuring veterans and their families have the support and services they need when and where they need them. The member knows well that I cannot talk about the specifics of any individual case on the floor of the House. However, we have been firm in our commitment to enhance access to veterans benefits, unlike the Conservatives, who cut front-line staff, closed offices and balanced the budget on the backs of veterans. We continue to follow up on making sure all the rules have been followed, and we will make modifications if necessary.
Mr. Speaker, small and medium-sized businesses, entrepreneurs and workers across Quebec and the rest of Canada are glad we have signed this agreement with the United States. All the same, as I told steel and aluminum workers when I visited their plants, our government will protect them. Canada's countermeasures will remain in place until the unfair steel and aluminum tariffs are lifted. Throughout the negotiations, our goal was always to create conditions that will help grow the middle class and provide more benefits to Canadians.We will keep working to protect our workers.
Mr. Speaker, we will continue to stand up for Canadians in the steel and aluminum sector. Despite what the member opposite says, we have had an awful lot of wins, on top of obviously securing our access to the U.S. market. We have eliminated the ratchet clause that prevented our government from controlling access to our energy sources. We got a cultural exemption that, in the spirit of modernizing NAFTA, will now apply to digital platforms. We got rid of the ISDS platform. We got a new auto deal for Canadians that will secure our auto sector. We have enforceable environmental and labour standards, which I know the Conservatives
Mr. Speaker, Canadians continue to call on the Prime Minister to do the right thing and send Terri-Lynne McClintic, the killer of eight-year-old Tori Stafford, back to prison. While he and his public safety minister dither with this review and refuse to review the transfer, which did not occur in 2014, but just a few months ago, with McClintic now enjoying life in a healing lodge without a fence.I ask the Prime Minister on behalf of Tori's father and on behalf of Canadians to do the right thing, to vote yes on our motion today and order McClintic back behind bars.
Mr. Speaker, I am surprised to hear the Conservatives playing Monday morning quarterback, considering that last year, Stephen Harper and the Conservatives begged us to give in and accept an agreement at any cost. Stephen Harper's memo said, and I quote, it does not matter whether current American proposals are worse than what we have now.We on this side of the House refused to give in. We were patient and persistent, and we succeeded in negotiating a good deal for Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, we in the House should not be surprised when the Conservatives choose to play politics.I have to admit I am surprised on this one, given that just last year Stephen Harper and the Conservatives were imploring us to capitulate and accept any deal at any price. Stephen Harper's memo said, It does not matter whether current American proposals are worse than what we have now.Over and over, the Conservatives urged us to take Harper's advice and surrender immediately. That was not our approach. We stood up for Canadians and got a good deal.
Mr. Speaker, speaking of Canadians, unfortunately hundreds of thousands of Canadians working in the steel, aluminum and softwood lumber industries are directly affected by the U.S. tariffs.In Quebec, the aluminium industry is essential. It represents $5 billion, nine aluminum plants and 20,000 jobs.The Prime Minister keeps repeating that the deal with the Americans is a good one. Can he tell us, yes or no, if the U.S. tariffs on aluminum are still in place?
Mr. Speaker, our hearts obviously go out to Tori Stafford's family for their loss.The inmate was transferred from a maximum-security facility to a medium-security one in 2014, while the Conservatives were in government, and that is where she remains today. As news articles have shown, the Corrections and Conditional Release Act does not allow politicians to make decisions on individual inmate transfers. The minister has asked the commissioner to ensure that this decision is consistent with long-standing policies.
Mr. Speaker, there is something in this deal that would make that program even more expensive. The Prime Minister has just backed down, by giving Donald Trump's policy preference over Canadian pharmaceuticals, meaning higher prices for patients. In return for backing down on pharmaceuticals, on accepting a cap on autos, what has he got in return? Yesterday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said that the most important gain from this agreement is retaining what we already had.Specifically, did the Prime Minister receive an end to tariffs on steel and aluminum for all of his concessions?
Mr. Speaker, the review the NEB will undertake is related to the recent court decision on marine scoping. Direct and upstream impacts were reviewed under our interim principles, announced in January 2016. As we have demonstrated, we are moving forward with this project in the right way. We are ensuring that we protect the environment and consult properly with indigenous peoples. To grow the economy and protect the environment, we need to do both at the same time. That is exactly what we will do.
Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the Prime Minister needed all the help he could get when it came to his negotiating position with Donald Trump. Even after all of that, he still had to back down on so many key areas. He backed down on pharmaceuticals, meaning that Canadian patients and the provincial health care systems will have to pay billions more.Can the Prime Minister tell us exactly how much Canadian patients will have to pay after he has adopted Donald Trump's rules on prescription drug costs?
Mr. Speaker, it is funny to hear the Prime Minister talk about playing political games here.No less than three times yesterday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs talked about the elimination of chapter 11 of NAFTA as a great victory for her and her government.The thing is that the Liberals are the ones who fought at the negotiating table to keep a version of that provision, which allows companies to go after governments directly. Donald Trump is the one who wanted to get rid of chapter 11. We are glad to see it go.Are the Liberals so desperate that they have to rewrite history?
Mr. Speaker, once again, the Conservatives are showing they will not let the facts get in the way of a political opportunity, and that is a real challenge for them and for Canadians watching.Let me set the facts straight. As reports have shown, the Corrections and Conditional Release Act does not permit politicians to make one-off decisions in regard to the placement of individual inmates. Those are the facts. The Conservatives, yet again, are playing politics.
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government is trying so hard to find a positive angle to this deal with Donald Trump that it is wilfully misleading the House on this.Yesterday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and today the Prime Minister are bragging about the fact that the elimination of chapter 11 of NAFTA is a great victory for them and their government. The problem is that they are the ones who fought to try to keep it. Donald Trump was the one who tried to get rid of it.Of course, we are glad that chapter 11 is gone, but how desperate is the Prime Minister that he now wants to rewrite history?
Mr. Speaker, we know that the Prime Minister backed down to Donald Trump on so many files. In fact, Donald Trump's senior economic adviser thanked him for backing down so graciously. After combing through the deal trying to find something to latch onto that he can claim as a positive, he tells us it is investor state and the ratchet clause. The Prime Minister actually fought to get the investor-state proposition into the TPP, and the energy ratchet clause has never been used. However, steel and aluminum tariffs have been in effect and are hurting Canadian jobs. Has he removed those tariffs?
Mr. Speaker, I would ask all members of this House to begin to respect a little bit more the sanctity of this place, of respecting that robust debate can happen, but dragging in the name of a family, or indeed the stories of tragedy, should not be a cause for political attacks in this place.
Mr. Speaker, a woman who was convicted of the rape and first degree murder of an eight-year-old girl was transferred to a healing lodge that does not even have fences. Security is so lax that there were 18 recorded escapes from this type of facility between 2011 and 2016. Our motion, like the one the Ontario government unanimously adopted on Monday, calls for this decision to be reversed.My question for the Prime Minister is simple. Will he vote in favour of our motion, as Canadians from across the country are calling for, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, as a mother and a grandmother, I can only imagine the pain and suffering that Tori's family has experienced. Tori's father has been begging the Prime Minister to reverse the decision that has allowed Terri-Lynne McClintic to serve her time at a healing lodge in Saskatchewan. When will the Prime Minister listen to Tori's father, do the right thing, reverse this decision and put Tori's killer back behind bars?
Mr. Speaker, in the new USMCA, we learned that Canada will finally eliminate chapter 11. Canadians have been hit with millions of dollars in legal fees and payouts to private corporations. Now, thanks to the tireless work of the New Democrats, labour and civil society, it is gone. Canada has been the most sued country under ISDS and, for years, the Liberals have argued to keep this clause. They argued to keep it in the CPTPP, which they will be ramming through this week, and created a whole new investor court system in CETA.Will the Liberals finally commit to no future ISDS in trade agreements?
Mr. Speaker, new technologies have changed the way we access information, shop, live, socialize and work. As a result of these changes, our economy has transformed to become increasingly data driven. These transformations have brought with them new and uncharted challenges surrounding the changing nature of work, privacy, information and consent.Can the Prime Minister tell the House how our government is helping to unlock the potential of a data-driven economy while balancing Canadians' right to have their data and privacy protected?
Mr. Speaker, not only did we secure access to the United States for our middle class and for our workers at a time of protectionism and uncertainty, we got rid of the ratchet clause. It infringed on our sovereignty by preventing our government from controlling our access to energy resources. In the face of stiff opposition from the Americans, we kept chapter 19 in the dispute resolution system. We got a cultural exemption that now will apply to digital platforms. That is modernizing NAFTA. We got rid of the ISDS that cost Canadians so much. The auto sector got a big win here in Canada and we have new, enforceable environmental and labour standards.
Mr. Speaker, at least the Prime Minister can show some kind of emotion, even though it is self-righteous indignation that we would actually question him on an issue as important as making sure convicted killers of children are in appropriate institutions, both to protect the integrity of the justice system, but as well to protect the public and any visitors within that institution.If he is blind to it, get out of the way and let us go back to government and get this right.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Davenport for her hard work on behalf of her citizens.We know that good cybersecurity is critical to Canada's competitiveness, economic stability and long-term prosperity. This week we launched the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security we had promised in budget 2018. This new centre will provide Canadian citizens and businesses with a trusted place for cybersecurity advice. Canadians can rest assured that their government is prepared to meet the cybersecurity challenges of today and tomorrow.
Mr. Speaker, former prime minister Stephen Harper predicted the Liberal government would capitulate and he was absolutely right. For the first time in the history of trade deals, there are more tariffs after the conclusion of the deal than there were when the negotiations actually started. My colleague asked when the steel tariffs will be removed. The Prime Minister has backed down on pharmaceuticals, dairy, and so much else. I ask again, when will the steel tariffs be removed? When?
Mr. Speaker, Chapter 11 has cost the Canadian government hundreds of millions of dollars over the years, which is why we are pleased that we signed an agreement that eliminates chapter 11.The ISDS provisions, which we worked hard with people on in the CPTPP and CETA to diminish and even eliminate, is something that we have always stood against. We believe that governments should have every right to protect the environment, to protect labour standards, and that is what we ensured with this accord.
Mr. Speaker, says the Prime Minister who has been repeatedly misrepresenting the position of the Conservative Party on this negotiation from the very start. It is true that many Conservatives entered on a rescue mission to try and help the Prime Minister who was clearly floundering from the beginning. Now we have the result. He backed down on pharmaceuticals with higher drug prices for Canadian seniors. He backed down on dairy, imposing Canadian tariffs on Canadian farmers. Why did he give up so much to get absolutely nothing that we did not already have?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Richmond Hill for his passion on this file.We recognize the potential of a data-driven economy must be balanced against the right of Canadians to have their data and privacy protected. We have launched a national consultation on digital and data transformation to better understand how we can drive innovation and ensure Canadians have trust and confidence in how their data is used. We want to hear directly from Canadians on how to grow the economy while protecting their data, ensuring privacy and building trust.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is now promising to finally meaningfully consult indigenous peoples on the Trans Mountain pipeline proposal. No, seriously, this time he really means it. Here is his problem. He has already made up his mind about the project. Therefore, asking indigenous peoples for their opinion, but refusing to hear the word no is the very definition of paternalism. How about this? Why does the Prime Minister not go and sit with indigenous leaders so they can teach him what free, prior and informed consent actually means or does he only agree with indigenous rights and title when indigenous people agree with him?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for actually acknowledging that there are people from indigenous communities who are saying yes to this project and there are people from indigenous communities who are saying no. We will work with them, as the court has asked. We recognize that improvements can be made to the consultations and to partnerships with first nations, and we are working on that in the meaningful way required by the court.
Mr. Speaker, today, the Liberals have decided not to appeal the Federal Court ruling on the Trans Mountain expansion. Why? Because the court is right.Despite their promises, the Liberals used the same process that the Conservatives used and failed to have meaningful consultations with indigenous communities. Now the court is slapping them on the wrist and they have to go back to the drawing board.They want to restart the consultation process, but how can this consultation be honest and sincere when the government has already made up its mind? It is no different than saying, Your call is important to us, but the answer is no.
Mr. Speaker, next week is Citizenship Week.Our government made significant reforms to the Citizenship Act in order to ensure fairness while preserving the integrity of our citizenship program, which was exploited by the Harper Conservatives to create division.Can the Prime Minister tell the House about the progress that has been made since our government made changes to Canada's citizenship program?
Mr. Speaker, I have been listening to the excuses that the Prime Minister continuously gives to the House and to the Canadian public with respect to his unwillingness to transfer Terri-Lynne McClintic from a healing lodge, with no fences and no barriers, back to where she came from, Grand Valley Institution, with fences and bars.I understand the government will not be voting in favour of our motion today, but does the Prime Minister know whether there will be some of his backbenchers who will see the light and know that this is a moral issue and that they should do the right thing?
Mr. Speaker, Canadians want to know where is the justice in a criminal receiving benefits while he is serving his sentence. Veterans want to know where is the justice in a criminal receiving benefits reserved for our brave veterans.Once again, is Christopher Garnier still receiving these benefits?When will the Prime Minister demand justice for Canadians, for our brave veterans, and for the family of Constable Catherine Campbell?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister accuses us of games, but I remember being in the Ontario legislature as an MPP 18 years ago when the Ontario legislature voted unanimously to ask the federal government to stop a transfer of a cop killer to Club Fed.The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, who was solicitor general at the time, stood in the House and reversed the transfer. Why was that good enough 18 years ago? Why is he playing political games now, saying he cannot do anything on behalf of Tori Stafford's family and on behalf of Canadians? He should do the right thing.
Mr. Speaker, this agreement preserves and maintains supply management. Its future is no longer in question.With regard to market shares, we promised farmers that they would receive full and fair compensation. The changes to market access in this agreement are similar to those in the TPP, which was lauded by the Conservatives. Supply management is protected and farmers will be compensated. As always, the Conservatives are playing political games.
Mr. Speaker, we thank the court for its clarifications on what to do to engage in even better consultations with indigenous peoples, to show them that we are serious and that we sincerely want to have new nation-to-nation relationships with indigenous peoples. That is exactly what we are going to do.We are going to sit down with them to hold even more consultations and to ensure that this project is done right if we move forward. That is what Canadians, indigenous peoples, and our justice system expect.
Mr. Speaker, we believe that the Prime Minister must be true to his word. If he is prepared to recognize those who have the right to say yes to this project, he must recognize the equal right of others to say no to the pipeline project.Does the Prime Minister not recognize that consulting when the decision has already been made is not the type of consultation required by the Supreme Court of Canada?
Mr. Speaker, the court ruling on TMX actually gives us a blueprint to move forward in the right way. We know that proper, deep consultation with indigenous peoples is essential for moving forward on any projects. They have to be moved forward in the right way. That means working with indigenous peoples. It means getting community consultations right. It means working to ensure that the environmental science is top-notch. That is what we recognize. That is what we will move forward with in a responsible way to get things done the right way, because that is what all Canadians expect.
