Most toxic speeches
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has often boasted about inheriting a great family fortune. He has never had to worry about the cost of living, so it is no wonder that he does not worry when his policies drive up the cost for Canadians. His tax on gas, on home heating and on groceries will hurt seniors, suburban moms and small businesses. Worse, government documents now show that by the year 2022, the carbon tax will have to be six times higher than the Liberals now admit, driving up gas prices another whopping 70¢ a litre and home heating by another $1,000 a year. What is the full and final price of the Liberal carbon tax?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister should be ashamed of himself for saying that.With the closure of STC in Saskatchewan, people with disabilities in northern Saskatchewan are being left in the dark by the Liberals. People like Gary Tinker from Pinehouse, Saskatchewan are forced to hitchhike across the province to get to appointments, to see their families or just to live a normal life.People with disabilities cannot wait until after the election. What are the Liberals waiting for to help northerners like Gary and to restore the bus service?
Mr. Speaker, the crisis created by the Prime Minister will cost more than $1 billion, and now we learned this morning that residents living near Roxham Road are being offered compensation. This adds to the impact of this crisis, on top of the facilities in Lacolle becoming permanent and the provinces being stuck with the bills.The Prime Minister needs to stop making others pay for his failures.Will he finally resolve this crisis?
Mr. Speaker, funny, that is not stopping other countries from completing investigations and getting results. I would remind the Prime Minister that the Auditor General does not know where the money spent by the CRA went. The CRA has no trouble going after Canadians who are not rich and bullying them, but it treats tax evaders with kid gloves. The Canada Revenue Agency has been investigating for over two years now, but it still has not dealt with the 3,000 files of people involved in the Panama papers. However, it has ample time to pore over the files of 332,000 Canadians who receive benefits. With answers like the one we just heard, it is clear that the Liberals are protecting the status quo.Why the double standard? Why go after the least wealthy Canadians and leave the richest alone?
Mr. Speaker, when the Conservatives talk about scrapping Bill C-69, which is focused on giving tighter timelines, a single project single evaluation and responds to the concerns of industry, they actually mean let us go back to CEAA 2012 that Harper put forward. That was an absolute failure for industry. There was a failure in getting anything built. It would be a disaster for the oil and gas industry and for industries right across the country. We will not do that.
Mr. Speaker, we know that we have made strong strides forward in the fight against HIV-AIDS, but we know that there is much more to do. That is why Health Canada is working with our provincial partners to ensure that there are even more ways for Canadians to stay safe and more ways for Canadians to counter this terrible epidemic that we know continues, despite all the efforts we and others are putting forward to counter it. We understand, as always, that there is more to do, and we look forward to working with the member opposite and all members in this House to continue to address this terrible challenge.
Mr. Speaker, that answer let the nation and a family down.Canadians are subjected to unfair Internet data overcharges, restrictions when switching Internet providers and misleading aggressive telecom practices. The CRTC says it wants to establish a consumer Internet code of conduct, but has failed to provide sufficient time for consumer groups and the public. The result is a boycotted and broken system. Consumer groups have been clear. They want an extension so they can participate. Why is the Prime Minister allowing the CRTC to make up a toothless code of conduct for consumers in Canada?
Mr. Speaker, our Prime Minister grew up in British Columbia and knows the southern resident killer whale is iconic to the people of our province. Sadly, these marine mammals face significant threats to their survival. For 10 years, the Harper government failed to take any measures to protect the environment that would actually sustain B.C.'s orcas.Our government has a plan. Could the Prime Minister update British Columbians on our most recent initiative to save this precious species?
Mr. Speaker, the crowning touch to the Prime Minister's year of failure has to be his disastrous NAFTA deal, which contains a long list of concessions in areas like the automotive sector, prescription drugs and dairy products.The deal is so bad that Donald Trump's top economic adviser said Canada gave very graciously.Why did the Prime Minister fail to secure the removal of the steel and aluminum tariffs during the NAFTA negotiations?
Mr. Speaker, it is the Liberal government that does not have a plan to reduce emissions in Canada. All the Liberals' plan is, is for a tax grab. The reason we know it will not reduce emissions is that they have given a massive exemption to the largest emitters in Canada. The full cost of the carbon tax will fall to hard-working Canadian families, commuters, soccer moms and small businesses. Worse yet, we know now that the carbon tax will be higher in the future.Will the Prime Minister tell us what is the full and final price for the Liberal carbon tax?
Mr. Speaker, according to a report released on Monday at COP24, Canada ranks 54th out of 60 on the climate change performance index. My goodness that is shameful.Where is the leadership the Liberals promised?The time to act is now, not in 2050. Experts have recommended that the Liberals implement accountability and transparency mechanisms like the ones proposed by my colleague from Edmonton StrathconaWill they listen to the experts or will they keep listening to rich polluters?
Mr. Speaker, Luisa Montoya and her family arrived in Canada in 2012, fleeing violence and extortion in Colombia. As a legacy case, they have been in limbo for six years. Luisa is married to a Canadian and their son Thomas was born in Canada. The family of seven is fully integrated and thriving. Violence in Colombia has displaced millions and the Canadian government has issued an alert to avoid travel there. However, this family is being deported on Christmas eve. This is a cruel way for the minister to meet his quota of deporting 10,000 asylum seekers.Will the Prime Minister direct his minister to intervene
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's worst failure, in this year of failures, is his promise to balance the budget.This promise was really cast in stone, but the Parliamentary Budget Officer tabled a report indicating that next year's deficit will be $28 billion.Why did the Prime Minister mislead Canadians about balancing the budget?
Mr. Speaker, he claims that Canada's immigration system should be compassionate and fair. There is nothing fair about crossing through an illegal border crossing from a safe part of upstate New York into Canada, jumping the queue, skipping the line and forcing others to wait longer, because more and more resources have to go to those coming into Canada illegally. This is the legacy that the Prime Minister caused with his irresponsible tweet. Literally, the Liberals have done nothing to stop the problem. Instead of just adding up the costs, will they finally do something to stop the crossings themselves?
Mr. Speaker, I have good news for the Prime Minister. After the 2019 election, he will not have to answer the questions he does not like in the House.Here is what he does have to answer for. The Prime Minister has to answer for the fact that he has done absolutely nothing to stop the illegal border crossings into our country. He can try to hide the truth and say things that are not true. He knows it was the Conservative government that added 26% worth of Canada Border Services agents at our borders. It is the Conservatives who are proposing real solutions to solve this problem.When will the Prime Minister do something about it?
Mr. Speaker, in 2015, the Liberals masqueraded as progressives, trying to convince labour they cared. While GM has decided to close its plant in Oshawa, the Liberals are nowhere to be seen in the fight to keep these jobs in Canada. When postal workers were fighting for better working conditions, the Liberals, like the Conservatives before them, legislated them back to work. The Liberals did nothing to remove Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs, which are costing jobs. The year 2018 has been defined by the Liberals betraying Canadian workers. Why will the Liberals not admit what Canadians see clearly; that the government has never had their backs?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government has made all kinds of commitments to first nations and promised billions of dollars in infrastructure to improve their living conditions. However, many indigenous communities do not have access to safe drinking water and will not have access before 2021. That is unacceptable. Some communities have been boiling their water for 25 years now, and they are being asked to wait another three years.It is the government's responsibility, so will it take action now?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals say they are working for the middle class, but they side with big corporations every time. They forced Canada Post employees back to work. They gave our money to Bombardier with no strings attached. When Lowe's bought Rona, the government demanded no guarantees. To top it off, there is no local content requirement in the fleet renewal contract VIA Rail awarded to Siemens.Why are they turning their backs on middle-class workers?
Mr. Speaker, we will make sure that our immigration system remains fair and compassionate while maintaining the integrity of our borders and keeping our communities safe.We are investing $173 million to make our borders more secure and to fast-track the asylum claim process. The Conservatives cut the agency's budget by $390 million, they cut health care for refugees, and now they want Canadians to violate international law. We will continue to enforce Canadian laws and respect our international commitments.
Mr. Speaker, what the Prime Minister is trying to do is double down on a failed plan of higher taxes and massive deficits, threatening Canadians as we head into difficult economic headwinds. In fact, the IMF said today that there are significant risks that it is worried Canada is not prepared for. However, it is not a surprise that the Prime Minister is not worried. He has never had to worry about money, so he does not worry about what happens to Canadians when he blows through their savings.When will the Prime Minister understand that the federal budget is not a trust fund at his disposal?
Mr. Speaker, what the Prime Minister is trying to do is convince Canadians that his reckless actions have not had an impact on the energy sector. However, here is the reality. Under the Conservative government, four major pipeline projects were built by private sector dollars, increasing our capacity to ship our energy to markets by over a million barrels a day. Three pipeline projects were on the books when he took over. Two are completely dead and one is on a lifeline, with no plan to move it forward. Therefore, will the Prime Minister do the right thing and scrap his no more pipeline bill?
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for Vancouver Centre for her hard work and her extraordinary service to our country. We recognize that a strong economy and a clean environment go hand in hand and that we must grow our economy responsibly. Canadians and marine mammals have waited long enough during the 10 long years of Harper Conservatives' inaction. That is why in budget 2018, we announced concrete action to fix this problem. We will now have the needed and enforceable tools to address immediate and long-term threats to the marine environment, including marine mammals and the southern resident killer whale.
Mr. Speaker, what the Prime Minister is trying to do is distract from his terrible record by saying things that just are not true. The Conservative government protected Canada's economy through the worst global recession since the 1920s. We did it while cutting taxes and bringing Canada back to balance. What he has done is racked up massive amounts of new debt. He inherited a great fortune, a perfect situation for the Canadian economy, a balanced budget and a booming global economy. He has squandered that and blown through the savings. When will the budget be balanced?
Mr. Speaker, one of the first things we discovered when we came to office in 2015 was that the Conservatives' phony balancing of the budget actually hurt Canadians. It hurt our veterans. It hurt our public service. It cut Canadian border services and police services. The Conservatives cut services that Canadians needed right across the country in order to present a phony balanced budget just in time for the election. We made a different choice: to invest in Canadians. What has that delivered? It has delivered the lowest unemployment rate in 40 years and 800,000 new jobs in the past three years.
Mr. Speaker, it is the government's plan that makes emissions free for the largest emitters. The Conservatives are ideologically opposed to a tax that raises the cost of living for Canadians. That will be the choice in the next election. The Prime Minister has failed in so many areas, but there is one file in which he is succeeding. He went around the world and bragged about his plan to phase out Canada's energy sector. Sad to say, it is working. He has chased out new pipeline proponents. He is bringing in a bill that will ensure no future pipeline gets built. Will the Prime Minister do the right thing and scrap Bill C-69?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have granted a huge exemption. That is from their own documents. When a companies go over that target, they do not pay a tax. They can purchase offsets. The Liberals have come up with a scheme that allows the country's largest emitters to avoid paying the carbon tax. However, that special deal is not available to hard-working Canadian families, commuters, suburban moms or small and medium-size businesses that have to pay the full brunt. We know what the costs are going to be today. What will the full and final costs be for the carbon tax in the future?
Mr. Speaker, and so it is. VIA Rail would rather sign a $1.3-billion agreement with a German multinational than with a Quebec company, to purchase trains that will be used in Quebec. What a lump of coal.Workers in La Pocatière are being laid off, and they are popping champagne corks in Sacramento, where the cars are manufactured. How can the Prime Minister justify abandoning workers in La Pocatière and allowing VIA Rail to choose Siemens?
Mr. Speaker, it is the Liberal government which has put a price of zero on the largest emitters in Canada. It has granted a huge exemption to large emitters that can afford to hire lobbyists to get a special deal. Hard-working Canadian families and commuters have to bear the full brunt of the Liberal carbon tax. Now we find out that the carbon tax will have to be even higher in the future.If the Prime Minister claims that he does not mind getting questions, will he answer this simple question: What is the full and final cost of his carbon tax?
Mr. Speaker, I am convinced that the Prime Minister had to google what the ratchet clause was.Every single thing the current Prime Minister points to as a victory was something that a previous Conservative government already got for Canadians. He had one bargaining chip left. He told Donald Trump that if he did not get rid of the tariffs, there would be no photo op. Donald called his bluff. He knew that the Prime Minister could not resist another photo being taken, and there he was, signing along with the rest of the leaders. In exchange for taking his picture with Donald Trump, did he get an end to the steel and aluminum tariffs?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister needs to stop saying falsehoods about our record and start telling the truth about his record. It was the Conservatives who left a balanced budget. How do we know it was balanced? The finance department said it was. His own minister's department told Canadians that the budget was balanced. We did that while lowering taxes and protecting core services for Canadians. However, his reckless deficits are putting social services under great pressure. In less than five years, more tax dollars will go to the interest on the debt than are currently being spent on health care. When will the budget be balanced?
Mr. Speaker, another massive failure for the Liberal government under this Prime Minister has been the ethics file. This is the only Prime Minister in Canadian history to have been found guilty of breaking ethics laws, and several other members of his team have followed suit.The finance minister conveniently forgot about a villa in France, and other ministers have been found guilty of breaking rules. Now there is a massive investigation, with a big cloud of suspicion around a former Liberal MP and a Liberal cabinet minister.Can the Prime Minister tell us exactly how many more Liberals are currently being investigated by the RCMP or by other investigators?
Mr. Speaker, I cannot believe that the member opposite just asked me to stop playing political games on this issue, because he is the one playing petty politics. The Canadian Armed Forces conducted an analysis and found that the Obelix is not needed. For the member to suggest that we should buy it anyway is just cheap politics.We make decisions based on facts. We recognize that the Davie shipyard does good work, and we are working with Davie to give it more jobs, but we are not going to invent contracts for political reasons.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister did not say he would go to Washington to get a good deal. He said he would go to get a better deal. Let us look at the deal he got. He uses the word capitulate. It was the Liberals who capitulated on dairy, signing away market access and preventing our farmers from exporting. It was the Liberals who agreed to a cap on auto exports. They agreed to adopt Donald Trump's pharmaceutical regime, increasing costs for Canadian patients. After giving all of that away to Donald Trump, did the Prime Minister get any assurances on when steel and aluminum tariffs would finally be lifted?
Mr. Speaker, this is very interesting. What we see from the Conservatives is a doubling down on Stephen Harper's economic plan, the plan that Canadians soundly rejected in 2015, giving tax breaks to the wealthiest, cutting things like veterans services, health care for refugees and eliminating the long-form census. These are the things the Harper government did that the Conservatives are once again running on.The Conservatives have no real plan for the economy. We have created 800,000 new jobs and have the
Mr. Speaker, unlike the Conservatives, we believe that emissions need to go down and that we need to continue creating good middle-class jobs for Canadians. What the Conservatives are saying is actually factually wrong. We have set a target for industry to reduce pollution. If companies fail to meet that target, they pay the price. If they do better, for example through innovation, they are rewarded. Our plan will also give money directly to households where the federal backstop applies. The only mystery here is why the Conservatives refuse to have a plan themselves.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are growing increasingly fearful of reports that impacts of climate change are worsening even beyond what scientists predicted. Pressure is mounting for this government to institute measures to make them more transparent and accountable for their decisions on climate action. The United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Finland have long ago instituted effective measures to make this happen. Merely appointing yet another hand-picked advisory body just does not cut it.Will the Prime Minister support my Motion No. 204 to legally enact binding greenhouse gas targets, a duty to act, and measures to ensure improved accountability and transparency for federal action on climate change?
Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Budget Officer pegs the cost of the Prime Minister's failure at the border at more than $1 billion. The affected provinces are sending the bill to the Prime Minister.When will the Prime Minister understand that the only way to stop paying billion dollar bills is to close the loophole in the safe third country agreement?
Mr. Speaker, two years after the Panama papers scandal, governments around the world have recouped over $700 million in fines and back taxes as a result of investigations, but Canada has recouped zero. Just as an example, since 2016, the Australian Taxation Office has recouped more than $48 million, but Canada has recouped zero.Canadians who are not rich are presumed guilty until they can prove their innocence, and the CRA goes after them with all guns blazing. However, Canadians who are wealthy are innocent until proven guilty, and they are treated with kid gloves.I ask the Prime Minister, why is there this double standard?
Mr. Speaker, after being elected, the new Quebec government made several decisions in different areas. It received a clear mandate from the people to do so.What is the Prime Minister's usual response on every issue? He criticizes the provincial decisions and tries to lecture Quebec.When will the Prime Minister understand that there are separate jurisdictions in Canada and that Quebec is entitled to deal with the matters under its responsibility without constantly being criticized by this centralist Prime Minister?
Mr. Speaker, Canada has an immigration system that is based on rules and principles, and we follow those rules. Canadians are among the few people on this planet who are, as a whole, generally positively inclined towards immigration, because they know that our system works. Our system is based on rules, procedures and processes. We know that sometimes the decisions can be difficult. We will, of course, take a look at all files on compassionate grounds, but we will continue to apply our immigration system based on the rules and the facts of the cases.
Mr. Speaker, this is what happens when a Prime Minister does not like the questions and has to answer for his failed record on carbon taxes, deficits, and signing away concession after concession to Donald Trump without anything in return. Then, he asks for someone else to ask him questions. Do not worry. The Prime Minister need not worry for too long, because come 2019, Canadians will send someone into his chair who is not afraid of the tough questions, and actually
Mr. Speaker, from the very beginning, this government has worked in partnership with organized labour in the country. Among the very first things we did was eliminate Bill C-525 and Bill C-377, the anti-union bills the Conservatives had put forward. We then continued to work with labour, ensuring we would get to the bargaining table between labour and employers. We have demonstrated the tripartite working model works very well. We know we are not always going to agree on everything with organized labour. However, we do know that basing everything on a respectful approach that values the contributions of labour and the strength of the middle class of the country is the way to do it.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians had a choice, and Canadians voted for a balanced budget. That was the promise the Prime Minister ran on. Now we find out that his temporary and tiny deficits are now massive and permanent. They are not $10 billion. They are not $15 billion. They are not $20 billion. They are not $25 billion. The Parliamentary Budget Officer said they could grow to as high as $30 billion. Deficits today mean higher taxes tomorrow. Will the Prime Minister tell Canadians in what year the budget will be balanced?
Mr. Speaker, we are taking action now. We recognize how unacceptable it is that some reserves in this country still do not have clean drinking water. That is why we have committed to ending all boil water advisories in the country by 2021, and we will. We have ended 73 long-term boil water advisories. We know we have a lot more work to do, and we are doing it. We will keep our promise.
Mr. Speaker, we are proud of the work we are doing with the CRTC to ensure that our digital programming and protection of our airwaves keep pace with the transformations of our economy. We recognize there is more and more need for data and for proper access to broadband. That is something we are continuing to invest in across the country and work with the CRTC on, although it is odd to see the NDP members complaining about this when they are the ones who want to impose extra taxes on Internet usage by Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, there are two reasons why the Conservatives are so worked up about our plan. First, they have no plan about which they can talk. Second, in provinces where the federal backstop applies, Canadian households will be receiving more from the climate action incentive than the cost of pricing pollution. This means that the ones who will pay are the companies who pollute the most. Conservatives, like Stephen Harper and Doug Ford, and the current leader, are so ideologically against any environmental protection. They want to take that money away from Canadians. While Conservatives want to make pollution free again, we are putting it
Mr. Speaker, the number of Canadians being infected with HIV is once again rising rapidly among young gay men and has reached epidemic proportions in indigenous communities, yet the Liberals have cut funding to many front-line HIV agencies and have failed to increase access to testing, when we know that knowing one's status is the key to reducing new infections.Will the Liberal government move quickly to approve home testing kits for sale in pharmacies to help reach all men who have sex with men, and will it work with the provinces to ensure that testing is widely available without needing to see a doctor first?
Mr. Speaker, the member opposite just got censured by the Ethics Commissioner for having told one of his members to break the ethics rules. We will take no lessons on ethics from them or from the legacy of 10 years of the kinds of practices that were all too common under the Harper Conservatives.
Mr. Speaker, we have put forward a strong and robust plan to address climate change and to support Canadians through this transition. We have a plan and it is perfectly okay, obviously, for people to ask questions, to criticize or to suggest improvements. What is not correct is to not recognize that the Conservatives have no plan to fight climate change. They have no idea how to fight climate change, prepare our economy for the future and to create the jobs of the future. They do not see it as a priority. That is where they are wrong. Canadians know from wildfires to floods to droughts right across the country that we need to act on climate change and the Conservatives are not.
Mr. Speaker, what the Conservatives did not understand and what they obviously fail to understand is we cannot grow the Canadian economy through cuts to services, through cuts to Canadians. We need to invest in Canadians. We need to invest in the middle class and those working hard to join it. We need to invest in infrastructure in their communities. We need to invest in science and research. We need to invest in our young people. That is exactly what we have done and that is how we have created 800,000 new jobs over the past years and have the lowest unemployment in
Mr. Speaker, I want to start by thanking the member for Malpeque for his hard work as chair of the finance committee, and his extraordinary service to this House and to Canada.We worked with the provinces and territories to reach a historic agreement that will help to ensure that Canadians get the secure and dignified retirement they deserve. The enhanced Canada pension plan will mean Canadians receive up to $7,000 more per year when they retire. This means that more Canadians will actually be able to retire at age 65. Despite the Conservative opposition, we are moving forward with the CPP expansion to make sure Canadians have a secure retirement.
Mr. Speaker, southwestern Nova Scotia depends on fishing, which is why I was so pleased last week when the Minister of Fisheries announced funding in excess of $18 million to be distributed through the Atlantic fisheries fund. The money will be invested in aquaculture, science, innovation, research and development.Can the Prime Minister tell us what measures our government has taken to support fisheries across Canada?
Mr. Speaker, the Conservative Party is usually a lot quieter than this, and usually a lot more respectful. However, on this, the very last Wednesday question period in the House this year, I think they all want to be heard. That is the problem.Will the Leader of the Opposition allow some of his fellow members to ask questions of the Prime Minister? Apparently not.
Mr. Speaker, I was pleased to sit down for the fifth time with all premiers last week and to have frank discussions about how we can continue to work together. That is something Stephen Harper refused to do in the last years of his term because he did not want to talk to the provinces. Personally, I believe in collaboration and co-operation, and I want to point out that the work we are doing with the Province of Quebec is going very well.We have tremendous respect for its views and we will work with it to improve the lives of Quebeckers and all Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, I suggest you give them a little indulgence. They all want an opportunity to ask questions and make comments on this last day of Prime Minister's question period in the House of Commons.We are going to continue to stand up for Canadians and ensure that things move forward properly. That is something we committed to Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, this government understands how important it is to protect our environment while creating economic growth. That is why we put a price on pollution. Across the country we know that putting a price on pollution is the best way to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and ensure that families will be able to adapt to this change and prosper during this economic transformation period. We know that it is important to fight climate change for the future of our children and we will do so the right way.
Mr. Speaker, after 10 years of Stephen Harper's government, we stepped forward with a fresh plan to invest in Canadians, to invest in communities, and that plan is working, with over 800,000 new jobs over the past three years and the lowest unemployment rate in over 40 years. Canadians are more confident about the future and looking to their kids' future with optimism. We have a plan on climate change. We are taking action on building a stronger future. The Conservatives have only a failed plan to fall back on, because they are presenting no new ideas of their own.
Mr. Speaker, he can tell that to our men and women in the Canadian Armed Forces and to the Davie shipyard workers. When you look at the scope of the Prime Minister's failures, it is obvious that he has failed to treat the provinces as partners. Instead, like all good Liberals, he maintains a paternalistic and centralizing attitude.The new government in Quebec has identified a third link to the east as a priority for addressing urban mobility problems in the old capital.Can the Prime Minister finally commit to being a reliable partner on that project?
Mr. Speaker, again, we can see that the Conservatives do not want to address the question of what their alternative is and how they are going to fight climate change. We have been very clear. We are going to put a price on pollution. We are accelerating the phase-out of traditional coal power. We are making historic investments in cleaner infrastructure. We are adopting regulations to cut methane emissions. We are moving forward in a way that is going to support families and protect them for the future. The Conservatives have no plan at all. That is unacceptable.
Mr. Speaker, I want to take a moment once again to thank all the Canadians from across the country, including of different ideologies, including some Conservatives, who worked hard to negotiate the right deal for Canada. We can be assured that this is a deal that will continue to secure our access to our most important trading partner at a time of uncertainty and unpredictability from that trading partner. We got rid of the ratchet clause, which infringed upon our sovereignty by preventing our government from controlling access to our energy resources. We kept chapter 19, and the cultural exemption will apply to digital programs. We
Mr. Speaker, we are working to reduce emissions across the Canadian economy to create jobs and meet our international commitments. Our actions include pricing pollution right across the country, accelerating the phase-out of traditional coal power, making historic investments in cleaner infrastructure like public transit and charging stations for electric vehicles, adopting regulations to cut methane emissions from oil and gas by 40% to 45% by 2025 and more.As Canadians know, there is no more choice to be made. We are both protecting the environment and growing the middle class.
Mr. Speaker, I look forward to the opportunity to present our plan to Canadians next year in the federal election. I look forward to going against what seems to be the Harper Conservative platform once again. The Harper Conservatives cut $390 million
Mr. Speaker, we have made investments of over $1 billion to give the Canada Revenue Agency the resources needed to crack down on tax cheats.On the Panama papers specifically, the CRA has identified over 3,000 offshore entities with over 2,600 beneficial owners that have some link to Canada, of which the CRA has risk-assessed over 80%. I can confirm that there are several criminal investigations under way involving the Panama papers. As my colleague knows, these investigations can be complex and take time to complete.
Mr. Speaker, our government maintains a safe, effective and reliable rail transportation system for Canadian passengers.Today's investment will give millions of passengers access to new trains with a smaller environmental footprint that offer more space for people with reduced mobility and are equipped with the latest technology. Unlike the previous government, we got the best possible contract to provide Canadians with modern, more accessible, high-quality trains.
Mr. Speaker, our government maintains a safe, effective and reliable rail transportation system for Canadian passengers. Today's investment will give millions of passengers access to new trains with a smaller environmental footprint that offer more space for people with reduced mobility and are equipped with the latest technology.Unlike the previous government, we got the best possible contract to provide Canadians with modern, more accessible, high-quality trains.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the member opposite's kind words and wish him and his family, indeed all members in this House, a happy and safe and merry Christmas and happy holidays. We know that this is a time of year when we are a long way from our families. We still have a couple of more days, at least, of work to do in this House, so we know that the days grow shorter but the time seems to grow longer.We put forward a fiscally responsible plan that is growing the economy the way Canadians expect us to. We will keep working on creating jobs and growing the economy for all Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, from the beginning of the NAFTA negotiations, our number one goal was always to get a good deal for Canada, and that is exactly what we did.This deal will protect more than $2 billion a day in cross-border trade, allow tariff-free access for more than 70% of Canadian exports and improve opportunities for Canadians.This agreement makes the rules fairer for the automotive industry, preserves the binational dispute settlement mechanism and protects supply management. While the Conservatives wanted to take Stephen Harper's advice and sign any
Mr. Speaker, we are ensuring that our immigration system remains fair and compassionate, all the while ensuring the integrity of our border and the security of our communities. We will continue to ensure that Canadian law is applied and that our international obligations are respected. I will also highlight, in this, the last opportunity for PMQs in the House, it is a pleasure to be taking questions from everyone, not just the Leader of the Opposition.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to set the record straight. We have made investments of over $1 billion to give the Canada Revenue Agency the resources needed to crack down on tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance.On the Panama papers specifically, the CRA has identified over 3,000 offshore entities with over 2,600 beneficial owners that have some link to Canada, of which the CRA has risk assessed over 80%. I can confirm that there are several criminal investigations under way regarding the Panama papers which, as my colleague knows, can be complex and require months or years to complete.