Mr. Speaker, it was under the Conservatives that the decision was taken to reclassify from a maximum security to a medium security. Of course, we point out that I am sure they just followed the recommendations and the proper functioning of their public servants, of the professionals in our corrections agency when that transfer happened.All we are asking is that the Conservatives continue to respect the system in place, which we have asked be verified and be followed up on to ensure that all the rules were appropriately followed.
Mr. Speaker, two years ago, the Supreme Court overturned a bestiality conviction on a child molester because it ruled the law does not cover non-penetrative acts. Since then, the Prime Minister has not included this simple definition change in any of his legislation while bestiality charges are not being laid and more cases are being impacted.Why is the Prime Minister failing to protect humans and animals by refusing to pass updated bestiality legislation?
Mr. Speaker, right across the country, Canadians have been clear that they want us to stand strong, be firm and stand up for Canadian jobs. That is exactly what we did. The members opposite do not have to take my word for it. They can ask Jerry Dias of Unifor, who said that this is a much better deal than the deal that was signed 24 years ago. Perhaps they will listen to Hassan Yussuff, the president of the Canadian Labour Congress, who said, The USMCA gets it right on labour provisions, including provisions to protect workers against employment discrimination on the basis of gender. This deal is a good news story for middle-class Canadians right across the country.
Mr. Speaker, I know well, having heard from many Canadians in Windsor and across southwestern Ontario, that they are very pleased we have moved forward to secure the auto industry in southwestern Ontario and in Windsor. We protected good, middle-class Canadian jobs that will continue long into the future, because we have secured the future of Canada's auto industry with the USMCA. I look forward to getting the support of the members from Windsor, because folks in Windsor are really pleased we have moved forward on protecting their jobs long into the future.
Mr. Speaker, I take this opportunity to highlight what the member opposite well knows, that proper consultations with indigenous peoples are possible and lead to good outcomes for everyone. A great example is the LNG Canada announcement that highlighted how much we could work with indigenous peoples. I know the member must be very pleased, because it will benefit people right across northern British Columbia, to have moved forward on this LNG Canada proposal, which will help indigenous peoples, will grow our economy, will get our resources to markets other than the United States. This is a good day for Canada and it happened because of proper consultation with indigenous peoples.
Mr. Speaker, I will highlight that even though the Conservatives in the House are continuing to play politics, there are Conservatives across the country who understood that standing together for the good of the country was important. That is why former Conservative prime ministers like Brian Mulroney and Kim Campbell, premiers like Brad Wall, Scott Moe and Brian Pallister and others stood strongly on team Canada to make sure we negotiated a good and right deal. It is why we were able to count on smart Conservatives like Rona Ambrose and James Moore, who stood with us understanding that relations with the United States are bigger than mere political points. Unfortunately, not all Conservatives
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives cannot help but play politics on big issues, but we are staying focused on Canadians.It is wonderful to hear the Conservatives suddenly preoccupied with prescription drug costs, because they have never wanted to do anything on that. However, we have made sure that Canadians know that we are serious about moving forward with pharmacare. We will move forward in lowering prescription drug costs for Canadians, and nothing in this deal prevents us from being able to do that for Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, just moments ago, in Manitoba, the Premier of Manitoba, my premier, Brian Pallister, announced that Manitoba is rejecting the carbon tax. There will be no carbon tax in Manitoba.Now that another province has said no carbon tax for its province, will the Prime Minister recognize that a carbon tax penalizes Canadians, penalizes farmers, penalizes industry and penalizes Canadians? It does nothing to help the environment. Will he do the right thing and do what Brian Pallister did today and say no to the carbon tax?
Mr. Speaker, I think most Canadians understand that Sunday night was a good moment for Canadians. We secured access to our most important trading partner in a time of uncertainty. We demonstrated that our approach of standing up for Canadians and staying firm in our principles was the right one.The relationship with the United States goes beyond politics, as it should. I want to give a specific shout-out to the many Conservatives, from Brad Wall to Scott Moe, Brian Pallister, Brian Mulroney, Kim Campbell, Jean Charest, Rona Ambrose and James Moore, who all stood up for
Mr. Speaker, in the course of question period today, the Prime Minister answered a question that I posed to him, and in it he indicated that I was an ambulance chaser. An ambulance chaser is a term for an unethical lawyer. I am a lawyer in my profession. I take great offence to being called an ambulance chaser. I would like to give the Prime Minister the opportunity to do the right thing and apologize, since only last evening, he said himself that he was not going to play this kind of politics.
Mr. Speaker, I continue to find it puzzling as to why Conservatives insist on making pollution free. We believe the polluters should pay, and that is why we are putting a price on pollution. We would prefer to work with provinces right across the country, but if they are unwilling to make sure that polluters pay, we will bring in federal measures to both collect a price on pollution and return that money to hard-working citizens right across the country.
Mr. Speaker, we are very pleased to have eliminated chapter 11, which has cost Canadians $300 million over the years.We know that it is important to protect the government's ability to legislate on environmental protection and labour rights.We stood our ground to get rid of that chapter. We are very pleased that Canadians are no longer subject to it.
Mr. Speaker, I would ask the Conservative members to not make guesses about what Tori's family wants and instead be honest about what they want. They want to play politics with a heinous tragedy. They want
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Vimy for her question and for her dedication to new Canadians.Since we amended the act, nearly 150,000 newcomers have joined our great Canadian family. That is 40% more than we had under the Conservatives. We also reduced the wait time for applications from 24 months to 10.Next week, we will hold 54 citizenship ceremonies and welcome 13,000 new Canadians. On this side of the House, a Canadian is a Canadian.
Mr. Speaker, the member for Essex knows well that the people in Windsor are very happy with this deal, which secures Canada's auto industry for the coming decades. It demonstrates a real win for the Canadian auto and auto parts suppliers' industry. However, yes, we also got rid of the investor-state dispute resolution system, which has cost the federal government more than $300 million in penalties and legal fees. I am glad to hear the member opposite's support for the USMCA. We continue to work to defend people in Windsor and right across the country.
I am sorry Mr. Speaker. He is misleading the House.
Mr. Speaker, I am sorry. Instead of wilfully misleading the House, I will claim that he is misleading the House.
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives want to play politics with this issue. The Conservatives want to drag up this terrible murder and try and look at political gain on this. They have been politicizing this for well over a week, with all the passion they can muster, and they are debasing the nature of the House and the
Mr. Speaker, Canadians actually expected these tariffs to be eliminated during the negotiations with the United States, but they are still in place.In Quebec alone, the aluminum sector represents 20,000 jobs, the steel sector represents 15,000 jobs, and the softwood lumber sector represents 46,000 jobs.Need I remind the Prime Minister that he has been the member for Papineau, Quebec, for 10 years?What does he have to say to workers in the industries targeted by the U.S. tariffs, given that he has failed to do anything for them?
Mr. Speaker, for weeks, the Minister of Public Safety has tried to pass the buck over the outrageous decision to transfer child killer Terri-Lynne McClintic to a healing lodge. However, no matter how hard the minister tries to avoid taking responsibility, the buck stops with him. He has the authority to reverse the decision. He has the authority to put McClintic back where she belongs, behind bars. Why will he not?
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives continue to play a very dangerous and, quite frankly, repulsive game of politicizing a tragedy and speaking for others who they have no business speaking for.We continue to state, obviously, that this is a situation in which a previous Conservative government reclassified an offender, from a maximum security institution to a medium institution. This individual is currently in a medium security facility.As Stephen Harper's former
Mr. Speaker, we take the integrity of our justice system very seriously and will continue to look for ways to improve it to ensure what Canadians expect and the values that are shared among Canadians are upheld and defended, while at the same time we uphold the law.
Mr. Speaker, the bottom line is that in southwestern Ontario we are angry. As a parent, as a member of Parliament, will the Prime Minister do what is right and put this convicted murderer behind bars where she belongs?
Mr. Speaker, our hearts go out to Tori's father, to her entire family, on this terrible tragedy. We understand the anguish and the questions they have and the difficulties they have lived with over the past years.The corrections act does not permit a minister to weigh in directly on the classification of an individual prisoner. The minister has asked the corrections services to look into what happened here to ensure everything was done according to proper procedures and to make recommendations if the procedures need to be changed.
Mr. Speaker, throughout the NAFTA negotiations, the Prime Minister said that he would protect supply management, but he failed to do so. The Prime Minister made major concessions on access to our dairy market and agreed to limit our milk protein exports. We know that the United States is very generous to its dairy farmers, with annual subsidies of approximately $22 billion.Can the Prime Minister confirm what concessions he received regarding the support given to American dairy farmers in return for the ones he made at the expense of Canadian farmers?
Mr. Speaker, the failure of the Liberal government to get the U.S. to lift the steel and aluminum tariffs is hurting employers in my riding of Windsor, in Essex County and the rest of southwestern Ontario. Tool and mould manufacturers that rely on specialized metals from the United States are fed up. The government failed to secure an end to the punitive tariffs imposed by the U.S. during the recent USMCA negotiations, and some of these businesses have already had to relocate to the United States. What is the government doing to keep jobs in Canada now?
Mr. Speaker, all of us here are mourning with Constable Campbell's family.This is a tragic situation, and the minister took steps to change the policy so that this kind of thing will never happen again.The minister increased oversight measures, and the department is reviewing the policy. We will continue to support veterans and family members who need help, all while maintaining the integrity of the system.
Mr. Speaker, in the NAFTA renegotiation, the Prime Minister left steel and aluminum industries hanging in the wind, but he has also abandoned small businesses across the country, like northern boat sellers who are paying punishing import duties because of the Prime Minister's tit-for-tat war with Donald Trump. Would he explain his logic to Clint Chartrand of Guiho Saw Sales in Timmins, who is being hammered by punitive penalties from the government, why the government has squeezed $300 million out of hard-working Canadian businesses and has only paid $11,000 back? When are these penalties going to end against Canadian businesses?
Mr. Speaker, Tori Stafford's family does not want the Prime Minister's heartfelt sentiments; it wants him to take action. The family does not want the Prime Minister's excuses; it wants Tori's killer back behind bars.The Conservatives do not respect the decision to put this killer in a healing lodge without fences. We want her back behind bars and so does Tori's family.Why does the Prime Minister not use the authority he has, take action today and put this killer behind bars?
Mr. Speaker, the planned demolition of the Palestinian village of Khan al-Ahmar by the Israeli government contravenes international law.The European Parliament, for example, passed a resolution stating that this demolition would further threaten the viability of the two-state solution and undermine prospects for peace.Meanwhile, we are still waiting for our Prime Minister's reaction and for him to say something.Why is he remaining silent on this serious problem that affects peace, security and human rights?
Mr. Speaker, let me highlight that people not just from southwestern Ontario but right across the country are upset and stand with Tori Stafford's family on this terrible tragedy. Right across the country, people's hearts go out to the family.In 2014, the individual in question was reclassified from a maximum to a medium security facility. Those are the facts. The Conservatives are playing politics in a particularly inappropriate way.
Mr. Speaker, as has been demonstrated, the minister does not intervene on a case-by-case basis.If we want to talk about things in the past, let us talk about the Conservative member for BellechasseLes EtcheminsLévis, who said, in his capacity as public safety minister, just a few years, I do not control the security classification of individual prisoners. Perhaps the Conservatives will listen to Ben Perrin, who was Stephen Harper's former lawyer, who said, Im concerned with politicians being the ones who decide how any particular individual offender is treated.
Mr. Speaker, nine months ago, Tori Stafford's killer was behind bars and today she is in a healing lodge. Tori's killer was convicted of the most heinous crime imaginable, something the public safety minister called bad practices.Tori's family has called on the Prime Minister to use all of the tools available to him to fix this situation. Today, members will be voting on a motion that would do just that.Does the Prime Minister agree with the decision to transfer Tori's killer to a healing lodge?
Mr. Speaker, I would like to apologize to the House of Commons for some unparliamentary behaviour I exhibited yesterday. It was a long day. It was a passionate debate. Unfortunately, I let the passion get the better of me. Therefore, I would like to apologize to the House of Commons for unparliamentary behaviour yesterday, and it will not happen again.
Mr. Speaker, no matter how great the Prime Minister says the new USMCA is, it comes with no guarantee the 10% surtax on aluminum and the 25% surtax on steel will be eliminated, so it is not a success.Small and medium-sized businesses in Quebec, our small businesses, are vulnerable to fluctuating prices because of those taxes. Workers are worried.Does the government have a plan to fix this situation soon, or will it be taking things one day at a time as usual?
Mr. Speaker, as steadfast friends of Israel, we are extremely concerned by the potential demolition of the Bedouin village, Khan-al Ahmar.Canada has been actively communicating with Israeli officials to prevent this demolition. We are particularly concerned about the demolition of the school's village last week. We believe that no party should take unilateral action that could compromise the prospects for a two-state solution.
Mr. Speaker, today, October 3, is the NEB deadline for comments on the list of issues in the redo of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline review. As an intervenor in the initial failed and flawed process, I have written the National Energy Board asking that it include the upstream and downstream climate impacts of the proposed pipeline, just as it did in the case of the private sector's energy east. It certainly seems fair that it be held to the same standard. Does the Prime Minister not agree?
Mr. Speaker, our hearts go out to the family of Tori Stafford for the loss they have endured. The offender in question was moved from maximum security to medium security in 2014 under the Conservatives. She remains in medium security today. As reports have shown, the Corrections and Conditional Release Act does not permit politicians to make one-off decisions in regard to the placement of individual inmates. However, the minister has asked the commissioner of correctional services to review this decision to ensure that it was taken properly and in accordance with long-standing policy.
Mr. Speaker, let me quote the Federal Court of Appeal again, that Canada's efforts fell well short of the mark set by the Supreme Court of Canada when it came to consulting indigenous peoples on Trans Mountain.How can the Prime Minister claim that he will consult again when he has repeatedly said in the House that this project will be built no matter what?Does the Prime Minister not realize that he is in fact totally abdicating his constitutional duty to consult and accommodate indigenous peoples and obtain their consent?
Mr. Speaker, I would indeed suggest that this is a moral issue. This is about the contrast between a party and a government that respects the rules and respects the independence of our judicial system, that appreciates the professionalism of our correctional services, and a party of ambulance-chasing politicians who are quite frankly demonstrating a contempt for the principles of law and debate in the House. It is inexcusable.
Mr. Speaker, as I told steel and aluminum workers when I toured their plants, our government is there for them. Our countermeasures will remain in place until the unfair tariffs on steel and aluminum are removed.During the negotiations, our goal was to create the conditions to grow the middle class and provide more opportunities for Canadians. We will continue our efforts to eliminate these tariffs. That is what Canadians expect and that is what we will do.