Mr. Speaker, In 2016, our government reached a historic agreement with the provinces and territories to expand the Canada pension plan to protect income security for pensioners. That CPP expansion is supposed to begin this year, but the Conservative Party opposes that expansion, which will allow greater security for pensioners. Will the Prime Minister assure the House, despite the opposition from the Conservatives, that the CPP will be expanded as intended?
Mr. Speaker, we were extremely concerned with the decision by Greyhound to suspend bus service across parts of the northwest. That is why we have been working with local communities and other providers to ensure that there are alternatives in place. We have created programs and are partnering with and allowing indigenous communities to step up. We recognize the situation is difficult on top of an already difficult situation. That is why we are working in partnership with indigenous communities to solve this problem. I thank the member opposite for her question and for her work on this file.
Mr. Speaker, the member opposite wants to talk about the facts. The Conservatives, under Stephen Harper, had the lowest growth rate in Canadian history since the depths of the Great Depression. They added $150 billion to our national debt with stubbornly low growth to show for it. We made a different choice and Canadians supported us in investing in communities, in investing in the middle class instead of giving boutique tax credits to the wealthiest Canadians. We focused on growing the economy for everyone
Mr. Speaker, we have made record investments in infrastructure over the past three years, proving that we are here to be a reliable partner. I can say, however, that the project the member opposite referred to does not yet exist; it is still in the idea phase.If he submits a plan, we will look at it. That is what we are here for. No one should be inventing projects for political rhetoric.Our decisions will be based on the facts, on real projects submitted to us. We are not there yet with regard to the third link. When that happens, we will work with the stakeholders.
Mr. Speaker, we have known for a long time, listening to the energy sector, that its number one priority is getting oil resources to markets other than the United States. It has asked for that for a long time. Stephen Harper and his Conservatives worked very hard to get that done, and they did not get it done for 10 years. We are moving forward in a significant way, in the right way, understanding that working with environmental groups, respecting community interests and partnering with indigenous peoples is the only way to get things done right.
Mr. Speaker, before I ask my question, I want to take this opportunity, in the last question period on a Wednesday for Prime Minister's questions, to wish the Prime Minister the very best, on a personal basis, for him and his family. I hope all parliamentarians and all party members enjoy some time with their friends and families and connect with their constituents. In the spirit of giving, I have given the Prime Minister 23 opportunities to answer simple and straightforward questions. I have one more gift for the Prime Minister. I am going to give him one final chance to tell Canadians in what year the budget will be balanced.
Mr. Speaker, we are working with the United States and our provincial partners to ensure that our immigration system remains strong and reliable.We know that irregular arrivals, asylum seekers, present a challenge to the system, but in the meantime we can assure Canadians that in terms of security, all the checks are made and we are applying our immigration system in its entirety. We understand this is a complex situation, but we are working with the provinces and our partners.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for West Nova for his work as a member of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans and for the excellent work he is doing for his riding.Our $325-million investment in the Atlantic fisheries fund will support many different projects throughout the region. We have also announced the $100-million British Columbia salmon restoration and innovation fund. In Quebec, we are investing $30 million to support the province's fish and seafood sector. We are supporting our coastal regions.
Mr. Speaker, it is wonderful to be able to look into this space and see every seat filled. I know there may be a few people here for the first time, but let me tell members that the Conservative benches
Mr. Speaker, it is not about meeting with the provinces; it is about respecting them.On the other side of the river in Lévis, Davie shipyard workers delivered the Asterix supply ship on time and on budget.Our brave men and women in uniform need another supply ship, the Obelix, and the Davie shipyard is prepared to start work on it tomorrow morning.The Prime Minister needs to stop playing political games and give Davie that contract before Christmas.What is he waiting for to do that?
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. There have been discussions among the parties and an email sent to all members of Parliament with respect to this motion. If you seek it, I believe you will find unanimous consent for this motion. I move that the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology be instructed to undertake a study of no less than four meetings to investigate the impact of the announced closure of the General Motors automotive assembly plant in Oshawa, and that the study (1) include impacted stakeholders, such as the union Unifor, to solicit input towards devising a plan to address issues that may have contributed to this announcement; (2) provide an opportunity for the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development to appear to address concerns about competitiveness raised by General Motors and any other issues the minister deems instructive toward developing a plan; and that the committee report its findings to the House of Commons no later than March 11, 2019.
Mr. Speaker, the commitment we made in 2015 was to create economic growth, which would benefit the middle class and all those working hard to join it. That is exactly what we did by cutting taxes for the middle class and increasing taxes for the wealthiest 1%. We introduced the Canada child benefit, which helped nine in 10 families and lifted 300,000 children out of poverty across the country.We know that there is still much work to be done on infrastructure investment, fighting poverty and investing in youth and our seniors. We will continue
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order.I rise today in the Christmas spirit, and also in a spirit of great nonpartisanship, to table, with unanimous consent, a copy of the Liberal platform, which promises a balanced budget in 2019.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has often boasted about inheriting a great family fortune. He has never had to worry about the cost of living, so it is no wonder that he does not worry when his policies drive up the cost for Canadians. His tax on gas, on home heating and on groceries will hurt seniors, suburban moms and small businesses. Worse, government documents now show that by the year 2022, the carbon tax will have to be six times higher than the Liberals now admit, driving up gas prices another whopping 70¢ a litre and home heating by another $1,000 a year. What is the full and final price of the Liberal carbon tax?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister should be ashamed of himself for saying that.With the closure of STC in Saskatchewan, people with disabilities in northern Saskatchewan are being left in the dark by the Liberals. People like Gary Tinker from Pinehouse, Saskatchewan are forced to hitchhike across the province to get to appointments, to see their families or just to live a normal life.People with disabilities cannot wait until after the election. What are the Liberals waiting for to help northerners like Gary and to restore the bus service?
Mr. Speaker, the crisis created by the Prime Minister will cost more than $1 billion, and now we learned this morning that residents living near Roxham Road are being offered compensation. This adds to the impact of this crisis, on top of the facilities in Lacolle becoming permanent and the provinces being stuck with the bills.The Prime Minister needs to stop making others pay for his failures.Will he finally resolve this crisis?
Mr. Speaker, funny, that is not stopping other countries from completing investigations and getting results. I would remind the Prime Minister that the Auditor General does not know where the money spent by the CRA went. The CRA has no trouble going after Canadians who are not rich and bullying them, but it treats tax evaders with kid gloves. The Canada Revenue Agency has been investigating for over two years now, but it still has not dealt with the 3,000 files of people involved in the Panama papers. However, it has ample time to pore over the files of 332,000 Canadians who receive benefits. With answers like the one we just heard, it is clear that the Liberals are protecting the status quo.Why the double standard? Why go after the least wealthy Canadians and leave the richest alone?
Mr. Speaker, when the Conservatives talk about scrapping Bill C-69, which is focused on giving tighter timelines, a single project single evaluation and responds to the concerns of industry, they actually mean let us go back to CEAA 2012 that Harper put forward. That was an absolute failure for industry. There was a failure in getting anything built. It would be a disaster for the oil and gas industry and for industries right across the country. We will not do that.
Mr. Speaker, we know that we have made strong strides forward in the fight against HIV-AIDS, but we know that there is much more to do. That is why Health Canada is working with our provincial partners to ensure that there are even more ways for Canadians to stay safe and more ways for Canadians to counter this terrible epidemic that we know continues, despite all the efforts we and others are putting forward to counter it. We understand, as always, that there is more to do, and we look forward to working with the member opposite and all members in this House to continue to address this terrible challenge.
Mr. Speaker, that answer let the nation and a family down.Canadians are subjected to unfair Internet data overcharges, restrictions when switching Internet providers and misleading aggressive telecom practices. The CRTC says it wants to establish a consumer Internet code of conduct, but has failed to provide sufficient time for consumer groups and the public. The result is a boycotted and broken system. Consumer groups have been clear. They want an extension so they can participate. Why is the Prime Minister allowing the CRTC to make up a toothless code of conduct for consumers in Canada?
Mr. Speaker, our Prime Minister grew up in British Columbia and knows the southern resident killer whale is iconic to the people of our province. Sadly, these marine mammals face significant threats to their survival. For 10 years, the Harper government failed to take any measures to protect the environment that would actually sustain B.C.'s orcas.Our government has a plan. Could the Prime Minister update British Columbians on our most recent initiative to save this precious species?
Mr. Speaker, the crowning touch to the Prime Minister's year of failure has to be his disastrous NAFTA deal, which contains a long list of concessions in areas like the automotive sector, prescription drugs and dairy products.The deal is so bad that Donald Trump's top economic adviser said Canada gave very graciously.Why did the Prime Minister fail to secure the removal of the steel and aluminum tariffs during the NAFTA negotiations?
Mr. Speaker, it is the Liberal government that does not have a plan to reduce emissions in Canada. All the Liberals' plan is, is for a tax grab. The reason we know it will not reduce emissions is that they have given a massive exemption to the largest emitters in Canada. The full cost of the carbon tax will fall to hard-working Canadian families, commuters, soccer moms and small businesses. Worse yet, we know now that the carbon tax will be higher in the future.Will the Prime Minister tell us what is the full and final price for the Liberal carbon tax?
Mr. Speaker, according to a report released on Monday at COP24, Canada ranks 54th out of 60 on the climate change performance index. My goodness that is shameful.Where is the leadership the Liberals promised?The time to act is now, not in 2050. Experts have recommended that the Liberals implement accountability and transparency mechanisms like the ones proposed by my colleague from Edmonton StrathconaWill they listen to the experts or will they keep listening to rich polluters?
Mr. Speaker, Luisa Montoya and her family arrived in Canada in 2012, fleeing violence and extortion in Colombia. As a legacy case, they have been in limbo for six years. Luisa is married to a Canadian and their son Thomas was born in Canada. The family of seven is fully integrated and thriving. Violence in Colombia has displaced millions and the Canadian government has issued an alert to avoid travel there. However, this family is being deported on Christmas eve. This is a cruel way for the minister to meet his quota of deporting 10,000 asylum seekers.Will the Prime Minister direct his minister to intervene
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's worst failure, in this year of failures, is his promise to balance the budget.This promise was really cast in stone, but the Parliamentary Budget Officer tabled a report indicating that next year's deficit will be $28 billion.Why did the Prime Minister mislead Canadians about balancing the budget?
Mr. Speaker, he claims that Canada's immigration system should be compassionate and fair. There is nothing fair about crossing through an illegal border crossing from a safe part of upstate New York into Canada, jumping the queue, skipping the line and forcing others to wait longer, because more and more resources have to go to those coming into Canada illegally. This is the legacy that the Prime Minister caused with his irresponsible tweet. Literally, the Liberals have done nothing to stop the problem. Instead of just adding up the costs, will they finally do something to stop the crossings themselves?
Mr. Speaker, I have good news for the Prime Minister. After the 2019 election, he will not have to answer the questions he does not like in the House.Here is what he does have to answer for. The Prime Minister has to answer for the fact that he has done absolutely nothing to stop the illegal border crossings into our country. He can try to hide the truth and say things that are not true. He knows it was the Conservative government that added 26% worth of Canada Border Services agents at our borders. It is the Conservatives who are proposing real solutions to solve this problem.When will the Prime Minister do something about it?
Mr. Speaker, in 2015, the Liberals masqueraded as progressives, trying to convince labour they cared. While GM has decided to close its plant in Oshawa, the Liberals are nowhere to be seen in the fight to keep these jobs in Canada. When postal workers were fighting for better working conditions, the Liberals, like the Conservatives before them, legislated them back to work. The Liberals did nothing to remove Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs, which are costing jobs. The year 2018 has been defined by the Liberals betraying Canadian workers. Why will the Liberals not admit what Canadians see clearly; that the government has never had their backs?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government has made all kinds of commitments to first nations and promised billions of dollars in infrastructure to improve their living conditions. However, many indigenous communities do not have access to safe drinking water and will not have access before 2021. That is unacceptable. Some communities have been boiling their water for 25 years now, and they are being asked to wait another three years.It is the government's responsibility, so will it take action now?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals say they are working for the middle class, but they side with big corporations every time. They forced Canada Post employees back to work. They gave our money to Bombardier with no strings attached. When Lowe's bought Rona, the government demanded no guarantees. To top it off, there is no local content requirement in the fleet renewal contract VIA Rail awarded to Siemens.Why are they turning their backs on middle-class workers?
Mr. Speaker, we will make sure that our immigration system remains fair and compassionate while maintaining the integrity of our borders and keeping our communities safe.We are investing $173 million to make our borders more secure and to fast-track the asylum claim process. The Conservatives cut the agency's budget by $390 million, they cut health care for refugees, and now they want Canadians to violate international law. We will continue to enforce Canadian laws and respect our international commitments.