Mr. Speaker, the deputy leader of the Conservative Party has just asked the Prime Minister to apologize for using an unparliamentary term. I would like to know from you, Mr. Speaker, if ambulance chaser is an unparliamentary term.
Mr. Speaker, there is a major difference. The deal under the CPTPP and CETA was to exchange gains in terms of market access in other countries. These concessions have nothing in return. The Prime Minister tries to compare these concessions to other deals, but under the agreement he just signed, the Canadian government will be imposing tariffs on Canadian exports. We know that the United States has a wide variety of supports and billions of dollars worth in subsidies for its dairy producers. Therefore, in exchange for backing down on what Donald Trump wanted, can the Prime Minister tell us exactly which measures the U.S. has agreed to eliminate?
Mr. Speaker, little Victoria's father wrote the Prime Minister a message last weekend. He asked him, from father to father, if the Prime Minister could kneel before his child's headstone, knowing they spent the last three hours of their life begging and pleading for mommy or daddy to come save them. He asked the Prime Minister if he could sleep soundly knowing that. He pleaded with the Prime Minister to do the right thing to ensure that this injustice is reversed and that the killer returns behind bars.The Prime Minister has the power to take action. Will he vote in favour of the motion we have moved here in the House?
Mr. Speaker, Davenport residents have let me know that their data privacy, their online information and the threat of hacking are a priority and a worry for them. Our government takes our responsibility to protect the private information of citizens and the integrity of our critical infrastructure systems very seriously. We committed $155 million for a new Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, establishing a unified government source of unique expertise and support. Can the Prime Minister update this House on the implementation of the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security?
Mr. Speaker, Lucille's husband, Morris, served our country for 28 years. He developed PTSD while serving his country dutifully and honourably. He witnessed acts of violence and faced unimaginable horrors. When the minister did not respond to her letter, Lucille contacted my office, saying how horrified she is that Garnier, who never served a day in his life, is receiving veterans benefits due to the PTSD he developed while murdering officer Campbell.Could the Prime Minister explain to Lucille why Chris Garnier is still receiving veterans benefits?
Mr. Speaker, just like all Canadians across the country, our hearts go out to Rodney Stafford. The inmate was transferred from a maximum-security facility to a medium-security facility in 2014, under the Conservatives. She remains in a medium-security facility today. The Conservatives should know that the minister does not intervene in such decisions, because that is precisely what the member for BellechasseLes EtcheminsLévis has stated in the past, when he was minister. The minister has asked the commissioner to review her decision. As the Conservative member for KamloopsThompsonCariboo said, the independent judiciary process must be allowed to take its course without political interference.
Mr. Speaker, let me give the Prime Minister the facts. This was an eight-year-old girl who was heinously murdered and these people were convicted of first degree murder and sent to prison, behind bars. Are you telling me that sending this convicted first degree murderer
Mr. Speaker, our government places the highest priority on ensuring veterans and their families have the support and services they need when and where they need them. The member knows well that I cannot talk about the specifics of any individual case on the floor of the House. However, we have been firm in our commitment to enhance access to veterans benefits, unlike the Conservatives, who cut front-line staff, closed offices and balanced the budget on the backs of veterans. We continue to follow up on making sure all the rules have been followed, and we will make modifications if necessary.
Mr. Speaker, small and medium-sized businesses, entrepreneurs and workers across Quebec and the rest of Canada are glad we have signed this agreement with the United States. All the same, as I told steel and aluminum workers when I visited their plants, our government will protect them. Canada's countermeasures will remain in place until the unfair steel and aluminum tariffs are lifted. Throughout the negotiations, our goal was always to create conditions that will help grow the middle class and provide more benefits to Canadians.We will keep working to protect our workers.
Mr. Speaker, we will continue to stand up for Canadians in the steel and aluminum sector. Despite what the member opposite says, we have had an awful lot of wins, on top of obviously securing our access to the U.S. market. We have eliminated the ratchet clause that prevented our government from controlling access to our energy sources. We got a cultural exemption that, in the spirit of modernizing NAFTA, will now apply to digital platforms. We got rid of the ISDS platform. We got a new auto deal for Canadians that will secure our auto sector. We have enforceable environmental and labour standards, which I know the Conservatives
Mr. Speaker, Canadians continue to call on the Prime Minister to do the right thing and send Terri-Lynne McClintic, the killer of eight-year-old Tori Stafford, back to prison. While he and his public safety minister dither with this review and refuse to review the transfer, which did not occur in 2014, but just a few months ago, with McClintic now enjoying life in a healing lodge without a fence.I ask the Prime Minister on behalf of Tori's father and on behalf of Canadians to do the right thing, to vote yes on our motion today and order McClintic back behind bars.
Mr. Speaker, I am surprised to hear the Conservatives playing Monday morning quarterback, considering that last year, Stephen Harper and the Conservatives begged us to give in and accept an agreement at any cost. Stephen Harper's memo said, and I quote, it does not matter whether current American proposals are worse than what we have now.We on this side of the House refused to give in. We were patient and persistent, and we succeeded in negotiating a good deal for Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, we in the House should not be surprised when the Conservatives choose to play politics.I have to admit I am surprised on this one, given that just last year Stephen Harper and the Conservatives were imploring us to capitulate and accept any deal at any price. Stephen Harper's memo said, It does not matter whether current American proposals are worse than what we have now.Over and over, the Conservatives urged us to take Harper's advice and surrender immediately. That was not our approach. We stood up for Canadians and got a good deal.
Mr. Speaker, speaking of Canadians, unfortunately hundreds of thousands of Canadians working in the steel, aluminum and softwood lumber industries are directly affected by the U.S. tariffs.In Quebec, the aluminium industry is essential. It represents $5 billion, nine aluminum plants and 20,000 jobs.The Prime Minister keeps repeating that the deal with the Americans is a good one. Can he tell us, yes or no, if the U.S. tariffs on aluminum are still in place?
Mr. Speaker, our hearts obviously go out to Tori Stafford's family for their loss.The inmate was transferred from a maximum-security facility to a medium-security one in 2014, while the Conservatives were in government, and that is where she remains today. As news articles have shown, the Corrections and Conditional Release Act does not allow politicians to make decisions on individual inmate transfers. The minister has asked the commissioner to ensure that this decision is consistent with long-standing policies.
Mr. Speaker, there is something in this deal that would make that program even more expensive. The Prime Minister has just backed down, by giving Donald Trump's policy preference over Canadian pharmaceuticals, meaning higher prices for patients. In return for backing down on pharmaceuticals, on accepting a cap on autos, what has he got in return? Yesterday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said that the most important gain from this agreement is retaining what we already had.Specifically, did the Prime Minister receive an end to tariffs on steel and aluminum for all of his concessions?
Mr. Speaker, the review the NEB will undertake is related to the recent court decision on marine scoping. Direct and upstream impacts were reviewed under our interim principles, announced in January 2016. As we have demonstrated, we are moving forward with this project in the right way. We are ensuring that we protect the environment and consult properly with indigenous peoples. To grow the economy and protect the environment, we need to do both at the same time. That is exactly what we will do.
Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the Prime Minister needed all the help he could get when it came to his negotiating position with Donald Trump. Even after all of that, he still had to back down on so many key areas. He backed down on pharmaceuticals, meaning that Canadian patients and the provincial health care systems will have to pay billions more.Can the Prime Minister tell us exactly how much Canadian patients will have to pay after he has adopted Donald Trump's rules on prescription drug costs?
Mr. Speaker, it is funny to hear the Prime Minister talk about playing political games here.No less than three times yesterday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs talked about the elimination of chapter 11 of NAFTA as a great victory for her and her government.The thing is that the Liberals are the ones who fought at the negotiating table to keep a version of that provision, which allows companies to go after governments directly. Donald Trump is the one who wanted to get rid of chapter 11. We are glad to see it go.Are the Liberals so desperate that they have to rewrite history?
Mr. Speaker, once again, the Conservatives are showing they will not let the facts get in the way of a political opportunity, and that is a real challenge for them and for Canadians watching.Let me set the facts straight. As reports have shown, the Corrections and Conditional Release Act does not permit politicians to make one-off decisions in regard to the placement of individual inmates. Those are the facts. The Conservatives, yet again, are playing politics.
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government is trying so hard to find a positive angle to this deal with Donald Trump that it is wilfully misleading the House on this.Yesterday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and today the Prime Minister are bragging about the fact that the elimination of chapter 11 of NAFTA is a great victory for them and their government. The problem is that they are the ones who fought to try to keep it. Donald Trump was the one who tried to get rid of it.Of course, we are glad that chapter 11 is gone, but how desperate is the Prime Minister that he now wants to rewrite history?
Mr. Speaker, we know that the Prime Minister backed down to Donald Trump on so many files. In fact, Donald Trump's senior economic adviser thanked him for backing down so graciously. After combing through the deal trying to find something to latch onto that he can claim as a positive, he tells us it is investor state and the ratchet clause. The Prime Minister actually fought to get the investor-state proposition into the TPP, and the energy ratchet clause has never been used. However, steel and aluminum tariffs have been in effect and are hurting Canadian jobs. Has he removed those tariffs?
Mr. Speaker, I would ask all members of this House to begin to respect a little bit more the sanctity of this place, of respecting that robust debate can happen, but dragging in the name of a family, or indeed the stories of tragedy, should not be a cause for political attacks in this place.
Mr. Speaker, a woman who was convicted of the rape and first degree murder of an eight-year-old girl was transferred to a healing lodge that does not even have fences. Security is so lax that there were 18 recorded escapes from this type of facility between 2011 and 2016. Our motion, like the one the Ontario government unanimously adopted on Monday, calls for this decision to be reversed.My question for the Prime Minister is simple. Will he vote in favour of our motion, as Canadians from across the country are calling for, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, as a mother and a grandmother, I can only imagine the pain and suffering that Tori's family has experienced. Tori's father has been begging the Prime Minister to reverse the decision that has allowed Terri-Lynne McClintic to serve her time at a healing lodge in Saskatchewan. When will the Prime Minister listen to Tori's father, do the right thing, reverse this decision and put Tori's killer back behind bars?
Mr. Speaker, in the new USMCA, we learned that Canada will finally eliminate chapter 11. Canadians have been hit with millions of dollars in legal fees and payouts to private corporations. Now, thanks to the tireless work of the New Democrats, labour and civil society, it is gone. Canada has been the most sued country under ISDS and, for years, the Liberals have argued to keep this clause. They argued to keep it in the CPTPP, which they will be ramming through this week, and created a whole new investor court system in CETA.Will the Liberals finally commit to no future ISDS in trade agreements?
Mr. Speaker, new technologies have changed the way we access information, shop, live, socialize and work. As a result of these changes, our economy has transformed to become increasingly data driven. These transformations have brought with them new and uncharted challenges surrounding the changing nature of work, privacy, information and consent.Can the Prime Minister tell the House how our government is helping to unlock the potential of a data-driven economy while balancing Canadians' right to have their data and privacy protected?
Mr. Speaker, not only did we secure access to the United States for our middle class and for our workers at a time of protectionism and uncertainty, we got rid of the ratchet clause. It infringed on our sovereignty by preventing our government from controlling our access to energy resources. In the face of stiff opposition from the Americans, we kept chapter 19 in the dispute resolution system. We got a cultural exemption that now will apply to digital platforms. That is modernizing NAFTA. We got rid of the ISDS that cost Canadians so much. The auto sector got a big win here in Canada and we have new, enforceable environmental and labour standards.
Mr. Speaker, at least the Prime Minister can show some kind of emotion, even though it is self-righteous indignation that we would actually question him on an issue as important as making sure convicted killers of children are in appropriate institutions, both to protect the integrity of the justice system, but as well to protect the public and any visitors within that institution.If he is blind to it, get out of the way and let us go back to government and get this right.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Davenport for her hard work on behalf of her citizens.We know that good cybersecurity is critical to Canada's competitiveness, economic stability and long-term prosperity. This week we launched the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security we had promised in budget 2018. This new centre will provide Canadian citizens and businesses with a trusted place for cybersecurity advice. Canadians can rest assured that their government is prepared to meet the cybersecurity challenges of today and tomorrow.
Mr. Speaker, former prime minister Stephen Harper predicted the Liberal government would capitulate and he was absolutely right. For the first time in the history of trade deals, there are more tariffs after the conclusion of the deal than there were when the negotiations actually started. My colleague asked when the steel tariffs will be removed. The Prime Minister has backed down on pharmaceuticals, dairy, and so much else. I ask again, when will the steel tariffs be removed? When?
Mr. Speaker, Chapter 11 has cost the Canadian government hundreds of millions of dollars over the years, which is why we are pleased that we signed an agreement that eliminates chapter 11.The ISDS provisions, which we worked hard with people on in the CPTPP and CETA to diminish and even eliminate, is something that we have always stood against. We believe that governments should have every right to protect the environment, to protect labour standards, and that is what we ensured with this accord.
Mr. Speaker, says the Prime Minister who has been repeatedly misrepresenting the position of the Conservative Party on this negotiation from the very start. It is true that many Conservatives entered on a rescue mission to try and help the Prime Minister who was clearly floundering from the beginning. Now we have the result. He backed down on pharmaceuticals with higher drug prices for Canadian seniors. He backed down on dairy, imposing Canadian tariffs on Canadian farmers. Why did he give up so much to get absolutely nothing that we did not already have?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Richmond Hill for his passion on this file.We recognize the potential of a data-driven economy must be balanced against the right of Canadians to have their data and privacy protected. We have launched a national consultation on digital and data transformation to better understand how we can drive innovation and ensure Canadians have trust and confidence in how their data is used. We want to hear directly from Canadians on how to grow the economy while protecting their data, ensuring privacy and building trust.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is now promising to finally meaningfully consult indigenous peoples on the Trans Mountain pipeline proposal. No, seriously, this time he really means it. Here is his problem. He has already made up his mind about the project. Therefore, asking indigenous peoples for their opinion, but refusing to hear the word no is the very definition of paternalism. How about this? Why does the Prime Minister not go and sit with indigenous leaders so they can teach him what free, prior and informed consent actually means or does he only agree with indigenous rights and title when indigenous people agree with him?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for actually acknowledging that there are people from indigenous communities who are saying yes to this project and there are people from indigenous communities who are saying no. We will work with them, as the court has asked. We recognize that improvements can be made to the consultations and to partnerships with first nations, and we are working on that in the meaningful way required by the court.
Mr. Speaker, today, the Liberals have decided not to appeal the Federal Court ruling on the Trans Mountain expansion. Why? Because the court is right.Despite their promises, the Liberals used the same process that the Conservatives used and failed to have meaningful consultations with indigenous communities. Now the court is slapping them on the wrist and they have to go back to the drawing board.They want to restart the consultation process, but how can this consultation be honest and sincere when the government has already made up its mind? It is no different than saying, Your call is important to us, but the answer is no.