Mr. Speaker, what the Prime Minister is trying to do is double down on a failed plan of higher taxes and massive deficits, threatening Canadians as we head into difficult economic headwinds. In fact, the IMF said today that there are significant risks that it is worried Canada is not prepared for. However, it is not a surprise that the Prime Minister is not worried. He has never had to worry about money, so he does not worry about what happens to Canadians when he blows through their savings.When will the Prime Minister understand that the federal budget is not a trust fund at his disposal?
Mr. Speaker, what the Prime Minister is trying to do is convince Canadians that his reckless actions have not had an impact on the energy sector. However, here is the reality. Under the Conservative government, four major pipeline projects were built by private sector dollars, increasing our capacity to ship our energy to markets by over a million barrels a day. Three pipeline projects were on the books when he took over. Two are completely dead and one is on a lifeline, with no plan to move it forward. Therefore, will the Prime Minister do the right thing and scrap his no more pipeline bill?
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for Vancouver Centre for her hard work and her extraordinary service to our country. We recognize that a strong economy and a clean environment go hand in hand and that we must grow our economy responsibly. Canadians and marine mammals have waited long enough during the 10 long years of Harper Conservatives' inaction. That is why in budget 2018, we announced concrete action to fix this problem. We will now have the needed and enforceable tools to address immediate and long-term threats to the marine environment, including marine mammals and the southern resident killer whale.
Mr. Speaker, what the Prime Minister is trying to do is distract from his terrible record by saying things that just are not true. The Conservative government protected Canada's economy through the worst global recession since the 1920s. We did it while cutting taxes and bringing Canada back to balance. What he has done is racked up massive amounts of new debt. He inherited a great fortune, a perfect situation for the Canadian economy, a balanced budget and a booming global economy. He has squandered that and blown through the savings. When will the budget be balanced?
Mr. Speaker, one of the first things we discovered when we came to office in 2015 was that the Conservatives' phony balancing of the budget actually hurt Canadians. It hurt our veterans. It hurt our public service. It cut Canadian border services and police services. The Conservatives cut services that Canadians needed right across the country in order to present a phony balanced budget just in time for the election. We made a different choice: to invest in Canadians. What has that delivered? It has delivered the lowest unemployment rate in 40 years and 800,000 new jobs in the past three years.
Mr. Speaker, it is the government's plan that makes emissions free for the largest emitters. The Conservatives are ideologically opposed to a tax that raises the cost of living for Canadians. That will be the choice in the next election. The Prime Minister has failed in so many areas, but there is one file in which he is succeeding. He went around the world and bragged about his plan to phase out Canada's energy sector. Sad to say, it is working. He has chased out new pipeline proponents. He is bringing in a bill that will ensure no future pipeline gets built. Will the Prime Minister do the right thing and scrap Bill C-69?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have granted a huge exemption. That is from their own documents. When a companies go over that target, they do not pay a tax. They can purchase offsets. The Liberals have come up with a scheme that allows the country's largest emitters to avoid paying the carbon tax. However, that special deal is not available to hard-working Canadian families, commuters, suburban moms or small and medium-size businesses that have to pay the full brunt. We know what the costs are going to be today. What will the full and final costs be for the carbon tax in the future?
Mr. Speaker, and so it is. VIA Rail would rather sign a $1.3-billion agreement with a German multinational than with a Quebec company, to purchase trains that will be used in Quebec. What a lump of coal.Workers in La Pocatière are being laid off, and they are popping champagne corks in Sacramento, where the cars are manufactured. How can the Prime Minister justify abandoning workers in La Pocatière and allowing VIA Rail to choose Siemens?
Mr. Speaker, it is the Liberal government which has put a price of zero on the largest emitters in Canada. It has granted a huge exemption to large emitters that can afford to hire lobbyists to get a special deal. Hard-working Canadian families and commuters have to bear the full brunt of the Liberal carbon tax. Now we find out that the carbon tax will have to be even higher in the future.If the Prime Minister claims that he does not mind getting questions, will he answer this simple question: What is the full and final cost of his carbon tax?
Mr. Speaker, I am convinced that the Prime Minister had to google what the ratchet clause was.Every single thing the current Prime Minister points to as a victory was something that a previous Conservative government already got for Canadians. He had one bargaining chip left. He told Donald Trump that if he did not get rid of the tariffs, there would be no photo op. Donald called his bluff. He knew that the Prime Minister could not resist another photo being taken, and there he was, signing along with the rest of the leaders. In exchange for taking his picture with Donald Trump, did he get an end to the steel and aluminum tariffs?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister needs to stop saying falsehoods about our record and start telling the truth about his record. It was the Conservatives who left a balanced budget. How do we know it was balanced? The finance department said it was. His own minister's department told Canadians that the budget was balanced. We did that while lowering taxes and protecting core services for Canadians. However, his reckless deficits are putting social services under great pressure. In less than five years, more tax dollars will go to the interest on the debt than are currently being spent on health care. When will the budget be balanced?
Mr. Speaker, another massive failure for the Liberal government under this Prime Minister has been the ethics file. This is the only Prime Minister in Canadian history to have been found guilty of breaking ethics laws, and several other members of his team have followed suit.The finance minister conveniently forgot about a villa in France, and other ministers have been found guilty of breaking rules. Now there is a massive investigation, with a big cloud of suspicion around a former Liberal MP and a Liberal cabinet minister.Can the Prime Minister tell us exactly how many more Liberals are currently being investigated by the RCMP or by other investigators?
Mr. Speaker, I cannot believe that the member opposite just asked me to stop playing political games on this issue, because he is the one playing petty politics. The Canadian Armed Forces conducted an analysis and found that the Obelix is not needed. For the member to suggest that we should buy it anyway is just cheap politics.We make decisions based on facts. We recognize that the Davie shipyard does good work, and we are working with Davie to give it more jobs, but we are not going to invent contracts for political reasons.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister did not say he would go to Washington to get a good deal. He said he would go to get a better deal. Let us look at the deal he got. He uses the word capitulate. It was the Liberals who capitulated on dairy, signing away market access and preventing our farmers from exporting. It was the Liberals who agreed to a cap on auto exports. They agreed to adopt Donald Trump's pharmaceutical regime, increasing costs for Canadian patients. After giving all of that away to Donald Trump, did the Prime Minister get any assurances on when steel and aluminum tariffs would finally be lifted?
Mr. Speaker, this is very interesting. What we see from the Conservatives is a doubling down on Stephen Harper's economic plan, the plan that Canadians soundly rejected in 2015, giving tax breaks to the wealthiest, cutting things like veterans services, health care for refugees and eliminating the long-form census. These are the things the Harper government did that the Conservatives are once again running on.The Conservatives have no real plan for the economy. We have created 800,000 new jobs and have the
Mr. Speaker, unlike the Conservatives, we believe that emissions need to go down and that we need to continue creating good middle-class jobs for Canadians. What the Conservatives are saying is actually factually wrong. We have set a target for industry to reduce pollution. If companies fail to meet that target, they pay the price. If they do better, for example through innovation, they are rewarded. Our plan will also give money directly to households where the federal backstop applies. The only mystery here is why the Conservatives refuse to have a plan themselves.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are growing increasingly fearful of reports that impacts of climate change are worsening even beyond what scientists predicted. Pressure is mounting for this government to institute measures to make them more transparent and accountable for their decisions on climate action. The United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Finland have long ago instituted effective measures to make this happen. Merely appointing yet another hand-picked advisory body just does not cut it.Will the Prime Minister support my Motion No. 204 to legally enact binding greenhouse gas targets, a duty to act, and measures to ensure improved accountability and transparency for federal action on climate change?
Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Budget Officer pegs the cost of the Prime Minister's failure at the border at more than $1 billion. The affected provinces are sending the bill to the Prime Minister.When will the Prime Minister understand that the only way to stop paying billion dollar bills is to close the loophole in the safe third country agreement?
Mr. Speaker, two years after the Panama papers scandal, governments around the world have recouped over $700 million in fines and back taxes as a result of investigations, but Canada has recouped zero. Just as an example, since 2016, the Australian Taxation Office has recouped more than $48 million, but Canada has recouped zero.Canadians who are not rich are presumed guilty until they can prove their innocence, and the CRA goes after them with all guns blazing. However, Canadians who are wealthy are innocent until proven guilty, and they are treated with kid gloves.I ask the Prime Minister, why is there this double standard?
Mr. Speaker, after being elected, the new Quebec government made several decisions in different areas. It received a clear mandate from the people to do so.What is the Prime Minister's usual response on every issue? He criticizes the provincial decisions and tries to lecture Quebec.When will the Prime Minister understand that there are separate jurisdictions in Canada and that Quebec is entitled to deal with the matters under its responsibility without constantly being criticized by this centralist Prime Minister?
Mr. Speaker, Canada has an immigration system that is based on rules and principles, and we follow those rules. Canadians are among the few people on this planet who are, as a whole, generally positively inclined towards immigration, because they know that our system works. Our system is based on rules, procedures and processes. We know that sometimes the decisions can be difficult. We will, of course, take a look at all files on compassionate grounds, but we will continue to apply our immigration system based on the rules and the facts of the cases.
Mr. Speaker, this is what happens when a Prime Minister does not like the questions and has to answer for his failed record on carbon taxes, deficits, and signing away concession after concession to Donald Trump without anything in return. Then, he asks for someone else to ask him questions. Do not worry. The Prime Minister need not worry for too long, because come 2019, Canadians will send someone into his chair who is not afraid of the tough questions, and actually
Mr. Speaker, from the very beginning, this government has worked in partnership with organized labour in the country. Among the very first things we did was eliminate Bill C-525 and Bill C-377, the anti-union bills the Conservatives had put forward. We then continued to work with labour, ensuring we would get to the bargaining table between labour and employers. We have demonstrated the tripartite working model works very well. We know we are not always going to agree on everything with organized labour. However, we do know that basing everything on a respectful approach that values the contributions of labour and the strength of the middle class of the country is the way to do it.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians had a choice, and Canadians voted for a balanced budget. That was the promise the Prime Minister ran on. Now we find out that his temporary and tiny deficits are now massive and permanent. They are not $10 billion. They are not $15 billion. They are not $20 billion. They are not $25 billion. The Parliamentary Budget Officer said they could grow to as high as $30 billion. Deficits today mean higher taxes tomorrow. Will the Prime Minister tell Canadians in what year the budget will be balanced?
Mr. Speaker, we are taking action now. We recognize how unacceptable it is that some reserves in this country still do not have clean drinking water. That is why we have committed to ending all boil water advisories in the country by 2021, and we will. We have ended 73 long-term boil water advisories. We know we have a lot more work to do, and we are doing it. We will keep our promise.
Mr. Speaker, we are proud of the work we are doing with the CRTC to ensure that our digital programming and protection of our airwaves keep pace with the transformations of our economy. We recognize there is more and more need for data and for proper access to broadband. That is something we are continuing to invest in across the country and work with the CRTC on, although it is odd to see the NDP members complaining about this when they are the ones who want to impose extra taxes on Internet usage by Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, there are two reasons why the Conservatives are so worked up about our plan. First, they have no plan about which they can talk. Second, in provinces where the federal backstop applies, Canadian households will be receiving more from the climate action incentive than the cost of pricing pollution. This means that the ones who will pay are the companies who pollute the most. Conservatives, like Stephen Harper and Doug Ford, and the current leader, are so ideologically against any environmental protection. They want to take that money away from Canadians. While Conservatives want to make pollution free again, we are putting it
Mr. Speaker, the number of Canadians being infected with HIV is once again rising rapidly among young gay men and has reached epidemic proportions in indigenous communities, yet the Liberals have cut funding to many front-line HIV agencies and have failed to increase access to testing, when we know that knowing one's status is the key to reducing new infections.Will the Liberal government move quickly to approve home testing kits for sale in pharmacies to help reach all men who have sex with men, and will it work with the provinces to ensure that testing is widely available without needing to see a doctor first?
Mr. Speaker, the member opposite just got censured by the Ethics Commissioner for having told one of his members to break the ethics rules. We will take no lessons on ethics from them or from the legacy of 10 years of the kinds of practices that were all too common under the Harper Conservatives.
Mr. Speaker, we have put forward a strong and robust plan to address climate change and to support Canadians through this transition. We have a plan and it is perfectly okay, obviously, for people to ask questions, to criticize or to suggest improvements. What is not correct is to not recognize that the Conservatives have no plan to fight climate change. They have no idea how to fight climate change, prepare our economy for the future and to create the jobs of the future. They do not see it as a priority. That is where they are wrong. Canadians know from wildfires to floods to droughts right across the country that we need to act on climate change and the Conservatives are not.
Mr. Speaker, what the Conservatives did not understand and what they obviously fail to understand is we cannot grow the Canadian economy through cuts to services, through cuts to Canadians. We need to invest in Canadians. We need to invest in the middle class and those working hard to join it. We need to invest in infrastructure in their communities. We need to invest in science and research. We need to invest in our young people. That is exactly what we have done and that is how we have created 800,000 new jobs over the past years and have the lowest unemployment in
Mr. Speaker, I want to start by thanking the member for Malpeque for his hard work as chair of the finance committee, and his extraordinary service to this House and to Canada.We worked with the provinces and territories to reach a historic agreement that will help to ensure that Canadians get the secure and dignified retirement they deserve. The enhanced Canada pension plan will mean Canadians receive up to $7,000 more per year when they retire. This means that more Canadians will actually be able to retire at age 65. Despite the Conservative opposition, we are moving forward with the CPP expansion to make sure Canadians have a secure retirement.