Mr. Speaker, next week is Citizenship Week.Our government made significant reforms to the Citizenship Act in order to ensure fairness while preserving the integrity of our citizenship program, which was exploited by the Harper Conservatives to create division.Can the Prime Minister tell the House about the progress that has been made since our government made changes to Canada's citizenship program?
Mr. Speaker, I have been listening to the excuses that the Prime Minister continuously gives to the House and to the Canadian public with respect to his unwillingness to transfer Terri-Lynne McClintic from a healing lodge, with no fences and no barriers, back to where she came from, Grand Valley Institution, with fences and bars.I understand the government will not be voting in favour of our motion today, but does the Prime Minister know whether there will be some of his backbenchers who will see the light and know that this is a moral issue and that they should do the right thing?
Mr. Speaker, Canadians want to know where is the justice in a criminal receiving benefits while he is serving his sentence. Veterans want to know where is the justice in a criminal receiving benefits reserved for our brave veterans.Once again, is Christopher Garnier still receiving these benefits?When will the Prime Minister demand justice for Canadians, for our brave veterans, and for the family of Constable Catherine Campbell?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister accuses us of games, but I remember being in the Ontario legislature as an MPP 18 years ago when the Ontario legislature voted unanimously to ask the federal government to stop a transfer of a cop killer to Club Fed.The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, who was solicitor general at the time, stood in the House and reversed the transfer. Why was that good enough 18 years ago? Why is he playing political games now, saying he cannot do anything on behalf of Tori Stafford's family and on behalf of Canadians? He should do the right thing.
Mr. Speaker, this agreement preserves and maintains supply management. Its future is no longer in question.With regard to market shares, we promised farmers that they would receive full and fair compensation. The changes to market access in this agreement are similar to those in the TPP, which was lauded by the Conservatives. Supply management is protected and farmers will be compensated. As always, the Conservatives are playing political games.
Mr. Speaker, we thank the court for its clarifications on what to do to engage in even better consultations with indigenous peoples, to show them that we are serious and that we sincerely want to have new nation-to-nation relationships with indigenous peoples. That is exactly what we are going to do.We are going to sit down with them to hold even more consultations and to ensure that this project is done right if we move forward. That is what Canadians, indigenous peoples, and our justice system expect.
Mr. Speaker, we believe that the Prime Minister must be true to his word. If he is prepared to recognize those who have the right to say yes to this project, he must recognize the equal right of others to say no to the pipeline project.Does the Prime Minister not recognize that consulting when the decision has already been made is not the type of consultation required by the Supreme Court of Canada?
Mr. Speaker, the court ruling on TMX actually gives us a blueprint to move forward in the right way. We know that proper, deep consultation with indigenous peoples is essential for moving forward on any projects. They have to be moved forward in the right way. That means working with indigenous peoples. It means getting community consultations right. It means working to ensure that the environmental science is top-notch. That is what we recognize. That is what we will move forward with in a responsible way to get things done the right way, because that is what all Canadians expect.
Mr. Speaker, it was under the Conservatives that the decision was taken to reclassify from a maximum security to a medium security. Of course, we point out that I am sure they just followed the recommendations and the proper functioning of their public servants, of the professionals in our corrections agency when that transfer happened.All we are asking is that the Conservatives continue to respect the system in place, which we have asked be verified and be followed up on to ensure that all the rules were appropriately followed.
Mr. Speaker, two years ago, the Supreme Court overturned a bestiality conviction on a child molester because it ruled the law does not cover non-penetrative acts. Since then, the Prime Minister has not included this simple definition change in any of his legislation while bestiality charges are not being laid and more cases are being impacted.Why is the Prime Minister failing to protect humans and animals by refusing to pass updated bestiality legislation?
Mr. Speaker, right across the country, Canadians have been clear that they want us to stand strong, be firm and stand up for Canadian jobs. That is exactly what we did. The members opposite do not have to take my word for it. They can ask Jerry Dias of Unifor, who said that this is a much better deal than the deal that was signed 24 years ago. Perhaps they will listen to Hassan Yussuff, the president of the Canadian Labour Congress, who said, The USMCA gets it right on labour provisions, including provisions to protect workers against employment discrimination on the basis of gender. This deal is a good news story for middle-class Canadians right across the country.
Mr. Speaker, I know well, having heard from many Canadians in Windsor and across southwestern Ontario, that they are very pleased we have moved forward to secure the auto industry in southwestern Ontario and in Windsor. We protected good, middle-class Canadian jobs that will continue long into the future, because we have secured the future of Canada's auto industry with the USMCA. I look forward to getting the support of the members from Windsor, because folks in Windsor are really pleased we have moved forward on protecting their jobs long into the future.
Mr. Speaker, I take this opportunity to highlight what the member opposite well knows, that proper consultations with indigenous peoples are possible and lead to good outcomes for everyone. A great example is the LNG Canada announcement that highlighted how much we could work with indigenous peoples. I know the member must be very pleased, because it will benefit people right across northern British Columbia, to have moved forward on this LNG Canada proposal, which will help indigenous peoples, will grow our economy, will get our resources to markets other than the United States. This is a good day for Canada and it happened because of proper consultation with indigenous peoples.
Mr. Speaker, I will highlight that even though the Conservatives in the House are continuing to play politics, there are Conservatives across the country who understood that standing together for the good of the country was important. That is why former Conservative prime ministers like Brian Mulroney and Kim Campbell, premiers like Brad Wall, Scott Moe and Brian Pallister and others stood strongly on team Canada to make sure we negotiated a good and right deal. It is why we were able to count on smart Conservatives like Rona Ambrose and James Moore, who stood with us understanding that relations with the United States are bigger than mere political points. Unfortunately, not all Conservatives
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives cannot help but play politics on big issues, but we are staying focused on Canadians.It is wonderful to hear the Conservatives suddenly preoccupied with prescription drug costs, because they have never wanted to do anything on that. However, we have made sure that Canadians know that we are serious about moving forward with pharmacare. We will move forward in lowering prescription drug costs for Canadians, and nothing in this deal prevents us from being able to do that for Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, just moments ago, in Manitoba, the Premier of Manitoba, my premier, Brian Pallister, announced that Manitoba is rejecting the carbon tax. There will be no carbon tax in Manitoba.Now that another province has said no carbon tax for its province, will the Prime Minister recognize that a carbon tax penalizes Canadians, penalizes farmers, penalizes industry and penalizes Canadians? It does nothing to help the environment. Will he do the right thing and do what Brian Pallister did today and say no to the carbon tax?
Mr. Speaker, I think most Canadians understand that Sunday night was a good moment for Canadians. We secured access to our most important trading partner in a time of uncertainty. We demonstrated that our approach of standing up for Canadians and staying firm in our principles was the right one.The relationship with the United States goes beyond politics, as it should. I want to give a specific shout-out to the many Conservatives, from Brad Wall to Scott Moe, Brian Pallister, Brian Mulroney, Kim Campbell, Jean Charest, Rona Ambrose and James Moore, who all stood up for
Mr. Speaker, in the course of question period today, the Prime Minister answered a question that I posed to him, and in it he indicated that I was an ambulance chaser. An ambulance chaser is a term for an unethical lawyer. I am a lawyer in my profession. I take great offence to being called an ambulance chaser. I would like to give the Prime Minister the opportunity to do the right thing and apologize, since only last evening, he said himself that he was not going to play this kind of politics.
Mr. Speaker, I continue to find it puzzling as to why Conservatives insist on making pollution free. We believe the polluters should pay, and that is why we are putting a price on pollution. We would prefer to work with provinces right across the country, but if they are unwilling to make sure that polluters pay, we will bring in federal measures to both collect a price on pollution and return that money to hard-working citizens right across the country.
Mr. Speaker, we are very pleased to have eliminated chapter 11, which has cost Canadians $300 million over the years.We know that it is important to protect the government's ability to legislate on environmental protection and labour rights.We stood our ground to get rid of that chapter. We are very pleased that Canadians are no longer subject to it.
Mr. Speaker, I would ask the Conservative members to not make guesses about what Tori's family wants and instead be honest about what they want. They want to play politics with a heinous tragedy. They want
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Vimy for her question and for her dedication to new Canadians.Since we amended the act, nearly 150,000 newcomers have joined our great Canadian family. That is 40% more than we had under the Conservatives. We also reduced the wait time for applications from 24 months to 10.Next week, we will hold 54 citizenship ceremonies and welcome 13,000 new Canadians. On this side of the House, a Canadian is a Canadian.
Mr. Speaker, the member for Essex knows well that the people in Windsor are very happy with this deal, which secures Canada's auto industry for the coming decades. It demonstrates a real win for the Canadian auto and auto parts suppliers' industry. However, yes, we also got rid of the investor-state dispute resolution system, which has cost the federal government more than $300 million in penalties and legal fees. I am glad to hear the member opposite's support for the USMCA. We continue to work to defend people in Windsor and right across the country.
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Mr. Speaker, the member for Essex knows well that the people in Windsor are very happy with this deal, which secures Canada's auto industry for the coming decades. It demonstrates a real win for the Canadian auto and auto parts suppliers' industry. However, yes, we also got rid of the investor-state dispute resolution system, which has cost the federal government more than $300 million in penalties and legal fees. I am glad to hear the member opposite's support for the USMCA. We continue to work to defend people in Windsor and right across the country.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Vimy for her question and for her dedication to new Canadians.Since we amended the act, nearly 150,000 newcomers have joined our great Canadian family. That is 40% more than we had under the Conservatives. We also reduced the wait time for applications from 24 months to 10.Next week, we will hold 54 citizenship ceremonies and welcome 13,000 new Canadians. On this side of the House, a Canadian is a Canadian.
Mr. Speaker, I would ask the Conservative members to not make guesses about what Tori's family wants and instead be honest about what they want. They want to play politics with a heinous tragedy. They want
Mr. Speaker, we are very pleased to have eliminated chapter 11, which has cost Canadians $300 million over the years.We know that it is important to protect the government's ability to legislate on environmental protection and labour rights.We stood our ground to get rid of that chapter. We are very pleased that Canadians are no longer subject to it.
Mr. Speaker, I continue to find it puzzling as to why Conservatives insist on making pollution free. We believe the polluters should pay, and that is why we are putting a price on pollution. We would prefer to work with provinces right across the country, but if they are unwilling to make sure that polluters pay, we will bring in federal measures to both collect a price on pollution and return that money to hard-working citizens right across the country.
Mr. Speaker, in the course of question period today, the Prime Minister answered a question that I posed to him, and in it he indicated that I was an ambulance chaser. An ambulance chaser is a term for an unethical lawyer. I am a lawyer in my profession. I take great offence to being called an ambulance chaser. I would like to give the Prime Minister the opportunity to do the right thing and apologize, since only last evening, he said himself that he was not going to play this kind of politics.
Mr. Speaker, I think most Canadians understand that Sunday night was a good moment for Canadians. We secured access to our most important trading partner in a time of uncertainty. We demonstrated that our approach of standing up for Canadians and staying firm in our principles was the right one.The relationship with the United States goes beyond politics, as it should. I want to give a specific shout-out to the many Conservatives, from Brad Wall to Scott Moe, Brian Pallister, Brian Mulroney, Kim Campbell, Jean Charest, Rona Ambrose and James Moore, who all stood up for
Mr. Speaker, just moments ago, in Manitoba, the Premier of Manitoba, my premier, Brian Pallister, announced that Manitoba is rejecting the carbon tax. There will be no carbon tax in Manitoba.Now that another province has said no carbon tax for its province, will the Prime Minister recognize that a carbon tax penalizes Canadians, penalizes farmers, penalizes industry and penalizes Canadians? It does nothing to help the environment. Will he do the right thing and do what Brian Pallister did today and say no to the carbon tax?
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives cannot help but play politics on big issues, but we are staying focused on Canadians.It is wonderful to hear the Conservatives suddenly preoccupied with prescription drug costs, because they have never wanted to do anything on that. However, we have made sure that Canadians know that we are serious about moving forward with pharmacare. We will move forward in lowering prescription drug costs for Canadians, and nothing in this deal prevents us from being able to do that for Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, I will highlight that even though the Conservatives in the House are continuing to play politics, there are Conservatives across the country who understood that standing together for the good of the country was important. That is why former Conservative prime ministers like Brian Mulroney and Kim Campbell, premiers like Brad Wall, Scott Moe and Brian Pallister and others stood strongly on team Canada to make sure we negotiated a good and right deal. It is why we were able to count on smart Conservatives like Rona Ambrose and James Moore, who stood with us understanding that relations with the United States are bigger than mere political points. Unfortunately, not all Conservatives
Mr. Speaker, I take this opportunity to highlight what the member opposite well knows, that proper consultations with indigenous peoples are possible and lead to good outcomes for everyone. A great example is the LNG Canada announcement that highlighted how much we could work with indigenous peoples. I know the member must be very pleased, because it will benefit people right across northern British Columbia, to have moved forward on this LNG Canada proposal, which will help indigenous peoples, will grow our economy, will get our resources to markets other than the United States. This is a good day for Canada and it happened because of proper consultation with indigenous peoples.
Mr. Speaker, I know well, having heard from many Canadians in Windsor and across southwestern Ontario, that they are very pleased we have moved forward to secure the auto industry in southwestern Ontario and in Windsor. We protected good, middle-class Canadian jobs that will continue long into the future, because we have secured the future of Canada's auto industry with the USMCA. I look forward to getting the support of the members from Windsor, because folks in Windsor are really pleased we have moved forward on protecting their jobs long into the future.
Mr. Speaker, right across the country, Canadians have been clear that they want us to stand strong, be firm and stand up for Canadian jobs. That is exactly what we did. The members opposite do not have to take my word for it. They can ask Jerry Dias of Unifor, who said that this is a much better deal than the deal that was signed 24 years ago. Perhaps they will listen to Hassan Yussuff, the president of the Canadian Labour Congress, who said, The USMCA gets it right on labour provisions, including provisions to protect workers against employment discrimination on the basis of gender. This deal is a good news story for middle-class Canadians right across the country.
Mr. Speaker, it was under the Conservatives that the decision was taken to reclassify from a maximum security to a medium security. Of course, we point out that I am sure they just followed the recommendations and the proper functioning of their public servants, of the professionals in our corrections agency when that transfer happened.All we are asking is that the Conservatives continue to respect the system in place, which we have asked be verified and be followed up on to ensure that all the rules were appropriately followed.
Mr. Speaker, two years ago, the Supreme Court overturned a bestiality conviction on a child molester because it ruled the law does not cover non-penetrative acts. Since then, the Prime Minister has not included this simple definition change in any of his legislation while bestiality charges are not being laid and more cases are being impacted.Why is the Prime Minister failing to protect humans and animals by refusing to pass updated bestiality legislation?
Mr. Speaker, the court ruling on TMX actually gives us a blueprint to move forward in the right way. We know that proper, deep consultation with indigenous peoples is essential for moving forward on any projects. They have to be moved forward in the right way. That means working with indigenous peoples. It means getting community consultations right. It means working to ensure that the environmental science is top-notch. That is what we recognize. That is what we will move forward with in a responsible way to get things done the right way, because that is what all Canadians expect.
Mr. Speaker, we believe that the Prime Minister must be true to his word. If he is prepared to recognize those who have the right to say yes to this project, he must recognize the equal right of others to say no to the pipeline project.Does the Prime Minister not recognize that consulting when the decision has already been made is not the type of consultation required by the Supreme Court of Canada?
Mr. Speaker, we thank the court for its clarifications on what to do to engage in even better consultations with indigenous peoples, to show them that we are serious and that we sincerely want to have new nation-to-nation relationships with indigenous peoples. That is exactly what we are going to do.We are going to sit down with them to hold even more consultations and to ensure that this project is done right if we move forward. That is what Canadians, indigenous peoples, and our justice system expect.
Mr. Speaker, this agreement preserves and maintains supply management. Its future is no longer in question.With regard to market shares, we promised farmers that they would receive full and fair compensation. The changes to market access in this agreement are similar to those in the TPP, which was lauded by the Conservatives. Supply management is protected and farmers will be compensated. As always, the Conservatives are playing political games.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister accuses us of games, but I remember being in the Ontario legislature as an MPP 18 years ago when the Ontario legislature voted unanimously to ask the federal government to stop a transfer of a cop killer to Club Fed.The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, who was solicitor general at the time, stood in the House and reversed the transfer. Why was that good enough 18 years ago? Why is he playing political games now, saying he cannot do anything on behalf of Tori Stafford's family and on behalf of Canadians? He should do the right thing.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians want to know where is the justice in a criminal receiving benefits while he is serving his sentence. Veterans want to know where is the justice in a criminal receiving benefits reserved for our brave veterans.Once again, is Christopher Garnier still receiving these benefits?When will the Prime Minister demand justice for Canadians, for our brave veterans, and for the family of Constable Catherine Campbell?
Mr. Speaker, I have been listening to the excuses that the Prime Minister continuously gives to the House and to the Canadian public with respect to his unwillingness to transfer Terri-Lynne McClintic from a healing lodge, with no fences and no barriers, back to where she came from, Grand Valley Institution, with fences and bars.I understand the government will not be voting in favour of our motion today, but does the Prime Minister know whether there will be some of his backbenchers who will see the light and know that this is a moral issue and that they should do the right thing?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for actually acknowledging that there are people from indigenous communities who are saying yes to this project and there are people from indigenous communities who are saying no. We will work with them, as the court has asked. We recognize that improvements can be made to the consultations and to partnerships with first nations, and we are working on that in the meaningful way required by the court.
Mr. Speaker, today, the Liberals have decided not to appeal the Federal Court ruling on the Trans Mountain expansion. Why? Because the court is right.Despite their promises, the Liberals used the same process that the Conservatives used and failed to have meaningful consultations with indigenous communities. Now the court is slapping them on the wrist and they have to go back to the drawing board.They want to restart the consultation process, but how can this consultation be honest and sincere when the government has already made up its mind? It is no different than saying, Your call is important to us, but the answer is no.
Mr. Speaker, next week is Citizenship Week.Our government made significant reforms to the Citizenship Act in order to ensure fairness while preserving the integrity of our citizenship program, which was exploited by the Harper Conservatives to create division.Can the Prime Minister tell the House about the progress that has been made since our government made changes to Canada's citizenship program?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is now promising to finally meaningfully consult indigenous peoples on the Trans Mountain pipeline proposal. No, seriously, this time he really means it. Here is his problem. He has already made up his mind about the project. Therefore, asking indigenous peoples for their opinion, but refusing to hear the word no is the very definition of paternalism. How about this? Why does the Prime Minister not go and sit with indigenous leaders so they can teach him what free, prior and informed consent actually means or does he only agree with indigenous rights and title when indigenous people agree with him?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Richmond Hill for his passion on this file.We recognize the potential of a data-driven economy must be balanced against the right of Canadians to have their data and privacy protected. We have launched a national consultation on digital and data transformation to better understand how we can drive innovation and ensure Canadians have trust and confidence in how their data is used. We want to hear directly from Canadians on how to grow the economy while protecting their data, ensuring privacy and building trust.
Mr. Speaker, says the Prime Minister who has been repeatedly misrepresenting the position of the Conservative Party on this negotiation from the very start. It is true that many Conservatives entered on a rescue mission to try and help the Prime Minister who was clearly floundering from the beginning. Now we have the result. He backed down on pharmaceuticals with higher drug prices for Canadian seniors. He backed down on dairy, imposing Canadian tariffs on Canadian farmers. Why did he give up so much to get absolutely nothing that we did not already have?
Mr. Speaker, Chapter 11 has cost the Canadian government hundreds of millions of dollars over the years, which is why we are pleased that we signed an agreement that eliminates chapter 11.The ISDS provisions, which we worked hard with people on in the CPTPP and CETA to diminish and even eliminate, is something that we have always stood against. We believe that governments should have every right to protect the environment, to protect labour standards, and that is what we ensured with this accord.
Mr. Speaker, former prime minister Stephen Harper predicted the Liberal government would capitulate and he was absolutely right. For the first time in the history of trade deals, there are more tariffs after the conclusion of the deal than there were when the negotiations actually started. My colleague asked when the steel tariffs will be removed. The Prime Minister has backed down on pharmaceuticals, dairy, and so much else. I ask again, when will the steel tariffs be removed? When?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Davenport for her hard work on behalf of her citizens.We know that good cybersecurity is critical to Canada's competitiveness, economic stability and long-term prosperity. This week we launched the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security we had promised in budget 2018. This new centre will provide Canadian citizens and businesses with a trusted place for cybersecurity advice. Canadians can rest assured that their government is prepared to meet the cybersecurity challenges of today and tomorrow.
Mr. Speaker, at least the Prime Minister can show some kind of emotion, even though it is self-righteous indignation that we would actually question him on an issue as important as making sure convicted killers of children are in appropriate institutions, both to protect the integrity of the justice system, but as well to protect the public and any visitors within that institution.If he is blind to it, get out of the way and let us go back to government and get this right.
Mr. Speaker, not only did we secure access to the United States for our middle class and for our workers at a time of protectionism and uncertainty, we got rid of the ratchet clause. It infringed on our sovereignty by preventing our government from controlling our access to energy resources. In the face of stiff opposition from the Americans, we kept chapter 19 in the dispute resolution system. We got a cultural exemption that now will apply to digital platforms. That is modernizing NAFTA. We got rid of the ISDS that cost Canadians so much. The auto sector got a big win here in Canada and we have new, enforceable environmental and labour standards.
Mr. Speaker, new technologies have changed the way we access information, shop, live, socialize and work. As a result of these changes, our economy has transformed to become increasingly data driven. These transformations have brought with them new and uncharted challenges surrounding the changing nature of work, privacy, information and consent.Can the Prime Minister tell the House how our government is helping to unlock the potential of a data-driven economy while balancing Canadians' right to have their data and privacy protected?
Mr. Speaker, in the new USMCA, we learned that Canada will finally eliminate chapter 11. Canadians have been hit with millions of dollars in legal fees and payouts to private corporations. Now, thanks to the tireless work of the New Democrats, labour and civil society, it is gone. Canada has been the most sued country under ISDS and, for years, the Liberals have argued to keep this clause. They argued to keep it in the CPTPP, which they will be ramming through this week, and created a whole new investor court system in CETA.Will the Liberals finally commit to no future ISDS in trade agreements?
Mr. Speaker, as a mother and a grandmother, I can only imagine the pain and suffering that Tori's family has experienced. Tori's father has been begging the Prime Minister to reverse the decision that has allowed Terri-Lynne McClintic to serve her time at a healing lodge in Saskatchewan. When will the Prime Minister listen to Tori's father, do the right thing, reverse this decision and put Tori's killer back behind bars?
Mr. Speaker, a woman who was convicted of the rape and first degree murder of an eight-year-old girl was transferred to a healing lodge that does not even have fences. Security is so lax that there were 18 recorded escapes from this type of facility between 2011 and 2016. Our motion, like the one the Ontario government unanimously adopted on Monday, calls for this decision to be reversed.My question for the Prime Minister is simple. Will he vote in favour of our motion, as Canadians from across the country are calling for, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, I would ask all members of this House to begin to respect a little bit more the sanctity of this place, of respecting that robust debate can happen, but dragging in the name of a family, or indeed the stories of tragedy, should not be a cause for political attacks in this place.
Mr. Speaker, we know that the Prime Minister backed down to Donald Trump on so many files. In fact, Donald Trump's senior economic adviser thanked him for backing down so graciously. After combing through the deal trying to find something to latch onto that he can claim as a positive, he tells us it is investor state and the ratchet clause. The Prime Minister actually fought to get the investor-state proposition into the TPP, and the energy ratchet clause has never been used. However, steel and aluminum tariffs have been in effect and are hurting Canadian jobs. Has he removed those tariffs?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government is trying so hard to find a positive angle to this deal with Donald Trump that it is wilfully misleading the House on this.Yesterday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and today the Prime Minister are bragging about the fact that the elimination of chapter 11 of NAFTA is a great victory for them and their government. The problem is that they are the ones who fought to try to keep it. Donald Trump was the one who tried to get rid of it.Of course, we are glad that chapter 11 is gone, but how desperate is the Prime Minister that he now wants to rewrite history?
Mr. Speaker, once again, the Conservatives are showing they will not let the facts get in the way of a political opportunity, and that is a real challenge for them and for Canadians watching.Let me set the facts straight. As reports have shown, the Corrections and Conditional Release Act does not permit politicians to make one-off decisions in regard to the placement of individual inmates. Those are the facts. The Conservatives, yet again, are playing politics.
Mr. Speaker, it is funny to hear the Prime Minister talk about playing political games here.No less than three times yesterday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs talked about the elimination of chapter 11 of NAFTA as a great victory for her and her government.The thing is that the Liberals are the ones who fought at the negotiating table to keep a version of that provision, which allows companies to go after governments directly. Donald Trump is the one who wanted to get rid of chapter 11. We are glad to see it go.Are the Liberals so desperate that they have to rewrite history?
Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the Prime Minister needed all the help he could get when it came to his negotiating position with Donald Trump. Even after all of that, he still had to back down on so many key areas. He backed down on pharmaceuticals, meaning that Canadian patients and the provincial health care systems will have to pay billions more.Can the Prime Minister tell us exactly how much Canadian patients will have to pay after he has adopted Donald Trump's rules on prescription drug costs?
Mr. Speaker, the review the NEB will undertake is related to the recent court decision on marine scoping. Direct and upstream impacts were reviewed under our interim principles, announced in January 2016. As we have demonstrated, we are moving forward with this project in the right way. We are ensuring that we protect the environment and consult properly with indigenous peoples. To grow the economy and protect the environment, we need to do both at the same time. That is exactly what we will do.
Mr. Speaker, there is something in this deal that would make that program even more expensive. The Prime Minister has just backed down, by giving Donald Trump's policy preference over Canadian pharmaceuticals, meaning higher prices for patients. In return for backing down on pharmaceuticals, on accepting a cap on autos, what has he got in return? Yesterday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said that the most important gain from this agreement is retaining what we already had.Specifically, did the Prime Minister receive an end to tariffs on steel and aluminum for all of his concessions?
Mr. Speaker, our hearts obviously go out to Tori Stafford's family for their loss.The inmate was transferred from a maximum-security facility to a medium-security one in 2014, while the Conservatives were in government, and that is where she remains today. As news articles have shown, the Corrections and Conditional Release Act does not allow politicians to make decisions on individual inmate transfers. The minister has asked the commissioner to ensure that this decision is consistent with long-standing policies.
Mr. Speaker, speaking of Canadians, unfortunately hundreds of thousands of Canadians working in the steel, aluminum and softwood lumber industries are directly affected by the U.S. tariffs.In Quebec, the aluminium industry is essential. It represents $5 billion, nine aluminum plants and 20,000 jobs.The Prime Minister keeps repeating that the deal with the Americans is a good one. Can he tell us, yes or no, if the U.S. tariffs on aluminum are still in place?
Mr. Speaker, we in the House should not be surprised when the Conservatives choose to play politics.I have to admit I am surprised on this one, given that just last year Stephen Harper and the Conservatives were imploring us to capitulate and accept any deal at any price. Stephen Harper's memo said, It does not matter whether current American proposals are worse than what we have now.Over and over, the Conservatives urged us to take Harper's advice and surrender immediately. That was not our approach. We stood up for Canadians and got a good deal.
Mr. Speaker, I am surprised to hear the Conservatives playing Monday morning quarterback, considering that last year, Stephen Harper and the Conservatives begged us to give in and accept an agreement at any cost. Stephen Harper's memo said, and I quote, it does not matter whether current American proposals are worse than what we have now.We on this side of the House refused to give in. We were patient and persistent, and we succeeded in negotiating a good deal for Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians continue to call on the Prime Minister to do the right thing and send Terri-Lynne McClintic, the killer of eight-year-old Tori Stafford, back to prison. While he and his public safety minister dither with this review and refuse to review the transfer, which did not occur in 2014, but just a few months ago, with McClintic now enjoying life in a healing lodge without a fence.I ask the Prime Minister on behalf of Tori's father and on behalf of Canadians to do the right thing, to vote yes on our motion today and order McClintic back behind bars.
Mr. Speaker, we will continue to stand up for Canadians in the steel and aluminum sector. Despite what the member opposite says, we have had an awful lot of wins, on top of obviously securing our access to the U.S. market. We have eliminated the ratchet clause that prevented our government from controlling access to our energy sources. We got a cultural exemption that, in the spirit of modernizing NAFTA, will now apply to digital platforms. We got rid of the ISDS platform. We got a new auto deal for Canadians that will secure our auto sector. We have enforceable environmental and labour standards, which I know the Conservatives
Mr. Speaker, small and medium-sized businesses, entrepreneurs and workers across Quebec and the rest of Canada are glad we have signed this agreement with the United States. All the same, as I told steel and aluminum workers when I visited their plants, our government will protect them. Canada's countermeasures will remain in place until the unfair steel and aluminum tariffs are lifted. Throughout the negotiations, our goal was always to create conditions that will help grow the middle class and provide more benefits to Canadians.We will keep working to protect our workers.