Mr. Speaker, southwestern Nova Scotia depends on fishing, which is why I was so pleased last week when the Minister of Fisheries announced funding in excess of $18 million to be distributed through the Atlantic fisheries fund. The money will be invested in aquaculture, science, innovation, research and development.Can the Prime Minister tell us what measures our government has taken to support fisheries across Canada?
Mr. Speaker, the Conservative Party is usually a lot quieter than this, and usually a lot more respectful. However, on this, the very last Wednesday question period in the House this year, I think they all want to be heard. That is the problem.Will the Leader of the Opposition allow some of his fellow members to ask questions of the Prime Minister? Apparently not.
Mr. Speaker, I was pleased to sit down for the fifth time with all premiers last week and to have frank discussions about how we can continue to work together. That is something Stephen Harper refused to do in the last years of his term because he did not want to talk to the provinces. Personally, I believe in collaboration and co-operation, and I want to point out that the work we are doing with the Province of Quebec is going very well.We have tremendous respect for its views and we will work with it to improve the lives of Quebeckers and all Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, I suggest you give them a little indulgence. They all want an opportunity to ask questions and make comments on this last day of Prime Minister's question period in the House of Commons.We are going to continue to stand up for Canadians and ensure that things move forward properly. That is something we committed to Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, this government understands how important it is to protect our environment while creating economic growth. That is why we put a price on pollution. Across the country we know that putting a price on pollution is the best way to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and ensure that families will be able to adapt to this change and prosper during this economic transformation period. We know that it is important to fight climate change for the future of our children and we will do so the right way.
Mr. Speaker, after 10 years of Stephen Harper's government, we stepped forward with a fresh plan to invest in Canadians, to invest in communities, and that plan is working, with over 800,000 new jobs over the past three years and the lowest unemployment rate in over 40 years. Canadians are more confident about the future and looking to their kids' future with optimism. We have a plan on climate change. We are taking action on building a stronger future. The Conservatives have only a failed plan to fall back on, because they are presenting no new ideas of their own.
Mr. Speaker, he can tell that to our men and women in the Canadian Armed Forces and to the Davie shipyard workers. When you look at the scope of the Prime Minister's failures, it is obvious that he has failed to treat the provinces as partners. Instead, like all good Liberals, he maintains a paternalistic and centralizing attitude.The new government in Quebec has identified a third link to the east as a priority for addressing urban mobility problems in the old capital.Can the Prime Minister finally commit to being a reliable partner on that project?
Mr. Speaker, again, we can see that the Conservatives do not want to address the question of what their alternative is and how they are going to fight climate change. We have been very clear. We are going to put a price on pollution. We are accelerating the phase-out of traditional coal power. We are making historic investments in cleaner infrastructure. We are adopting regulations to cut methane emissions. We are moving forward in a way that is going to support families and protect them for the future. The Conservatives have no plan at all. That is unacceptable.
Mr. Speaker, I want to take a moment once again to thank all the Canadians from across the country, including of different ideologies, including some Conservatives, who worked hard to negotiate the right deal for Canada. We can be assured that this is a deal that will continue to secure our access to our most important trading partner at a time of uncertainty and unpredictability from that trading partner. We got rid of the ratchet clause, which infringed upon our sovereignty by preventing our government from controlling access to our energy resources. We kept chapter 19, and the cultural exemption will apply to digital programs. We
Mr. Speaker, we are working to reduce emissions across the Canadian economy to create jobs and meet our international commitments. Our actions include pricing pollution right across the country, accelerating the phase-out of traditional coal power, making historic investments in cleaner infrastructure like public transit and charging stations for electric vehicles, adopting regulations to cut methane emissions from oil and gas by 40% to 45% by 2025 and more.As Canadians know, there is no more choice to be made. We are both protecting the environment and growing the middle class.
Mr. Speaker, I look forward to the opportunity to present our plan to Canadians next year in the federal election. I look forward to going against what seems to be the Harper Conservative platform once again. The Harper Conservatives cut $390 million
Mr. Speaker, we have made investments of over $1 billion to give the Canada Revenue Agency the resources needed to crack down on tax cheats.On the Panama papers specifically, the CRA has identified over 3,000 offshore entities with over 2,600 beneficial owners that have some link to Canada, of which the CRA has risk-assessed over 80%. I can confirm that there are several criminal investigations under way involving the Panama papers. As my colleague knows, these investigations can be complex and take time to complete.
Mr. Speaker, our government maintains a safe, effective and reliable rail transportation system for Canadian passengers.Today's investment will give millions of passengers access to new trains with a smaller environmental footprint that offer more space for people with reduced mobility and are equipped with the latest technology. Unlike the previous government, we got the best possible contract to provide Canadians with modern, more accessible, high-quality trains.
Mr. Speaker, our government maintains a safe, effective and reliable rail transportation system for Canadian passengers. Today's investment will give millions of passengers access to new trains with a smaller environmental footprint that offer more space for people with reduced mobility and are equipped with the latest technology.Unlike the previous government, we got the best possible contract to provide Canadians with modern, more accessible, high-quality trains.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the member opposite's kind words and wish him and his family, indeed all members in this House, a happy and safe and merry Christmas and happy holidays. We know that this is a time of year when we are a long way from our families. We still have a couple of more days, at least, of work to do in this House, so we know that the days grow shorter but the time seems to grow longer.We put forward a fiscally responsible plan that is growing the economy the way Canadians expect us to. We will keep working on creating jobs and growing the economy for all Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, from the beginning of the NAFTA negotiations, our number one goal was always to get a good deal for Canada, and that is exactly what we did.This deal will protect more than $2 billion a day in cross-border trade, allow tariff-free access for more than 70% of Canadian exports and improve opportunities for Canadians.This agreement makes the rules fairer for the automotive industry, preserves the binational dispute settlement mechanism and protects supply management. While the Conservatives wanted to take Stephen Harper's advice and sign any
Mr. Speaker, we are ensuring that our immigration system remains fair and compassionate, all the while ensuring the integrity of our border and the security of our communities. We will continue to ensure that Canadian law is applied and that our international obligations are respected. I will also highlight, in this, the last opportunity for PMQs in the House, it is a pleasure to be taking questions from everyone, not just the Leader of the Opposition.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to set the record straight. We have made investments of over $1 billion to give the Canada Revenue Agency the resources needed to crack down on tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance.On the Panama papers specifically, the CRA has identified over 3,000 offshore entities with over 2,600 beneficial owners that have some link to Canada, of which the CRA has risk assessed over 80%. I can confirm that there are several criminal investigations under way regarding the Panama papers which, as my colleague knows, can be complex and require months or years to complete.
Mr. Speaker, In 2016, our government reached a historic agreement with the provinces and territories to expand the Canada pension plan to protect income security for pensioners. That CPP expansion is supposed to begin this year, but the Conservative Party opposes that expansion, which will allow greater security for pensioners. Will the Prime Minister assure the House, despite the opposition from the Conservatives, that the CPP will be expanded as intended?
Mr. Speaker, we were extremely concerned with the decision by Greyhound to suspend bus service across parts of the northwest. That is why we have been working with local communities and other providers to ensure that there are alternatives in place. We have created programs and are partnering with and allowing indigenous communities to step up. We recognize the situation is difficult on top of an already difficult situation. That is why we are working in partnership with indigenous communities to solve this problem. I thank the member opposite for her question and for her work on this file.
Mr. Speaker, the member opposite wants to talk about the facts. The Conservatives, under Stephen Harper, had the lowest growth rate in Canadian history since the depths of the Great Depression. They added $150 billion to our national debt with stubbornly low growth to show for it. We made a different choice and Canadians supported us in investing in communities, in investing in the middle class instead of giving boutique tax credits to the wealthiest Canadians. We focused on growing the economy for everyone
Mr. Speaker, we have made record investments in infrastructure over the past three years, proving that we are here to be a reliable partner. I can say, however, that the project the member opposite referred to does not yet exist; it is still in the idea phase.If he submits a plan, we will look at it. That is what we are here for. No one should be inventing projects for political rhetoric.Our decisions will be based on the facts, on real projects submitted to us. We are not there yet with regard to the third link. When that happens, we will work with the stakeholders.
Mr. Speaker, we have known for a long time, listening to the energy sector, that its number one priority is getting oil resources to markets other than the United States. It has asked for that for a long time. Stephen Harper and his Conservatives worked very hard to get that done, and they did not get it done for 10 years. We are moving forward in a significant way, in the right way, understanding that working with environmental groups, respecting community interests and partnering with indigenous peoples is the only way to get things done right.
Mr. Speaker, before I ask my question, I want to take this opportunity, in the last question period on a Wednesday for Prime Minister's questions, to wish the Prime Minister the very best, on a personal basis, for him and his family. I hope all parliamentarians and all party members enjoy some time with their friends and families and connect with their constituents. In the spirit of giving, I have given the Prime Minister 23 opportunities to answer simple and straightforward questions. I have one more gift for the Prime Minister. I am going to give him one final chance to tell Canadians in what year the budget will be balanced.
Mr. Speaker, we are working with the United States and our provincial partners to ensure that our immigration system remains strong and reliable.We know that irregular arrivals, asylum seekers, present a challenge to the system, but in the meantime we can assure Canadians that in terms of security, all the checks are made and we are applying our immigration system in its entirety. We understand this is a complex situation, but we are working with the provinces and our partners.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for West Nova for his work as a member of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans and for the excellent work he is doing for his riding.Our $325-million investment in the Atlantic fisheries fund will support many different projects throughout the region. We have also announced the $100-million British Columbia salmon restoration and innovation fund. In Quebec, we are investing $30 million to support the province's fish and seafood sector. We are supporting our coastal regions.
Mr. Speaker, it is wonderful to be able to look into this space and see every seat filled. I know there may be a few people here for the first time, but let me tell members that the Conservative benches
Mr. Speaker, it is not about meeting with the provinces; it is about respecting them.On the other side of the river in Lévis, Davie shipyard workers delivered the Asterix supply ship on time and on budget.Our brave men and women in uniform need another supply ship, the Obelix, and the Davie shipyard is prepared to start work on it tomorrow morning.The Prime Minister needs to stop playing political games and give Davie that contract before Christmas.What is he waiting for to do that?
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. There have been discussions among the parties and an email sent to all members of Parliament with respect to this motion. If you seek it, I believe you will find unanimous consent for this motion. I move that the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology be instructed to undertake a study of no less than four meetings to investigate the impact of the announced closure of the General Motors automotive assembly plant in Oshawa, and that the study (1) include impacted stakeholders, such as the union Unifor, to solicit input towards devising a plan to address issues that may have contributed to this announcement; (2) provide an opportunity for the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development to appear to address concerns about competitiveness raised by General Motors and any other issues the minister deems instructive toward developing a plan; and that the committee report its findings to the House of Commons no later than March 11, 2019.
Mr. Speaker, the commitment we made in 2015 was to create economic growth, which would benefit the middle class and all those working hard to join it. That is exactly what we did by cutting taxes for the middle class and increasing taxes for the wealthiest 1%. We introduced the Canada child benefit, which helped nine in 10 families and lifted 300,000 children out of poverty across the country.We know that there is still much work to be done on infrastructure investment, fighting poverty and investing in youth and our seniors. We will continue
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order.I rise today in the Christmas spirit, and also in a spirit of great nonpartisanship, to table, with unanimous consent, a copy of the Liberal platform, which promises a balanced budget in 2019.
Most negative speeches
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's worst failure, in this year of failures, is his promise to balance the budget.This promise was really cast in stone, but the Parliamentary Budget Officer tabled a report indicating that next year's deficit will be $28 billion.Why did the Prime Minister mislead Canadians about balancing the budget?
Mr. Speaker, Luisa Montoya and her family arrived in Canada in 2012, fleeing violence and extortion in Colombia. As a legacy case, they have been in limbo for six years. Luisa is married to a Canadian and their son Thomas was born in Canada. The family of seven is fully integrated and thriving. Violence in Colombia has displaced millions and the Canadian government has issued an alert to avoid travel there. However, this family is being deported on Christmas eve. This is a cruel way for the minister to meet his quota of deporting 10,000 asylum seekers.Will the Prime Minister direct his minister to intervene
Mr. Speaker, that answer let the nation and a family down.Canadians are subjected to unfair Internet data overcharges, restrictions when switching Internet providers and misleading aggressive telecom practices. The CRTC says it wants to establish a consumer Internet code of conduct, but has failed to provide sufficient time for consumer groups and the public. The result is a boycotted and broken system. Consumer groups have been clear. They want an extension so they can participate. Why is the Prime Minister allowing the CRTC to make up a toothless code of conduct for consumers in Canada?
Mr. Speaker, this is what happens when a Prime Minister does not like the questions and has to answer for his failed record on carbon taxes, deficits, and signing away concession after concession to Donald Trump without anything in return. Then, he asks for someone else to ask him questions. Do not worry. The Prime Minister need not worry for too long, because come 2019, Canadians will send someone into his chair who is not afraid of the tough questions, and actually
Mr. Speaker, we have made investments of over $1 billion to give the Canada Revenue Agency the resources needed to crack down on tax cheats.On the Panama papers specifically, the CRA has identified over 3,000 offshore entities with over 2,600 beneficial owners that have some link to Canada, of which the CRA has risk-assessed over 80%. I can confirm that there are several criminal investigations under way involving the Panama papers. As my colleague knows, these investigations can be complex and take time to complete.
Mr. Speaker, the member opposite just got censured by the Ethics Commissioner for having told one of his members to break the ethics rules. We will take no lessons on ethics from them or from the legacy of 10 years of the kinds of practices that were all too common under the Harper Conservatives.
Mr. Speaker, the crowning touch to the Prime Minister's year of failure has to be his disastrous NAFTA deal, which contains a long list of concessions in areas like the automotive sector, prescription drugs and dairy products.The deal is so bad that Donald Trump's top economic adviser said Canada gave very graciously.Why did the Prime Minister fail to secure the removal of the steel and aluminum tariffs during the NAFTA negotiations?
Mr. Speaker, we were extremely concerned with the decision by Greyhound to suspend bus service across parts of the northwest. That is why we have been working with local communities and other providers to ensure that there are alternatives in place. We have created programs and are partnering with and allowing indigenous communities to step up. We recognize the situation is difficult on top of an already difficult situation. That is why we are working in partnership with indigenous communities to solve this problem. I thank the member opposite for her question and for her work on this file.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to set the record straight. We have made investments of over $1 billion to give the Canada Revenue Agency the resources needed to crack down on tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance.On the Panama papers specifically, the CRA has identified over 3,000 offshore entities with over 2,600 beneficial owners that have some link to Canada, of which the CRA has risk assessed over 80%. I can confirm that there are several criminal investigations under way regarding the Panama papers which, as my colleague knows, can be complex and require months or years to complete.
Mr. Speaker, what the Conservatives did not understand and what they obviously fail to understand is we cannot grow the Canadian economy through cuts to services, through cuts to Canadians. We need to invest in Canadians. We need to invest in the middle class and those working hard to join it. We need to invest in infrastructure in their communities. We need to invest in science and research. We need to invest in our young people. That is exactly what we have done and that is how we have created 800,000 new jobs over the past years and have the lowest unemployment in
Mr. Speaker, what the Prime Minister is trying to do is distract from his terrible record by saying things that just are not true. The Conservative government protected Canada's economy through the worst global recession since the 1920s. We did it while cutting taxes and bringing Canada back to balance. What he has done is racked up massive amounts of new debt. He inherited a great fortune, a perfect situation for the Canadian economy, a balanced budget and a booming global economy. He has squandered that and blown through the savings. When will the budget be balanced?
Mr. Speaker, when the Conservatives talk about scrapping Bill C-69, which is focused on giving tighter timelines, a single project single evaluation and responds to the concerns of industry, they actually mean let us go back to CEAA 2012 that Harper put forward. That was an absolute failure for industry. There was a failure in getting anything built. It would be a disaster for the oil and gas industry and for industries right across the country. We will not do that.
Mr. Speaker, Canada has an immigration system that is based on rules and principles, and we follow those rules. Canadians are among the few people on this planet who are, as a whole, generally positively inclined towards immigration, because they know that our system works. Our system is based on rules, procedures and processes. We know that sometimes the decisions can be difficult. We will, of course, take a look at all files on compassionate grounds, but we will continue to apply our immigration system based on the rules and the facts of the cases.
Mr. Speaker, I suggest you give them a little indulgence. They all want an opportunity to ask questions and make comments on this last day of Prime Minister's question period in the House of Commons.We are going to continue to stand up for Canadians and ensure that things move forward properly. That is something we committed to Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, I am convinced that the Prime Minister had to google what the ratchet clause was.Every single thing the current Prime Minister points to as a victory was something that a previous Conservative government already got for Canadians. He had one bargaining chip left. He told Donald Trump that if he did not get rid of the tariffs, there would be no photo op. Donald called his bluff. He knew that the Prime Minister could not resist another photo being taken, and there he was, signing along with the rest of the leaders. In exchange for taking his picture with Donald Trump, did he get an end to the steel and aluminum tariffs?
Mr. Speaker, what the Prime Minister is trying to do is double down on a failed plan of higher taxes and massive deficits, threatening Canadians as we head into difficult economic headwinds. In fact, the IMF said today that there are significant risks that it is worried Canada is not prepared for. However, it is not a surprise that the Prime Minister is not worried. He has never had to worry about money, so he does not worry about what happens to Canadians when he blows through their savings.When will the Prime Minister understand that the federal budget is not a trust fund at his disposal?
Mr. Speaker, the commitment we made in 2015 was to create economic growth, which would benefit the middle class and all those working hard to join it. That is exactly what we did by cutting taxes for the middle class and increasing taxes for the wealthiest 1%. We introduced the Canada child benefit, which helped nine in 10 families and lifted 300,000 children out of poverty across the country.We know that there is still much work to be done on infrastructure investment, fighting poverty and investing in youth and our seniors. We will continue
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister should be ashamed of himself for saying that.With the closure of STC in Saskatchewan, people with disabilities in northern Saskatchewan are being left in the dark by the Liberals. People like Gary Tinker from Pinehouse, Saskatchewan are forced to hitchhike across the province to get to appointments, to see their families or just to live a normal life.People with disabilities cannot wait until after the election. What are the Liberals waiting for to help northerners like Gary and to restore the bus service?
Mr. Speaker, another massive failure for the Liberal government under this Prime Minister has been the ethics file. This is the only Prime Minister in Canadian history to have been found guilty of breaking ethics laws, and several other members of his team have followed suit.The finance minister conveniently forgot about a villa in France, and other ministers have been found guilty of breaking rules. Now there is a massive investigation, with a big cloud of suspicion around a former Liberal MP and a Liberal cabinet minister.Can the Prime Minister tell us exactly how many more Liberals are currently being investigated by the RCMP or by other investigators?
Mr. Speaker, what the Prime Minister is trying to do is convince Canadians that his reckless actions have not had an impact on the energy sector. However, here is the reality. Under the Conservative government, four major pipeline projects were built by private sector dollars, increasing our capacity to ship our energy to markets by over a million barrels a day. Three pipeline projects were on the books when he took over. Two are completely dead and one is on a lifeline, with no plan to move it forward. Therefore, will the Prime Minister do the right thing and scrap his no more pipeline bill?
Mr. Speaker, after being elected, the new Quebec government made several decisions in different areas. It received a clear mandate from the people to do so.What is the Prime Minister's usual response on every issue? He criticizes the provincial decisions and tries to lecture Quebec.When will the Prime Minister understand that there are separate jurisdictions in Canada and that Quebec is entitled to deal with the matters under its responsibility without constantly being criticized by this centralist Prime Minister?
Mr. Speaker, we have made record investments in infrastructure over the past three years, proving that we are here to be a reliable partner. I can say, however, that the project the member opposite referred to does not yet exist; it is still in the idea phase.If he submits a plan, we will look at it. That is what we are here for. No one should be inventing projects for political rhetoric.Our decisions will be based on the facts, on real projects submitted to us. We are not there yet with regard to the third link. When that happens, we will work with the stakeholders.
Mr. Speaker, I look forward to the opportunity to present our plan to Canadians next year in the federal election. I look forward to going against what seems to be the Harper Conservative platform once again. The Harper Conservatives cut $390 million
Mr. Speaker, and so it is. VIA Rail would rather sign a $1.3-billion agreement with a German multinational than with a Quebec company, to purchase trains that will be used in Quebec. What a lump of coal.Workers in La Pocatière are being laid off, and they are popping champagne corks in Sacramento, where the cars are manufactured. How can the Prime Minister justify abandoning workers in La Pocatière and allowing VIA Rail to choose Siemens?
Mr. Speaker, we are working to reduce emissions across the Canadian economy to create jobs and meet our international commitments. Our actions include pricing pollution right across the country, accelerating the phase-out of traditional coal power, making historic investments in cleaner infrastructure like public transit and charging stations for electric vehicles, adopting regulations to cut methane emissions from oil and gas by 40% to 45% by 2025 and more.As Canadians know, there is no more choice to be made. We are both protecting the environment and growing the middle class.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are growing increasingly fearful of reports that impacts of climate change are worsening even beyond what scientists predicted. Pressure is mounting for this government to institute measures to make them more transparent and accountable for their decisions on climate action. The United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Finland have long ago instituted effective measures to make this happen. Merely appointing yet another hand-picked advisory body just does not cut it.Will the Prime Minister support my Motion No. 204 to legally enact binding greenhouse gas targets, a duty to act, and measures to ensure improved accountability and transparency for federal action on climate change?
Mr. Speaker, unlike the Conservatives, we believe that emissions need to go down and that we need to continue creating good middle-class jobs for Canadians. What the Conservatives are saying is actually factually wrong. We have set a target for industry to reduce pollution. If companies fail to meet that target, they pay the price. If they do better, for example through innovation, they are rewarded. Our plan will also give money directly to households where the federal backstop applies. The only mystery here is why the Conservatives refuse to have a plan themselves.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians had a choice, and Canadians voted for a balanced budget. That was the promise the Prime Minister ran on. Now we find out that his temporary and tiny deficits are now massive and permanent. They are not $10 billion. They are not $15 billion. They are not $20 billion. They are not $25 billion. The Parliamentary Budget Officer said they could grow to as high as $30 billion. Deficits today mean higher taxes tomorrow. Will the Prime Minister tell Canadians in what year the budget will be balanced?
Mr. Speaker, funny, that is not stopping other countries from completing investigations and getting results. I would remind the Prime Minister that the Auditor General does not know where the money spent by the CRA went. The CRA has no trouble going after Canadians who are not rich and bullying them, but it treats tax evaders with kid gloves. The Canada Revenue Agency has been investigating for over two years now, but it still has not dealt with the 3,000 files of people involved in the Panama papers. However, it has ample time to pore over the files of 332,000 Canadians who receive benefits. With answers like the one we just heard, it is clear that the Liberals are protecting the status quo.Why the double standard? Why go after the least wealthy Canadians and leave the richest alone?
Mr. Speaker, two years after the Panama papers scandal, governments around the world have recouped over $700 million in fines and back taxes as a result of investigations, but Canada has recouped zero. Just as an example, since 2016, the Australian Taxation Office has recouped more than $48 million, but Canada has recouped zero.Canadians who are not rich are presumed guilty until they can prove their innocence, and the CRA goes after them with all guns blazing. However, Canadians who are wealthy are innocent until proven guilty, and they are treated with kid gloves.I ask the Prime Minister, why is there this double standard?
Mr. Speaker, again, we can see that the Conservatives do not want to address the question of what their alternative is and how they are going to fight climate change. We have been very clear. We are going to put a price on pollution. We are accelerating the phase-out of traditional coal power. We are making historic investments in cleaner infrastructure. We are adopting regulations to cut methane emissions. We are moving forward in a way that is going to support families and protect them for the future. The Conservatives have no plan at all. That is unacceptable.
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals say they are working for the middle class, but they side with big corporations every time. They forced Canada Post employees back to work. They gave our money to Bombardier with no strings attached. When Lowe's bought Rona, the government demanded no guarantees. To top it off, there is no local content requirement in the fleet renewal contract VIA Rail awarded to Siemens.Why are they turning their backs on middle-class workers?
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. There have been discussions among the parties and an email sent to all members of Parliament with respect to this motion. If you seek it, I believe you will find unanimous consent for this motion. I move that the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology be instructed to undertake a study of no less than four meetings to investigate the impact of the announced closure of the General Motors automotive assembly plant in Oshawa, and that the study (1) include impacted stakeholders, such as the union Unifor, to solicit input towards devising a plan to address issues that may have contributed to this announcement; (2) provide an opportunity for the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development to appear to address concerns about competitiveness raised by General Motors and any other issues the minister deems instructive toward developing a plan; and that the committee report its findings to the House of Commons no later than March 11, 2019.
Mr. Speaker, it is the government's plan that makes emissions free for the largest emitters. The Conservatives are ideologically opposed to a tax that raises the cost of living for Canadians. That will be the choice in the next election. The Prime Minister has failed in so many areas, but there is one file in which he is succeeding. He went around the world and bragged about his plan to phase out Canada's energy sector. Sad to say, it is working. He has chased out new pipeline proponents. He is bringing in a bill that will ensure no future pipeline gets built. Will the Prime Minister do the right thing and scrap Bill C-69?
Mr. Speaker, we have known for a long time, listening to the energy sector, that its number one priority is getting oil resources to markets other than the United States. It has asked for that for a long time. Stephen Harper and his Conservatives worked very hard to get that done, and they did not get it done for 10 years. We are moving forward in a significant way, in the right way, understanding that working with environmental groups, respecting community interests and partnering with indigenous peoples is the only way to get things done right.
Mr. Speaker, it is the Liberal government that does not have a plan to reduce emissions in Canada. All the Liberals' plan is, is for a tax grab. The reason we know it will not reduce emissions is that they have given a massive exemption to the largest emitters in Canada. The full cost of the carbon tax will fall to hard-working Canadian families, commuters, soccer moms and small businesses. Worse yet, we know now that the carbon tax will be higher in the future.Will the Prime Minister tell us what is the full and final price for the Liberal carbon tax?
Mr. Speaker, we are working with the United States and our provincial partners to ensure that our immigration system remains strong and reliable.We know that irregular arrivals, asylum seekers, present a challenge to the system, but in the meantime we can assure Canadians that in terms of security, all the checks are made and we are applying our immigration system in its entirety. We understand this is a complex situation, but we are working with the provinces and our partners.