Mr. Speaker, our government places the highest priority on ensuring veterans and their families have the support and services they need when and where they need them. The member knows well that I cannot talk about the specifics of any individual case on the floor of the House. However, we have been firm in our commitment to enhance access to veterans benefits, unlike the Conservatives, who cut front-line staff, closed offices and balanced the budget on the backs of veterans. We continue to follow up on making sure all the rules have been followed, and we will make modifications if necessary.
Mr. Speaker, let me give the Prime Minister the facts. This was an eight-year-old girl who was heinously murdered and these people were convicted of first degree murder and sent to prison, behind bars. Are you telling me that sending this convicted first degree murderer
Mr. Speaker, just like all Canadians across the country, our hearts go out to Rodney Stafford. The inmate was transferred from a maximum-security facility to a medium-security facility in 2014, under the Conservatives. She remains in a medium-security facility today. The Conservatives should know that the minister does not intervene in such decisions, because that is precisely what the member for BellechasseLes EtcheminsLévis has stated in the past, when he was minister. The minister has asked the commissioner to review her decision. As the Conservative member for KamloopsThompsonCariboo said, the independent judiciary process must be allowed to take its course without political interference.
Mr. Speaker, Lucille's husband, Morris, served our country for 28 years. He developed PTSD while serving his country dutifully and honourably. He witnessed acts of violence and faced unimaginable horrors. When the minister did not respond to her letter, Lucille contacted my office, saying how horrified she is that Garnier, who never served a day in his life, is receiving veterans benefits due to the PTSD he developed while murdering officer Campbell.Could the Prime Minister explain to Lucille why Chris Garnier is still receiving veterans benefits?
Mr. Speaker, Davenport residents have let me know that their data privacy, their online information and the threat of hacking are a priority and a worry for them. Our government takes our responsibility to protect the private information of citizens and the integrity of our critical infrastructure systems very seriously. We committed $155 million for a new Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, establishing a unified government source of unique expertise and support. Can the Prime Minister update this House on the implementation of the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security?
Mr. Speaker, little Victoria's father wrote the Prime Minister a message last weekend. He asked him, from father to father, if the Prime Minister could kneel before his child's headstone, knowing they spent the last three hours of their life begging and pleading for mommy or daddy to come save them. He asked the Prime Minister if he could sleep soundly knowing that. He pleaded with the Prime Minister to do the right thing to ensure that this injustice is reversed and that the killer returns behind bars.The Prime Minister has the power to take action. Will he vote in favour of the motion we have moved here in the House?
Mr. Speaker, there is a major difference. The deal under the CPTPP and CETA was to exchange gains in terms of market access in other countries. These concessions have nothing in return. The Prime Minister tries to compare these concessions to other deals, but under the agreement he just signed, the Canadian government will be imposing tariffs on Canadian exports. We know that the United States has a wide variety of supports and billions of dollars worth in subsidies for its dairy producers. Therefore, in exchange for backing down on what Donald Trump wanted, can the Prime Minister tell us exactly which measures the U.S. has agreed to eliminate?
Mr. Speaker, our hearts go out to the family of Tori Stafford for the loss they have endured. The offender in question was moved from maximum security to medium security in 2014 under the Conservatives. She remains in medium security today. As reports have shown, the Corrections and Conditional Release Act does not permit politicians to make one-off decisions in regard to the placement of individual inmates. However, the minister has asked the commissioner of correctional services to review this decision to ensure that it was taken properly and in accordance with long-standing policy.
Mr. Speaker, let me quote the Federal Court of Appeal again, that Canada's efforts fell well short of the mark set by the Supreme Court of Canada when it came to consulting indigenous peoples on Trans Mountain.How can the Prime Minister claim that he will consult again when he has repeatedly said in the House that this project will be built no matter what?Does the Prime Minister not realize that he is in fact totally abdicating his constitutional duty to consult and accommodate indigenous peoples and obtain their consent?
Mr. Speaker, I would indeed suggest that this is a moral issue. This is about the contrast between a party and a government that respects the rules and respects the independence of our judicial system, that appreciates the professionalism of our correctional services, and a party of ambulance-chasing politicians who are quite frankly demonstrating a contempt for the principles of law and debate in the House. It is inexcusable.
Mr. Speaker, as I told steel and aluminum workers when I toured their plants, our government is there for them. Our countermeasures will remain in place until the unfair tariffs on steel and aluminum are removed.During the negotiations, our goal was to create the conditions to grow the middle class and provide more opportunities for Canadians. We will continue our efforts to eliminate these tariffs. That is what Canadians expect and that is what we will do.
Mr. Speaker, the deputy leader of the Conservative Party has just asked the Prime Minister to apologize for using an unparliamentary term. I would like to know from you, Mr. Speaker, if ambulance chaser is an unparliamentary term.
Mr. Speaker, today, October 3, is the NEB deadline for comments on the list of issues in the redo of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline review. As an intervenor in the initial failed and flawed process, I have written the National Energy Board asking that it include the upstream and downstream climate impacts of the proposed pipeline, just as it did in the case of the private sector's energy east. It certainly seems fair that it be held to the same standard. Does the Prime Minister not agree?
Mr. Speaker, as steadfast friends of Israel, we are extremely concerned by the potential demolition of the Bedouin village, Khan-al Ahmar.Canada has been actively communicating with Israeli officials to prevent this demolition. We are particularly concerned about the demolition of the school's village last week. We believe that no party should take unilateral action that could compromise the prospects for a two-state solution.
Mr. Speaker, no matter how great the Prime Minister says the new USMCA is, it comes with no guarantee the 10% surtax on aluminum and the 25% surtax on steel will be eliminated, so it is not a success.Small and medium-sized businesses in Quebec, our small businesses, are vulnerable to fluctuating prices because of those taxes. Workers are worried.Does the government have a plan to fix this situation soon, or will it be taking things one day at a time as usual?
Mr. Speaker, I would like to apologize to the House of Commons for some unparliamentary behaviour I exhibited yesterday. It was a long day. It was a passionate debate. Unfortunately, I let the passion get the better of me. Therefore, I would like to apologize to the House of Commons for unparliamentary behaviour yesterday, and it will not happen again.
Mr. Speaker, nine months ago, Tori Stafford's killer was behind bars and today she is in a healing lodge. Tori's killer was convicted of the most heinous crime imaginable, something the public safety minister called bad practices.Tori's family has called on the Prime Minister to use all of the tools available to him to fix this situation. Today, members will be voting on a motion that would do just that.Does the Prime Minister agree with the decision to transfer Tori's killer to a healing lodge?
Mr. Speaker, as has been demonstrated, the minister does not intervene on a case-by-case basis.If we want to talk about things in the past, let us talk about the Conservative member for BellechasseLes EtcheminsLévis, who said, in his capacity as public safety minister, just a few years, I do not control the security classification of individual prisoners. Perhaps the Conservatives will listen to Ben Perrin, who was Stephen Harper's former lawyer, who said, Im concerned with politicians being the ones who decide how any particular individual offender is treated.
Mr. Speaker, let me highlight that people not just from southwestern Ontario but right across the country are upset and stand with Tori Stafford's family on this terrible tragedy. Right across the country, people's hearts go out to the family.In 2014, the individual in question was reclassified from a maximum to a medium security facility. Those are the facts. The Conservatives are playing politics in a particularly inappropriate way.
Mr. Speaker, the planned demolition of the Palestinian village of Khan al-Ahmar by the Israeli government contravenes international law.The European Parliament, for example, passed a resolution stating that this demolition would further threaten the viability of the two-state solution and undermine prospects for peace.Meanwhile, we are still waiting for our Prime Minister's reaction and for him to say something.Why is he remaining silent on this serious problem that affects peace, security and human rights?
Mr. Speaker, Tori Stafford's family does not want the Prime Minister's heartfelt sentiments; it wants him to take action. The family does not want the Prime Minister's excuses; it wants Tori's killer back behind bars.The Conservatives do not respect the decision to put this killer in a healing lodge without fences. We want her back behind bars and so does Tori's family.Why does the Prime Minister not use the authority he has, take action today and put this killer behind bars?
Mr. Speaker, in the NAFTA renegotiation, the Prime Minister left steel and aluminum industries hanging in the wind, but he has also abandoned small businesses across the country, like northern boat sellers who are paying punishing import duties because of the Prime Minister's tit-for-tat war with Donald Trump. Would he explain his logic to Clint Chartrand of Guiho Saw Sales in Timmins, who is being hammered by punitive penalties from the government, why the government has squeezed $300 million out of hard-working Canadian businesses and has only paid $11,000 back? When are these penalties going to end against Canadian businesses?
Mr. Speaker, all of us here are mourning with Constable Campbell's family.This is a tragic situation, and the minister took steps to change the policy so that this kind of thing will never happen again.The minister increased oversight measures, and the department is reviewing the policy. We will continue to support veterans and family members who need help, all while maintaining the integrity of the system.
Mr. Speaker, the failure of the Liberal government to get the U.S. to lift the steel and aluminum tariffs is hurting employers in my riding of Windsor, in Essex County and the rest of southwestern Ontario. Tool and mould manufacturers that rely on specialized metals from the United States are fed up. The government failed to secure an end to the punitive tariffs imposed by the U.S. during the recent USMCA negotiations, and some of these businesses have already had to relocate to the United States. What is the government doing to keep jobs in Canada now?
Mr. Speaker, throughout the NAFTA negotiations, the Prime Minister said that he would protect supply management, but he failed to do so. The Prime Minister made major concessions on access to our dairy market and agreed to limit our milk protein exports. We know that the United States is very generous to its dairy farmers, with annual subsidies of approximately $22 billion.Can the Prime Minister confirm what concessions he received regarding the support given to American dairy farmers in return for the ones he made at the expense of Canadian farmers?
Mr. Speaker, our hearts go out to Tori's father, to her entire family, on this terrible tragedy. We understand the anguish and the questions they have and the difficulties they have lived with over the past years.The corrections act does not permit a minister to weigh in directly on the classification of an individual prisoner. The minister has asked the corrections services to look into what happened here to ensure everything was done according to proper procedures and to make recommendations if the procedures need to be changed.
Mr. Speaker, the bottom line is that in southwestern Ontario we are angry. As a parent, as a member of Parliament, will the Prime Minister do what is right and put this convicted murderer behind bars where she belongs?
Mr. Speaker, we take the integrity of our justice system very seriously and will continue to look for ways to improve it to ensure what Canadians expect and the values that are shared among Canadians are upheld and defended, while at the same time we uphold the law.
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives continue to play a very dangerous and, quite frankly, repulsive game of politicizing a tragedy and speaking for others who they have no business speaking for.We continue to state, obviously, that this is a situation in which a previous Conservative government reclassified an offender, from a maximum security institution to a medium institution. This individual is currently in a medium security facility.As Stephen Harper's former
Mr. Speaker, for weeks, the Minister of Public Safety has tried to pass the buck over the outrageous decision to transfer child killer Terri-Lynne McClintic to a healing lodge. However, no matter how hard the minister tries to avoid taking responsibility, the buck stops with him. He has the authority to reverse the decision. He has the authority to put McClintic back where she belongs, behind bars. Why will he not?
Mr. Speaker, Canadians actually expected these tariffs to be eliminated during the negotiations with the United States, but they are still in place.In Quebec alone, the aluminum sector represents 20,000 jobs, the steel sector represents 15,000 jobs, and the softwood lumber sector represents 46,000 jobs.Need I remind the Prime Minister that he has been the member for Papineau, Quebec, for 10 years?What does he have to say to workers in the industries targeted by the U.S. tariffs, given that he has failed to do anything for them?
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives want to play politics with this issue. The Conservatives want to drag up this terrible murder and try and look at political gain on this. They have been politicizing this for well over a week, with all the passion they can muster, and they are debasing the nature of the House and the
I am sorry Mr. Speaker. He is misleading the House.
Mr. Speaker, I am sorry. Instead of wilfully misleading the House, I will claim that he is misleading the House.
Mr. Speaker, the member for Essex knows well that the people in Windsor are very happy with this deal, which secures Canada's auto industry for the coming decades. It demonstrates a real win for the Canadian auto and auto parts suppliers' industry. However, yes, we also got rid of the investor-state dispute resolution system, which has cost the federal government more than $300 million in penalties and legal fees. I am glad to hear the member opposite's support for the USMCA. We continue to work to defend people in Windsor and right across the country.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Vimy for her question and for her dedication to new Canadians.Since we amended the act, nearly 150,000 newcomers have joined our great Canadian family. That is 40% more than we had under the Conservatives. We also reduced the wait time for applications from 24 months to 10.Next week, we will hold 54 citizenship ceremonies and welcome 13,000 new Canadians. On this side of the House, a Canadian is a Canadian.
Mr. Speaker, I would ask the Conservative members to not make guesses about what Tori's family wants and instead be honest about what they want. They want to play politics with a heinous tragedy. They want
Mr. Speaker, we are very pleased to have eliminated chapter 11, which has cost Canadians $300 million over the years.We know that it is important to protect the government's ability to legislate on environmental protection and labour rights.We stood our ground to get rid of that chapter. We are very pleased that Canadians are no longer subject to it.
Mr. Speaker, I continue to find it puzzling as to why Conservatives insist on making pollution free. We believe the polluters should pay, and that is why we are putting a price on pollution. We would prefer to work with provinces right across the country, but if they are unwilling to make sure that polluters pay, we will bring in federal measures to both collect a price on pollution and return that money to hard-working citizens right across the country.
Mr. Speaker, in the course of question period today, the Prime Minister answered a question that I posed to him, and in it he indicated that I was an ambulance chaser. An ambulance chaser is a term for an unethical lawyer. I am a lawyer in my profession. I take great offence to being called an ambulance chaser. I would like to give the Prime Minister the opportunity to do the right thing and apologize, since only last evening, he said himself that he was not going to play this kind of politics.
Mr. Speaker, I think most Canadians understand that Sunday night was a good moment for Canadians. We secured access to our most important trading partner in a time of uncertainty. We demonstrated that our approach of standing up for Canadians and staying firm in our principles was the right one.The relationship with the United States goes beyond politics, as it should. I want to give a specific shout-out to the many Conservatives, from Brad Wall to Scott Moe, Brian Pallister, Brian Mulroney, Kim Campbell, Jean Charest, Rona Ambrose and James Moore, who all stood up for
Mr. Speaker, just moments ago, in Manitoba, the Premier of Manitoba, my premier, Brian Pallister, announced that Manitoba is rejecting the carbon tax. There will be no carbon tax in Manitoba.Now that another province has said no carbon tax for its province, will the Prime Minister recognize that a carbon tax penalizes Canadians, penalizes farmers, penalizes industry and penalizes Canadians? It does nothing to help the environment. Will he do the right thing and do what Brian Pallister did today and say no to the carbon tax?
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives cannot help but play politics on big issues, but we are staying focused on Canadians.It is wonderful to hear the Conservatives suddenly preoccupied with prescription drug costs, because they have never wanted to do anything on that. However, we have made sure that Canadians know that we are serious about moving forward with pharmacare. We will move forward in lowering prescription drug costs for Canadians, and nothing in this deal prevents us from being able to do that for Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, I will highlight that even though the Conservatives in the House are continuing to play politics, there are Conservatives across the country who understood that standing together for the good of the country was important. That is why former Conservative prime ministers like Brian Mulroney and Kim Campbell, premiers like Brad Wall, Scott Moe and Brian Pallister and others stood strongly on team Canada to make sure we negotiated a good and right deal. It is why we were able to count on smart Conservatives like Rona Ambrose and James Moore, who stood with us understanding that relations with the United States are bigger than mere political points. Unfortunately, not all Conservatives
Mr. Speaker, I take this opportunity to highlight what the member opposite well knows, that proper consultations with indigenous peoples are possible and lead to good outcomes for everyone. A great example is the LNG Canada announcement that highlighted how much we could work with indigenous peoples. I know the member must be very pleased, because it will benefit people right across northern British Columbia, to have moved forward on this LNG Canada proposal, which will help indigenous peoples, will grow our economy, will get our resources to markets other than the United States. This is a good day for Canada and it happened because of proper consultation with indigenous peoples.
Mr. Speaker, I know well, having heard from many Canadians in Windsor and across southwestern Ontario, that they are very pleased we have moved forward to secure the auto industry in southwestern Ontario and in Windsor. We protected good, middle-class Canadian jobs that will continue long into the future, because we have secured the future of Canada's auto industry with the USMCA. I look forward to getting the support of the members from Windsor, because folks in Windsor are really pleased we have moved forward on protecting their jobs long into the future.
Mr. Speaker, right across the country, Canadians have been clear that they want us to stand strong, be firm and stand up for Canadian jobs. That is exactly what we did. The members opposite do not have to take my word for it. They can ask Jerry Dias of Unifor, who said that this is a much better deal than the deal that was signed 24 years ago. Perhaps they will listen to Hassan Yussuff, the president of the Canadian Labour Congress, who said, The USMCA gets it right on labour provisions, including provisions to protect workers against employment discrimination on the basis of gender. This deal is a good news story for middle-class Canadians right across the country.
Mr. Speaker, it was under the Conservatives that the decision was taken to reclassify from a maximum security to a medium security. Of course, we point out that I am sure they just followed the recommendations and the proper functioning of their public servants, of the professionals in our corrections agency when that transfer happened.All we are asking is that the Conservatives continue to respect the system in place, which we have asked be verified and be followed up on to ensure that all the rules were appropriately followed.
Mr. Speaker, two years ago, the Supreme Court overturned a bestiality conviction on a child molester because it ruled the law does not cover non-penetrative acts. Since then, the Prime Minister has not included this simple definition change in any of his legislation while bestiality charges are not being laid and more cases are being impacted.Why is the Prime Minister failing to protect humans and animals by refusing to pass updated bestiality legislation?
Mr. Speaker, the court ruling on TMX actually gives us a blueprint to move forward in the right way. We know that proper, deep consultation with indigenous peoples is essential for moving forward on any projects. They have to be moved forward in the right way. That means working with indigenous peoples. It means getting community consultations right. It means working to ensure that the environmental science is top-notch. That is what we recognize. That is what we will move forward with in a responsible way to get things done the right way, because that is what all Canadians expect.
Mr. Speaker, we believe that the Prime Minister must be true to his word. If he is prepared to recognize those who have the right to say yes to this project, he must recognize the equal right of others to say no to the pipeline project.Does the Prime Minister not recognize that consulting when the decision has already been made is not the type of consultation required by the Supreme Court of Canada?
Mr. Speaker, we thank the court for its clarifications on what to do to engage in even better consultations with indigenous peoples, to show them that we are serious and that we sincerely want to have new nation-to-nation relationships with indigenous peoples. That is exactly what we are going to do.We are going to sit down with them to hold even more consultations and to ensure that this project is done right if we move forward. That is what Canadians, indigenous peoples, and our justice system expect.
Mr. Speaker, this agreement preserves and maintains supply management. Its future is no longer in question.With regard to market shares, we promised farmers that they would receive full and fair compensation. The changes to market access in this agreement are similar to those in the TPP, which was lauded by the Conservatives. Supply management is protected and farmers will be compensated. As always, the Conservatives are playing political games.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister accuses us of games, but I remember being in the Ontario legislature as an MPP 18 years ago when the Ontario legislature voted unanimously to ask the federal government to stop a transfer of a cop killer to Club Fed.The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, who was solicitor general at the time, stood in the House and reversed the transfer. Why was that good enough 18 years ago? Why is he playing political games now, saying he cannot do anything on behalf of Tori Stafford's family and on behalf of Canadians? He should do the right thing.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians want to know where is the justice in a criminal receiving benefits while he is serving his sentence. Veterans want to know where is the justice in a criminal receiving benefits reserved for our brave veterans.Once again, is Christopher Garnier still receiving these benefits?When will the Prime Minister demand justice for Canadians, for our brave veterans, and for the family of Constable Catherine Campbell?
Mr. Speaker, I have been listening to the excuses that the Prime Minister continuously gives to the House and to the Canadian public with respect to his unwillingness to transfer Terri-Lynne McClintic from a healing lodge, with no fences and no barriers, back to where she came from, Grand Valley Institution, with fences and bars.I understand the government will not be voting in favour of our motion today, but does the Prime Minister know whether there will be some of his backbenchers who will see the light and know that this is a moral issue and that they should do the right thing?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for actually acknowledging that there are people from indigenous communities who are saying yes to this project and there are people from indigenous communities who are saying no. We will work with them, as the court has asked. We recognize that improvements can be made to the consultations and to partnerships with first nations, and we are working on that in the meaningful way required by the court.
Mr. Speaker, today, the Liberals have decided not to appeal the Federal Court ruling on the Trans Mountain expansion. Why? Because the court is right.Despite their promises, the Liberals used the same process that the Conservatives used and failed to have meaningful consultations with indigenous communities. Now the court is slapping them on the wrist and they have to go back to the drawing board.They want to restart the consultation process, but how can this consultation be honest and sincere when the government has already made up its mind? It is no different than saying, Your call is important to us, but the answer is no.
Mr. Speaker, next week is Citizenship Week.Our government made significant reforms to the Citizenship Act in order to ensure fairness while preserving the integrity of our citizenship program, which was exploited by the Harper Conservatives to create division.Can the Prime Minister tell the House about the progress that has been made since our government made changes to Canada's citizenship program?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is now promising to finally meaningfully consult indigenous peoples on the Trans Mountain pipeline proposal. No, seriously, this time he really means it. Here is his problem. He has already made up his mind about the project. Therefore, asking indigenous peoples for their opinion, but refusing to hear the word no is the very definition of paternalism. How about this? Why does the Prime Minister not go and sit with indigenous leaders so they can teach him what free, prior and informed consent actually means or does he only agree with indigenous rights and title when indigenous people agree with him?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Richmond Hill for his passion on this file.We recognize the potential of a data-driven economy must be balanced against the right of Canadians to have their data and privacy protected. We have launched a national consultation on digital and data transformation to better understand how we can drive innovation and ensure Canadians have trust and confidence in how their data is used. We want to hear directly from Canadians on how to grow the economy while protecting their data, ensuring privacy and building trust.
Mr. Speaker, says the Prime Minister who has been repeatedly misrepresenting the position of the Conservative Party on this negotiation from the very start. It is true that many Conservatives entered on a rescue mission to try and help the Prime Minister who was clearly floundering from the beginning. Now we have the result. He backed down on pharmaceuticals with higher drug prices for Canadian seniors. He backed down on dairy, imposing Canadian tariffs on Canadian farmers. Why did he give up so much to get absolutely nothing that we did not already have?
Mr. Speaker, Chapter 11 has cost the Canadian government hundreds of millions of dollars over the years, which is why we are pleased that we signed an agreement that eliminates chapter 11.The ISDS provisions, which we worked hard with people on in the CPTPP and CETA to diminish and even eliminate, is something that we have always stood against. We believe that governments should have every right to protect the environment, to protect labour standards, and that is what we ensured with this accord.
Mr. Speaker, former prime minister Stephen Harper predicted the Liberal government would capitulate and he was absolutely right. For the first time in the history of trade deals, there are more tariffs after the conclusion of the deal than there were when the negotiations actually started. My colleague asked when the steel tariffs will be removed. The Prime Minister has backed down on pharmaceuticals, dairy, and so much else. I ask again, when will the steel tariffs be removed? When?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Davenport for her hard work on behalf of her citizens.We know that good cybersecurity is critical to Canada's competitiveness, economic stability and long-term prosperity. This week we launched the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security we had promised in budget 2018. This new centre will provide Canadian citizens and businesses with a trusted place for cybersecurity advice. Canadians can rest assured that their government is prepared to meet the cybersecurity challenges of today and tomorrow.
Mr. Speaker, at least the Prime Minister can show some kind of emotion, even though it is self-righteous indignation that we would actually question him on an issue as important as making sure convicted killers of children are in appropriate institutions, both to protect the integrity of the justice system, but as well to protect the public and any visitors within that institution.If he is blind to it, get out of the way and let us go back to government and get this right.
Mr. Speaker, not only did we secure access to the United States for our middle class and for our workers at a time of protectionism and uncertainty, we got rid of the ratchet clause. It infringed on our sovereignty by preventing our government from controlling our access to energy resources. In the face of stiff opposition from the Americans, we kept chapter 19 in the dispute resolution system. We got a cultural exemption that now will apply to digital platforms. That is modernizing NAFTA. We got rid of the ISDS that cost Canadians so much. The auto sector got a big win here in Canada and we have new, enforceable environmental and labour standards.
Mr. Speaker, new technologies have changed the way we access information, shop, live, socialize and work. As a result of these changes, our economy has transformed to become increasingly data driven. These transformations have brought with them new and uncharted challenges surrounding the changing nature of work, privacy, information and consent.Can the Prime Minister tell the House how our government is helping to unlock the potential of a data-driven economy while balancing Canadians' right to have their data and privacy protected?
Mr. Speaker, in the new USMCA, we learned that Canada will finally eliminate chapter 11. Canadians have been hit with millions of dollars in legal fees and payouts to private corporations. Now, thanks to the tireless work of the New Democrats, labour and civil society, it is gone. Canada has been the most sued country under ISDS and, for years, the Liberals have argued to keep this clause. They argued to keep it in the CPTPP, which they will be ramming through this week, and created a whole new investor court system in CETA.Will the Liberals finally commit to no future ISDS in trade agreements?
Mr. Speaker, as a mother and a grandmother, I can only imagine the pain and suffering that Tori's family has experienced. Tori's father has been begging the Prime Minister to reverse the decision that has allowed Terri-Lynne McClintic to serve her time at a healing lodge in Saskatchewan. When will the Prime Minister listen to Tori's father, do the right thing, reverse this decision and put Tori's killer back behind bars?
Mr. Speaker, a woman who was convicted of the rape and first degree murder of an eight-year-old girl was transferred to a healing lodge that does not even have fences. Security is so lax that there were 18 recorded escapes from this type of facility between 2011 and 2016. Our motion, like the one the Ontario government unanimously adopted on Monday, calls for this decision to be reversed.My question for the Prime Minister is simple. Will he vote in favour of our motion, as Canadians from across the country are calling for, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, I would ask all members of this House to begin to respect a little bit more the sanctity of this place, of respecting that robust debate can happen, but dragging in the name of a family, or indeed the stories of tragedy, should not be a cause for political attacks in this place.
Mr. Speaker, we know that the Prime Minister backed down to Donald Trump on so many files. In fact, Donald Trump's senior economic adviser thanked him for backing down so graciously. After combing through the deal trying to find something to latch onto that he can claim as a positive, he tells us it is investor state and the ratchet clause. The Prime Minister actually fought to get the investor-state proposition into the TPP, and the energy ratchet clause has never been used. However, steel and aluminum tariffs have been in effect and are hurting Canadian jobs. Has he removed those tariffs?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government is trying so hard to find a positive angle to this deal with Donald Trump that it is wilfully misleading the House on this.Yesterday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and today the Prime Minister are bragging about the fact that the elimination of chapter 11 of NAFTA is a great victory for them and their government. The problem is that they are the ones who fought to try to keep it. Donald Trump was the one who tried to get rid of it.Of course, we are glad that chapter 11 is gone, but how desperate is the Prime Minister that he now wants to rewrite history?
Mr. Speaker, once again, the Conservatives are showing they will not let the facts get in the way of a political opportunity, and that is a real challenge for them and for Canadians watching.Let me set the facts straight. As reports have shown, the Corrections and Conditional Release Act does not permit politicians to make one-off decisions in regard to the placement of individual inmates. Those are the facts. The Conservatives, yet again, are playing politics.
Mr. Speaker, it is funny to hear the Prime Minister talk about playing political games here.No less than three times yesterday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs talked about the elimination of chapter 11 of NAFTA as a great victory for her and her government.The thing is that the Liberals are the ones who fought at the negotiating table to keep a version of that provision, which allows companies to go after governments directly. Donald Trump is the one who wanted to get rid of chapter 11. We are glad to see it go.Are the Liberals so desperate that they have to rewrite history?
Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the Prime Minister needed all the help he could get when it came to his negotiating position with Donald Trump. Even after all of that, he still had to back down on so many key areas. He backed down on pharmaceuticals, meaning that Canadian patients and the provincial health care systems will have to pay billions more.Can the Prime Minister tell us exactly how much Canadian patients will have to pay after he has adopted Donald Trump's rules on prescription drug costs?
Mr. Speaker, the review the NEB will undertake is related to the recent court decision on marine scoping. Direct and upstream impacts were reviewed under our interim principles, announced in January 2016. As we have demonstrated, we are moving forward with this project in the right way. We are ensuring that we protect the environment and consult properly with indigenous peoples. To grow the economy and protect the environment, we need to do both at the same time. That is exactly what we will do.
Mr. Speaker, there is something in this deal that would make that program even more expensive. The Prime Minister has just backed down, by giving Donald Trump's policy preference over Canadian pharmaceuticals, meaning higher prices for patients. In return for backing down on pharmaceuticals, on accepting a cap on autos, what has he got in return? Yesterday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said that the most important gain from this agreement is retaining what we already had.Specifically, did the Prime Minister receive an end to tariffs on steel and aluminum for all of his concessions?