Mr. Speaker, one of the first things we discovered when we came to office in 2015 was that the Conservatives' phony balancing of the budget actually hurt Canadians. It hurt our veterans. It hurt our public service. It cut Canadian border services and police services. The Conservatives cut services that Canadians needed right across the country in order to present a phony balanced budget just in time for the election. We made a different choice: to invest in Canadians. What has that delivered? It has delivered the lowest unemployment rate in 40 years and 800,000 new jobs in the past three years.
Mr. Speaker, he can tell that to our men and women in the Canadian Armed Forces and to the Davie shipyard workers. When you look at the scope of the Prime Minister's failures, it is obvious that he has failed to treat the provinces as partners. Instead, like all good Liberals, he maintains a paternalistic and centralizing attitude.The new government in Quebec has identified a third link to the east as a priority for addressing urban mobility problems in the old capital.Can the Prime Minister finally commit to being a reliable partner on that project?
Mr. Speaker, this is very interesting. What we see from the Conservatives is a doubling down on Stephen Harper's economic plan, the plan that Canadians soundly rejected in 2015, giving tax breaks to the wealthiest, cutting things like veterans services, health care for refugees and eliminating the long-form census. These are the things the Harper government did that the Conservatives are once again running on.The Conservatives have no real plan for the economy. We have created 800,000 new jobs and have the
Mr. Speaker, the Conservative Party is usually a lot quieter than this, and usually a lot more respectful. However, on this, the very last Wednesday question period in the House this year, I think they all want to be heard. That is the problem.Will the Leader of the Opposition allow some of his fellow members to ask questions of the Prime Minister? Apparently not.
Mr. Speaker, our Prime Minister grew up in British Columbia and knows the southern resident killer whale is iconic to the people of our province. Sadly, these marine mammals face significant threats to their survival. For 10 years, the Harper government failed to take any measures to protect the environment that would actually sustain B.C.'s orcas.Our government has a plan. Could the Prime Minister update British Columbians on our most recent initiative to save this precious species?
Mr. Speaker, after 10 years of Stephen Harper's government, we stepped forward with a fresh plan to invest in Canadians, to invest in communities, and that plan is working, with over 800,000 new jobs over the past three years and the lowest unemployment rate in over 40 years. Canadians are more confident about the future and looking to their kids' future with optimism. We have a plan on climate change. We are taking action on building a stronger future. The Conservatives have only a failed plan to fall back on, because they are presenting no new ideas of their own.
Mr. Speaker, we have put forward a strong and robust plan to address climate change and to support Canadians through this transition. We have a plan and it is perfectly okay, obviously, for people to ask questions, to criticize or to suggest improvements. What is not correct is to not recognize that the Conservatives have no plan to fight climate change. They have no idea how to fight climate change, prepare our economy for the future and to create the jobs of the future. They do not see it as a priority. That is where they are wrong. Canadians know from wildfires to floods to droughts right across the country that we need to act on climate change and the Conservatives are not.
Mr. Speaker, we know that we have made strong strides forward in the fight against HIV-AIDS, but we know that there is much more to do. That is why Health Canada is working with our provincial partners to ensure that there are even more ways for Canadians to stay safe and more ways for Canadians to counter this terrible epidemic that we know continues, despite all the efforts we and others are putting forward to counter it. We understand, as always, that there is more to do, and we look forward to working with the member opposite and all members in this House to continue to address this terrible challenge.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has often boasted about inheriting a great family fortune. He has never had to worry about the cost of living, so it is no wonder that he does not worry when his policies drive up the cost for Canadians. His tax on gas, on home heating and on groceries will hurt seniors, suburban moms and small businesses. Worse, government documents now show that by the year 2022, the carbon tax will have to be six times higher than the Liberals now admit, driving up gas prices another whopping 70¢ a litre and home heating by another $1,000 a year. What is the full and final price of the Liberal carbon tax?
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for Vancouver Centre for her hard work and her extraordinary service to our country. We recognize that a strong economy and a clean environment go hand in hand and that we must grow our economy responsibly. Canadians and marine mammals have waited long enough during the 10 long years of Harper Conservatives' inaction. That is why in budget 2018, we announced concrete action to fix this problem. We will now have the needed and enforceable tools to address immediate and long-term threats to the marine environment, including marine mammals and the southern resident killer whale.
Mr. Speaker, I have good news for the Prime Minister. After the 2019 election, he will not have to answer the questions he does not like in the House.Here is what he does have to answer for. The Prime Minister has to answer for the fact that he has done absolutely nothing to stop the illegal border crossings into our country. He can try to hide the truth and say things that are not true. He knows it was the Conservative government that added 26% worth of Canada Border Services agents at our borders. It is the Conservatives who are proposing real solutions to solve this problem.When will the Prime Minister do something about it?
Mr. Speaker, I was pleased to sit down for the fifth time with all premiers last week and to have frank discussions about how we can continue to work together. That is something Stephen Harper refused to do in the last years of his term because he did not want to talk to the provinces. Personally, I believe in collaboration and co-operation, and I want to point out that the work we are doing with the Province of Quebec is going very well.We have tremendous respect for its views and we will work with it to improve the lives of Quebeckers and all Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Budget Officer pegs the cost of the Prime Minister's failure at the border at more than $1 billion. The affected provinces are sending the bill to the Prime Minister.When will the Prime Minister understand that the only way to stop paying billion dollar bills is to close the loophole in the safe third country agreement?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have granted a huge exemption. That is from their own documents. When a companies go over that target, they do not pay a tax. They can purchase offsets. The Liberals have come up with a scheme that allows the country's largest emitters to avoid paying the carbon tax. However, that special deal is not available to hard-working Canadian families, commuters, suburban moms or small and medium-size businesses that have to pay the full brunt. We know what the costs are going to be today. What will the full and final costs be for the carbon tax in the future?
Mr. Speaker, the member opposite wants to talk about the facts. The Conservatives, under Stephen Harper, had the lowest growth rate in Canadian history since the depths of the Great Depression. They added $150 billion to our national debt with stubbornly low growth to show for it. We made a different choice and Canadians supported us in investing in communities, in investing in the middle class instead of giving boutique tax credits to the wealthiest Canadians. We focused on growing the economy for everyone
Mr. Speaker, I want to take a moment once again to thank all the Canadians from across the country, including of different ideologies, including some Conservatives, who worked hard to negotiate the right deal for Canada. We can be assured that this is a deal that will continue to secure our access to our most important trading partner at a time of uncertainty and unpredictability from that trading partner. We got rid of the ratchet clause, which infringed upon our sovereignty by preventing our government from controlling access to our energy resources. We kept chapter 19, and the cultural exemption will apply to digital programs. We
Mr. Speaker, the number of Canadians being infected with HIV is once again rising rapidly among young gay men and has reached epidemic proportions in indigenous communities, yet the Liberals have cut funding to many front-line HIV agencies and have failed to increase access to testing, when we know that knowing one's status is the key to reducing new infections.Will the Liberal government move quickly to approve home testing kits for sale in pharmacies to help reach all men who have sex with men, and will it work with the provinces to ensure that testing is widely available without needing to see a doctor first?
Mr. Speaker, in 2015, the Liberals masqueraded as progressives, trying to convince labour they cared. While GM has decided to close its plant in Oshawa, the Liberals are nowhere to be seen in the fight to keep these jobs in Canada. When postal workers were fighting for better working conditions, the Liberals, like the Conservatives before them, legislated them back to work. The Liberals did nothing to remove Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs, which are costing jobs. The year 2018 has been defined by the Liberals betraying Canadian workers. Why will the Liberals not admit what Canadians see clearly; that the government has never had their backs?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister needs to stop saying falsehoods about our record and start telling the truth about his record. It was the Conservatives who left a balanced budget. How do we know it was balanced? The finance department said it was. His own minister's department told Canadians that the budget was balanced. We did that while lowering taxes and protecting core services for Canadians. However, his reckless deficits are putting social services under great pressure. In less than five years, more tax dollars will go to the interest on the debt than are currently being spent on health care. When will the budget be balanced?
Mr. Speaker, it is not about meeting with the provinces; it is about respecting them.On the other side of the river in Lévis, Davie shipyard workers delivered the Asterix supply ship on time and on budget.Our brave men and women in uniform need another supply ship, the Obelix, and the Davie shipyard is prepared to start work on it tomorrow morning.The Prime Minister needs to stop playing political games and give Davie that contract before Christmas.What is he waiting for to do that?
Mr. Speaker, he claims that Canada's immigration system should be compassionate and fair. There is nothing fair about crossing through an illegal border crossing from a safe part of upstate New York into Canada, jumping the queue, skipping the line and forcing others to wait longer, because more and more resources have to go to those coming into Canada illegally. This is the legacy that the Prime Minister caused with his irresponsible tweet. Literally, the Liberals have done nothing to stop the problem. Instead of just adding up the costs, will they finally do something to stop the crossings themselves?
Mr. Speaker, we are ensuring that our immigration system remains fair and compassionate, all the while ensuring the integrity of our border and the security of our communities. We will continue to ensure that Canadian law is applied and that our international obligations are respected. I will also highlight, in this, the last opportunity for PMQs in the House, it is a pleasure to be taking questions from everyone, not just the Leader of the Opposition.
Mr. Speaker, we are proud of the work we are doing with the CRTC to ensure that our digital programming and protection of our airwaves keep pace with the transformations of our economy. We recognize there is more and more need for data and for proper access to broadband. That is something we are continuing to invest in across the country and work with the CRTC on, although it is odd to see the NDP members complaining about this when they are the ones who want to impose extra taxes on Internet usage by Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, it is the Liberal government which has put a price of zero on the largest emitters in Canada. It has granted a huge exemption to large emitters that can afford to hire lobbyists to get a special deal. Hard-working Canadian families and commuters have to bear the full brunt of the Liberal carbon tax. Now we find out that the carbon tax will have to be even higher in the future.If the Prime Minister claims that he does not mind getting questions, will he answer this simple question: What is the full and final cost of his carbon tax?
Mr. Speaker, from the very beginning, this government has worked in partnership with organized labour in the country. Among the very first things we did was eliminate Bill C-525 and Bill C-377, the anti-union bills the Conservatives had put forward. We then continued to work with labour, ensuring we would get to the bargaining table between labour and employers. We have demonstrated the tripartite working model works very well. We know we are not always going to agree on everything with organized labour. However, we do know that basing everything on a respectful approach that values the contributions of labour and the strength of the middle class of the country is the way to do it.
Mr. Speaker, there are two reasons why the Conservatives are so worked up about our plan. First, they have no plan about which they can talk. Second, in provinces where the federal backstop applies, Canadian households will be receiving more from the climate action incentive than the cost of pricing pollution. This means that the ones who will pay are the companies who pollute the most. Conservatives, like Stephen Harper and Doug Ford, and the current leader, are so ideologically against any environmental protection. They want to take that money away from Canadians. While Conservatives want to make pollution free again, we are putting it
Mr. Speaker, In 2016, our government reached a historic agreement with the provinces and territories to expand the Canada pension plan to protect income security for pensioners. That CPP expansion is supposed to begin this year, but the Conservative Party opposes that expansion, which will allow greater security for pensioners. Will the Prime Minister assure the House, despite the opposition from the Conservatives, that the CPP will be expanded as intended?
Mr. Speaker, southwestern Nova Scotia depends on fishing, which is why I was so pleased last week when the Minister of Fisheries announced funding in excess of $18 million to be distributed through the Atlantic fisheries fund. The money will be invested in aquaculture, science, innovation, research and development.Can the Prime Minister tell us what measures our government has taken to support fisheries across Canada?
Mr. Speaker, I want to start by thanking the member for Malpeque for his hard work as chair of the finance committee, and his extraordinary service to this House and to Canada.We worked with the provinces and territories to reach a historic agreement that will help to ensure that Canadians get the secure and dignified retirement they deserve. The enhanced Canada pension plan will mean Canadians receive up to $7,000 more per year when they retire. This means that more Canadians will actually be able to retire at age 65. Despite the Conservative opposition, we are moving forward with the CPP expansion to make sure Canadians have a secure retirement.
Mr. Speaker, I cannot believe that the member opposite just asked me to stop playing political games on this issue, because he is the one playing petty politics. The Canadian Armed Forces conducted an analysis and found that the Obelix is not needed. For the member to suggest that we should buy it anyway is just cheap politics.We make decisions based on facts. We recognize that the Davie shipyard does good work, and we are working with Davie to give it more jobs, but we are not going to invent contracts for political reasons.
Mr. Speaker, before I ask my question, I want to take this opportunity, in the last question period on a Wednesday for Prime Minister's questions, to wish the Prime Minister the very best, on a personal basis, for him and his family. I hope all parliamentarians and all party members enjoy some time with their friends and families and connect with their constituents. In the spirit of giving, I have given the Prime Minister 23 opportunities to answer simple and straightforward questions. I have one more gift for the Prime Minister. I am going to give him one final chance to tell Canadians in what year the budget will be balanced.
Mr. Speaker, the crisis created by the Prime Minister will cost more than $1 billion, and now we learned this morning that residents living near Roxham Road are being offered compensation. This adds to the impact of this crisis, on top of the facilities in Lacolle becoming permanent and the provinces being stuck with the bills.The Prime Minister needs to stop making others pay for his failures.Will he finally resolve this crisis?
Mr. Speaker, we are taking action now. We recognize how unacceptable it is that some reserves in this country still do not have clean drinking water. That is why we have committed to ending all boil water advisories in the country by 2021, and we will. We have ended 73 long-term boil water advisories. We know we have a lot more work to do, and we are doing it. We will keep our promise.