Mr. Speaker, our hearts obviously go out to Tori Stafford's family for their loss.The inmate was transferred from a maximum-security facility to a medium-security one in 2014, while the Conservatives were in government, and that is where she remains today. As news articles have shown, the Corrections and Conditional Release Act does not allow politicians to make decisions on individual inmate transfers. The minister has asked the commissioner to ensure that this decision is consistent with long-standing policies.
Mr. Speaker, speaking of Canadians, unfortunately hundreds of thousands of Canadians working in the steel, aluminum and softwood lumber industries are directly affected by the U.S. tariffs.In Quebec, the aluminium industry is essential. It represents $5 billion, nine aluminum plants and 20,000 jobs.The Prime Minister keeps repeating that the deal with the Americans is a good one. Can he tell us, yes or no, if the U.S. tariffs on aluminum are still in place?
Mr. Speaker, we in the House should not be surprised when the Conservatives choose to play politics.I have to admit I am surprised on this one, given that just last year Stephen Harper and the Conservatives were imploring us to capitulate and accept any deal at any price. Stephen Harper's memo said, It does not matter whether current American proposals are worse than what we have now.Over and over, the Conservatives urged us to take Harper's advice and surrender immediately. That was not our approach. We stood up for Canadians and got a good deal.
Mr. Speaker, I am surprised to hear the Conservatives playing Monday morning quarterback, considering that last year, Stephen Harper and the Conservatives begged us to give in and accept an agreement at any cost. Stephen Harper's memo said, and I quote, it does not matter whether current American proposals are worse than what we have now.We on this side of the House refused to give in. We were patient and persistent, and we succeeded in negotiating a good deal for Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians continue to call on the Prime Minister to do the right thing and send Terri-Lynne McClintic, the killer of eight-year-old Tori Stafford, back to prison. While he and his public safety minister dither with this review and refuse to review the transfer, which did not occur in 2014, but just a few months ago, with McClintic now enjoying life in a healing lodge without a fence.I ask the Prime Minister on behalf of Tori's father and on behalf of Canadians to do the right thing, to vote yes on our motion today and order McClintic back behind bars.
Mr. Speaker, we will continue to stand up for Canadians in the steel and aluminum sector. Despite what the member opposite says, we have had an awful lot of wins, on top of obviously securing our access to the U.S. market. We have eliminated the ratchet clause that prevented our government from controlling access to our energy sources. We got a cultural exemption that, in the spirit of modernizing NAFTA, will now apply to digital platforms. We got rid of the ISDS platform. We got a new auto deal for Canadians that will secure our auto sector. We have enforceable environmental and labour standards, which I know the Conservatives
Mr. Speaker, small and medium-sized businesses, entrepreneurs and workers across Quebec and the rest of Canada are glad we have signed this agreement with the United States. All the same, as I told steel and aluminum workers when I visited their plants, our government will protect them. Canada's countermeasures will remain in place until the unfair steel and aluminum tariffs are lifted. Throughout the negotiations, our goal was always to create conditions that will help grow the middle class and provide more benefits to Canadians.We will keep working to protect our workers.
Mr. Speaker, our government places the highest priority on ensuring veterans and their families have the support and services they need when and where they need them. The member knows well that I cannot talk about the specifics of any individual case on the floor of the House. However, we have been firm in our commitment to enhance access to veterans benefits, unlike the Conservatives, who cut front-line staff, closed offices and balanced the budget on the backs of veterans. We continue to follow up on making sure all the rules have been followed, and we will make modifications if necessary.
Mr. Speaker, let me give the Prime Minister the facts. This was an eight-year-old girl who was heinously murdered and these people were convicted of first degree murder and sent to prison, behind bars. Are you telling me that sending this convicted first degree murderer
Mr. Speaker, just like all Canadians across the country, our hearts go out to Rodney Stafford. The inmate was transferred from a maximum-security facility to a medium-security facility in 2014, under the Conservatives. She remains in a medium-security facility today. The Conservatives should know that the minister does not intervene in such decisions, because that is precisely what the member for BellechasseLes EtcheminsLévis has stated in the past, when he was minister. The minister has asked the commissioner to review her decision. As the Conservative member for KamloopsThompsonCariboo said, the independent judiciary process must be allowed to take its course without political interference.
Mr. Speaker, Lucille's husband, Morris, served our country for 28 years. He developed PTSD while serving his country dutifully and honourably. He witnessed acts of violence and faced unimaginable horrors. When the minister did not respond to her letter, Lucille contacted my office, saying how horrified she is that Garnier, who never served a day in his life, is receiving veterans benefits due to the PTSD he developed while murdering officer Campbell.Could the Prime Minister explain to Lucille why Chris Garnier is still receiving veterans benefits?
Mr. Speaker, Davenport residents have let me know that their data privacy, their online information and the threat of hacking are a priority and a worry for them. Our government takes our responsibility to protect the private information of citizens and the integrity of our critical infrastructure systems very seriously. We committed $155 million for a new Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, establishing a unified government source of unique expertise and support. Can the Prime Minister update this House on the implementation of the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security?
Mr. Speaker, little Victoria's father wrote the Prime Minister a message last weekend. He asked him, from father to father, if the Prime Minister could kneel before his child's headstone, knowing they spent the last three hours of their life begging and pleading for mommy or daddy to come save them. He asked the Prime Minister if he could sleep soundly knowing that. He pleaded with the Prime Minister to do the right thing to ensure that this injustice is reversed and that the killer returns behind bars.The Prime Minister has the power to take action. Will he vote in favour of the motion we have moved here in the House?
Mr. Speaker, there is a major difference. The deal under the CPTPP and CETA was to exchange gains in terms of market access in other countries. These concessions have nothing in return. The Prime Minister tries to compare these concessions to other deals, but under the agreement he just signed, the Canadian government will be imposing tariffs on Canadian exports. We know that the United States has a wide variety of supports and billions of dollars worth in subsidies for its dairy producers. Therefore, in exchange for backing down on what Donald Trump wanted, can the Prime Minister tell us exactly which measures the U.S. has agreed to eliminate?
Mr. Speaker, our hearts go out to the family of Tori Stafford for the loss they have endured. The offender in question was moved from maximum security to medium security in 2014 under the Conservatives. She remains in medium security today. As reports have shown, the Corrections and Conditional Release Act does not permit politicians to make one-off decisions in regard to the placement of individual inmates. However, the minister has asked the commissioner of correctional services to review this decision to ensure that it was taken properly and in accordance with long-standing policy.
Mr. Speaker, let me quote the Federal Court of Appeal again, that Canada's efforts fell well short of the mark set by the Supreme Court of Canada when it came to consulting indigenous peoples on Trans Mountain.How can the Prime Minister claim that he will consult again when he has repeatedly said in the House that this project will be built no matter what?Does the Prime Minister not realize that he is in fact totally abdicating his constitutional duty to consult and accommodate indigenous peoples and obtain their consent?
Mr. Speaker, I would indeed suggest that this is a moral issue. This is about the contrast between a party and a government that respects the rules and respects the independence of our judicial system, that appreciates the professionalism of our correctional services, and a party of ambulance-chasing politicians who are quite frankly demonstrating a contempt for the principles of law and debate in the House. It is inexcusable.
Mr. Speaker, as I told steel and aluminum workers when I toured their plants, our government is there for them. Our countermeasures will remain in place until the unfair tariffs on steel and aluminum are removed.During the negotiations, our goal was to create the conditions to grow the middle class and provide more opportunities for Canadians. We will continue our efforts to eliminate these tariffs. That is what Canadians expect and that is what we will do.
Mr. Speaker, the deputy leader of the Conservative Party has just asked the Prime Minister to apologize for using an unparliamentary term. I would like to know from you, Mr. Speaker, if ambulance chaser is an unparliamentary term.
Mr. Speaker, today, October 3, is the NEB deadline for comments on the list of issues in the redo of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline review. As an intervenor in the initial failed and flawed process, I have written the National Energy Board asking that it include the upstream and downstream climate impacts of the proposed pipeline, just as it did in the case of the private sector's energy east. It certainly seems fair that it be held to the same standard. Does the Prime Minister not agree?
Mr. Speaker, as steadfast friends of Israel, we are extremely concerned by the potential demolition of the Bedouin village, Khan-al Ahmar.Canada has been actively communicating with Israeli officials to prevent this demolition. We are particularly concerned about the demolition of the school's village last week. We believe that no party should take unilateral action that could compromise the prospects for a two-state solution.
Mr. Speaker, no matter how great the Prime Minister says the new USMCA is, it comes with no guarantee the 10% surtax on aluminum and the 25% surtax on steel will be eliminated, so it is not a success.Small and medium-sized businesses in Quebec, our small businesses, are vulnerable to fluctuating prices because of those taxes. Workers are worried.Does the government have a plan to fix this situation soon, or will it be taking things one day at a time as usual?
Mr. Speaker, I would like to apologize to the House of Commons for some unparliamentary behaviour I exhibited yesterday. It was a long day. It was a passionate debate. Unfortunately, I let the passion get the better of me. Therefore, I would like to apologize to the House of Commons for unparliamentary behaviour yesterday, and it will not happen again.
Mr. Speaker, nine months ago, Tori Stafford's killer was behind bars and today she is in a healing lodge. Tori's killer was convicted of the most heinous crime imaginable, something the public safety minister called bad practices.Tori's family has called on the Prime Minister to use all of the tools available to him to fix this situation. Today, members will be voting on a motion that would do just that.Does the Prime Minister agree with the decision to transfer Tori's killer to a healing lodge?
Mr. Speaker, as has been demonstrated, the minister does not intervene on a case-by-case basis.If we want to talk about things in the past, let us talk about the Conservative member for BellechasseLes EtcheminsLévis, who said, in his capacity as public safety minister, just a few years, I do not control the security classification of individual prisoners. Perhaps the Conservatives will listen to Ben Perrin, who was Stephen Harper's former lawyer, who said, Im concerned with politicians being the ones who decide how any particular individual offender is treated.
Mr. Speaker, let me highlight that people not just from southwestern Ontario but right across the country are upset and stand with Tori Stafford's family on this terrible tragedy. Right across the country, people's hearts go out to the family.In 2014, the individual in question was reclassified from a maximum to a medium security facility. Those are the facts. The Conservatives are playing politics in a particularly inappropriate way.
Mr. Speaker, the planned demolition of the Palestinian village of Khan al-Ahmar by the Israeli government contravenes international law.The European Parliament, for example, passed a resolution stating that this demolition would further threaten the viability of the two-state solution and undermine prospects for peace.Meanwhile, we are still waiting for our Prime Minister's reaction and for him to say something.Why is he remaining silent on this serious problem that affects peace, security and human rights?
Mr. Speaker, Tori Stafford's family does not want the Prime Minister's heartfelt sentiments; it wants him to take action. The family does not want the Prime Minister's excuses; it wants Tori's killer back behind bars.The Conservatives do not respect the decision to put this killer in a healing lodge without fences. We want her back behind bars and so does Tori's family.Why does the Prime Minister not use the authority he has, take action today and put this killer behind bars?
Mr. Speaker, in the NAFTA renegotiation, the Prime Minister left steel and aluminum industries hanging in the wind, but he has also abandoned small businesses across the country, like northern boat sellers who are paying punishing import duties because of the Prime Minister's tit-for-tat war with Donald Trump. Would he explain his logic to Clint Chartrand of Guiho Saw Sales in Timmins, who is being hammered by punitive penalties from the government, why the government has squeezed $300 million out of hard-working Canadian businesses and has only paid $11,000 back? When are these penalties going to end against Canadian businesses?
Mr. Speaker, all of us here are mourning with Constable Campbell's family.This is a tragic situation, and the minister took steps to change the policy so that this kind of thing will never happen again.The minister increased oversight measures, and the department is reviewing the policy. We will continue to support veterans and family members who need help, all while maintaining the integrity of the system.
Mr. Speaker, the failure of the Liberal government to get the U.S. to lift the steel and aluminum tariffs is hurting employers in my riding of Windsor, in Essex County and the rest of southwestern Ontario. Tool and mould manufacturers that rely on specialized metals from the United States are fed up. The government failed to secure an end to the punitive tariffs imposed by the U.S. during the recent USMCA negotiations, and some of these businesses have already had to relocate to the United States. What is the government doing to keep jobs in Canada now?
Mr. Speaker, throughout the NAFTA negotiations, the Prime Minister said that he would protect supply management, but he failed to do so. The Prime Minister made major concessions on access to our dairy market and agreed to limit our milk protein exports. We know that the United States is very generous to its dairy farmers, with annual subsidies of approximately $22 billion.Can the Prime Minister confirm what concessions he received regarding the support given to American dairy farmers in return for the ones he made at the expense of Canadian farmers?
Mr. Speaker, our hearts go out to Tori's father, to her entire family, on this terrible tragedy. We understand the anguish and the questions they have and the difficulties they have lived with over the past years.The corrections act does not permit a minister to weigh in directly on the classification of an individual prisoner. The minister has asked the corrections services to look into what happened here to ensure everything was done according to proper procedures and to make recommendations if the procedures need to be changed.
Mr. Speaker, the bottom line is that in southwestern Ontario we are angry. As a parent, as a member of Parliament, will the Prime Minister do what is right and put this convicted murderer behind bars where she belongs?
Mr. Speaker, we take the integrity of our justice system very seriously and will continue to look for ways to improve it to ensure what Canadians expect and the values that are shared among Canadians are upheld and defended, while at the same time we uphold the law.
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives continue to play a very dangerous and, quite frankly, repulsive game of politicizing a tragedy and speaking for others who they have no business speaking for.We continue to state, obviously, that this is a situation in which a previous Conservative government reclassified an offender, from a maximum security institution to a medium institution. This individual is currently in a medium security facility.As Stephen Harper's former
Mr. Speaker, for weeks, the Minister of Public Safety has tried to pass the buck over the outrageous decision to transfer child killer Terri-Lynne McClintic to a healing lodge. However, no matter how hard the minister tries to avoid taking responsibility, the buck stops with him. He has the authority to reverse the decision. He has the authority to put McClintic back where she belongs, behind bars. Why will he not?
Mr. Speaker, Canadians actually expected these tariffs to be eliminated during the negotiations with the United States, but they are still in place.In Quebec alone, the aluminum sector represents 20,000 jobs, the steel sector represents 15,000 jobs, and the softwood lumber sector represents 46,000 jobs.Need I remind the Prime Minister that he has been the member for Papineau, Quebec, for 10 years?What does he have to say to workers in the industries targeted by the U.S. tariffs, given that he has failed to do anything for them?
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives want to play politics with this issue. The Conservatives want to drag up this terrible murder and try and look at political gain on this. They have been politicizing this for well over a week, with all the passion they can muster, and they are debasing the nature of the House and the
I am sorry Mr. Speaker. He is misleading the House.
Mr. Speaker, I am sorry. Instead of wilfully misleading the House, I will claim that he is misleading the House.