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government has made all kinds of commitments to first nations and promised billions of dollars in infrastructure to improve their living conditions. However, many indigenous communities do not have access to safe drinking water and will not have access before 2021. That is unacceptable. Some communities have been boiling their water for 25 years now, and they are being asked to wait another three years.It is the government's responsibility, so will it take action now?
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the member opposite's kind words and wish him and his family, indeed all members in this House, a happy and safe and merry Christmas and happy holidays. We know that this is a time of year when we are a long way from our families. We still have a couple of more days, at least, of work to do in this House, so we know that the days grow shorter but the time seems to grow longer.We put forward a fiscally responsible plan that is growing the economy the way Canadians expect us to. We will keep working on creating jobs and growing the economy for all Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, our government maintains a safe, effective and reliable rail transportation system for Canadian passengers.Today's investment will give millions of passengers access to new trains with a smaller environmental footprint that offer more space for people with reduced mobility and are equipped with the latest technology. Unlike the previous government, we got the best possible contract to provide Canadians with modern, more accessible, high-quality trains.
Mr. Speaker, our government maintains a safe, effective and reliable rail transportation system for Canadian passengers. Today's investment will give millions of passengers access to new trains with a smaller environmental footprint that offer more space for people with reduced mobility and are equipped with the latest technology.Unlike the previous government, we got the best possible contract to provide Canadians with modern, more accessible, high-quality trains.
Mr. Speaker, we will make sure that our immigration system remains fair and compassionate while maintaining the integrity of our borders and keeping our communities safe.We are investing $173 million to make our borders more secure and to fast-track the asylum claim process. The Conservatives cut the agency's budget by $390 million, they cut health care for refugees, and now they want Canadians to violate international law. We will continue to enforce Canadian laws and respect our international commitments.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for West Nova for his work as a member of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans and for the excellent work he is doing for his riding.Our $325-million investment in the Atlantic fisheries fund will support many different projects throughout the region. We have also announced the $100-million British Columbia salmon restoration and innovation fund. In Quebec, we are investing $30 million to support the province's fish and seafood sector. We are supporting our coastal regions.
Mr. Speaker, this government understands how important it is to protect our environment while creating economic growth. That is why we put a price on pollution. Across the country we know that putting a price on pollution is the best way to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and ensure that families will be able to adapt to this change and prosper during this economic transformation period. We know that it is important to fight climate change for the future of our children and we will do so the right way.
Mr. Speaker, according to a report released on Monday at COP24, Canada ranks 54th out of 60 on the climate change performance index. My goodness that is shameful.Where is the leadership the Liberals promised?The time to act is now, not in 2050. Experts have recommended that the Liberals implement accountability and transparency mechanisms like the ones proposed by my colleague from Edmonton StrathconaWill they listen to the experts or will they keep listening to rich polluters?
Mr. Speaker, it is wonderful to be able to look into this space and see every seat filled. I know there may be a few people here for the first time, but let me tell members that the Conservative benches
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister did not say he would go to Washington to get a good deal. He said he would go to get a better deal. Let us look at the deal he got. He uses the word capitulate. It was the Liberals who capitulated on dairy, signing away market access and preventing our farmers from exporting. It was the Liberals who agreed to a cap on auto exports. They agreed to adopt Donald Trump's pharmaceutical regime, increasing costs for Canadian patients. After giving all of that away to Donald Trump, did the Prime Minister get any assurances on when steel and aluminum tariffs would finally be lifted?
Mr. Speaker, from the beginning of the NAFTA negotiations, our number one goal was always to get a good deal for Canada, and that is exactly what we did.This deal will protect more than $2 billion a day in cross-border trade, allow tariff-free access for more than 70% of Canadian exports and improve opportunities for Canadians.This agreement makes the rules fairer for the automotive industry, preserves the binational dispute settlement mechanism and protects supply management. While the Conservatives wanted to take Stephen Harper's advice and sign any
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order.I rise today in the Christmas spirit, and also in a spirit of great nonpartisanship, to table, with unanimous consent, a copy of the Liberal platform, which promises a balanced budget in 2019.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's worst failure, in this year of failures, is his promise to balance the budget.This promise was really cast in stone, but the Parliamentary Budget Officer tabled a report indicating that next year's deficit will be $28 billion.Why did the Prime Minister mislead Canadians about balancing the budget?
Mr. Speaker, Luisa Montoya and her family arrived in Canada in 2012, fleeing violence and extortion in Colombia. As a legacy case, they have been in limbo for six years. Luisa is married to a Canadian and their son Thomas was born in Canada. The family of seven is fully integrated and thriving. Violence in Colombia has displaced millions and the Canadian government has issued an alert to avoid travel there. However, this family is being deported on Christmas eve. This is a cruel way for the minister to meet his quota of deporting 10,000 asylum seekers.Will the Prime Minister direct his minister to intervene
Mr. Speaker, that answer let the nation and a family down.Canadians are subjected to unfair Internet data overcharges, restrictions when switching Internet providers and misleading aggressive telecom practices. The CRTC says it wants to establish a consumer Internet code of conduct, but has failed to provide sufficient time for consumer groups and the public. The result is a boycotted and broken system. Consumer groups have been clear. They want an extension so they can participate. Why is the Prime Minister allowing the CRTC to make up a toothless code of conduct for consumers in Canada?
Mr. Speaker, this is what happens when a Prime Minister does not like the questions and has to answer for his failed record on carbon taxes, deficits, and signing away concession after concession to Donald Trump without anything in return. Then, he asks for someone else to ask him questions. Do not worry. The Prime Minister need not worry for too long, because come 2019, Canadians will send someone into his chair who is not afraid of the tough questions, and actually
Mr. Speaker, we have made investments of over $1 billion to give the Canada Revenue Agency the resources needed to crack down on tax cheats.On the Panama papers specifically, the CRA has identified over 3,000 offshore entities with over 2,600 beneficial owners that have some link to Canada, of which the CRA has risk-assessed over 80%. I can confirm that there are several criminal investigations under way involving the Panama papers. As my colleague knows, these investigations can be complex and take time to complete.
Mr. Speaker, the member opposite just got censured by the Ethics Commissioner for having told one of his members to break the ethics rules. We will take no lessons on ethics from them or from the legacy of 10 years of the kinds of practices that were all too common under the Harper Conservatives.
Mr. Speaker, the crowning touch to the Prime Minister's year of failure has to be his disastrous NAFTA deal, which contains a long list of concessions in areas like the automotive sector, prescription drugs and dairy products.The deal is so bad that Donald Trump's top economic adviser said Canada gave very graciously.Why did the Prime Minister fail to secure the removal of the steel and aluminum tariffs during the NAFTA negotiations?
Mr. Speaker, we were extremely concerned with the decision by Greyhound to suspend bus service across parts of the northwest. That is why we have been working with local communities and other providers to ensure that there are alternatives in place. We have created programs and are partnering with and allowing indigenous communities to step up. We recognize the situation is difficult on top of an already difficult situation. That is why we are working in partnership with indigenous communities to solve this problem. I thank the member opposite for her question and for her work on this file.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to set the record straight. We have made investments of over $1 billion to give the Canada Revenue Agency the resources needed to crack down on tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance.On the Panama papers specifically, the CRA has identified over 3,000 offshore entities with over 2,600 beneficial owners that have some link to Canada, of which the CRA has risk assessed over 80%. I can confirm that there are several criminal investigations under way regarding the Panama papers which, as my colleague knows, can be complex and require months or years to complete.
Mr. Speaker, what the Conservatives did not understand and what they obviously fail to understand is we cannot grow the Canadian economy through cuts to services, through cuts to Canadians. We need to invest in Canadians. We need to invest in the middle class and those working hard to join it. We need to invest in infrastructure in their communities. We need to invest in science and research. We need to invest in our young people. That is exactly what we have done and that is how we have created 800,000 new jobs over the past years and have the lowest unemployment in
Mr. Speaker, what the Prime Minister is trying to do is distract from his terrible record by saying things that just are not true. The Conservative government protected Canada's economy through the worst global recession since the 1920s. We did it while cutting taxes and bringing Canada back to balance. What he has done is racked up massive amounts of new debt. He inherited a great fortune, a perfect situation for the Canadian economy, a balanced budget and a booming global economy. He has squandered that and blown through the savings. When will the budget be balanced?
Mr. Speaker, when the Conservatives talk about scrapping Bill C-69, which is focused on giving tighter timelines, a single project single evaluation and responds to the concerns of industry, they actually mean let us go back to CEAA 2012 that Harper put forward. That was an absolute failure for industry. There was a failure in getting anything built. It would be a disaster for the oil and gas industry and for industries right across the country. We will not do that.
Mr. Speaker, Canada has an immigration system that is based on rules and principles, and we follow those rules. Canadians are among the few people on this planet who are, as a whole, generally positively inclined towards immigration, because they know that our system works. Our system is based on rules, procedures and processes. We know that sometimes the decisions can be difficult. We will, of course, take a look at all files on compassionate grounds, but we will continue to apply our immigration system based on the rules and the facts of the cases.
Mr. Speaker, I suggest you give them a little indulgence. They all want an opportunity to ask questions and make comments on this last day of Prime Minister's question period in the House of Commons.We are going to continue to stand up for Canadians and ensure that things move forward properly. That is something we committed to Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, I am convinced that the Prime Minister had to google what the ratchet clause was.Every single thing the current Prime Minister points to as a victory was something that a previous Conservative government already got for Canadians. He had one bargaining chip left. He told Donald Trump that if he did not get rid of the tariffs, there would be no photo op. Donald called his bluff. He knew that the Prime Minister could not resist another photo being taken, and there he was, signing along with the rest of the leaders. In exchange for taking his picture with Donald Trump, did he get an end to the steel and aluminum tariffs?
Mr. Speaker, what the Prime Minister is trying to do is double down on a failed plan of higher taxes and massive deficits, threatening Canadians as we head into difficult economic headwinds. In fact, the IMF said today that there are significant risks that it is worried Canada is not prepared for. However, it is not a surprise that the Prime Minister is not worried. He has never had to worry about money, so he does not worry about what happens to Canadians when he blows through their savings.When will the Prime Minister understand that the federal budget is not a trust fund at his disposal?
Mr. Speaker, the commitment we made in 2015 was to create economic growth, which would benefit the middle class and all those working hard to join it. That is exactly what we did by cutting taxes for the middle class and increasing taxes for the wealthiest 1%. We introduced the Canada child benefit, which helped nine in 10 families and lifted 300,000 children out of poverty across the country.We know that there is still much work to be done on infrastructure investment, fighting poverty and investing in youth and our seniors. We will continue
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister should be ashamed of himself for saying that.With the closure of STC in Saskatchewan, people with disabilities in northern Saskatchewan are being left in the dark by the Liberals. People like Gary Tinker from Pinehouse, Saskatchewan are forced to hitchhike across the province to get to appointments, to see their families or just to live a normal life.People with disabilities cannot wait until after the election. What are the Liberals waiting for to help northerners like Gary and to restore the bus service?
Mr. Speaker, another massive failure for the Liberal government under this Prime Minister has been the ethics file. This is the only Prime Minister in Canadian history to have been found guilty of breaking ethics laws, and several other members of his team have followed suit.The finance minister conveniently forgot about a villa in France, and other ministers have been found guilty of breaking rules. Now there is a massive investigation, with a big cloud of suspicion around a former Liberal MP and a Liberal cabinet minister.Can the Prime Minister tell us exactly how many more Liberals are currently being investigated by the RCMP or by other investigators?
Mr. Speaker, what the Prime Minister is trying to do is convince Canadians that his reckless actions have not had an impact on the energy sector. However, here is the reality. Under the Conservative government, four major pipeline projects were built by private sector dollars, increasing our capacity to ship our energy to markets by over a million barrels a day. Three pipeline projects were on the books when he took over. Two are completely dead and one is on a lifeline, with no plan to move it forward. Therefore, will the Prime Minister do the right thing and scrap his no more pipeline bill?
Mr. Speaker, after being elected, the new Quebec government made several decisions in different areas. It received a clear mandate from the people to do so.What is the Prime Minister's usual response on every issue? He criticizes the provincial decisions and tries to lecture Quebec.When will the Prime Minister understand that there are separate jurisdictions in Canada and that Quebec is entitled to deal with the matters under its responsibility without constantly being criticized by this centralist Prime Minister?
Mr. Speaker, we have made record investments in infrastructure over the past three years, proving that we are here to be a reliable partner. I can say, however, that the project the member opposite referred to does not yet exist; it is still in the idea phase.If he submits a plan, we will look at it. That is what we are here for. No one should be inventing projects for political rhetoric.Our decisions will be based on the facts, on real projects submitted to us. We are not there yet with regard to the third link. When that happens, we will work with the stakeholders.
Mr. Speaker, I look forward to the opportunity to present our plan to Canadians next year in the federal election. I look forward to going against what seems to be the Harper Conservative platform once again. The Harper Conservatives cut $390 million
Mr. Speaker, and so it is. VIA Rail would rather sign a $1.3-billion agreement with a German multinational than with a Quebec company, to purchase trains that will be used in Quebec. What a lump of coal.Workers in La Pocatière are being laid off, and they are popping champagne corks in Sacramento, where the cars are manufactured. How can the Prime Minister justify abandoning workers in La Pocatière and allowing VIA Rail to choose Siemens?
Mr. Speaker, we are working to reduce emissions across the Canadian economy to create jobs and meet our international commitments. Our actions include pricing pollution right across the country, accelerating the phase-out of traditional coal power, making historic investments in cleaner infrastructure like public transit and charging stations for electric vehicles, adopting regulations to cut methane emissions from oil and gas by 40% to 45% by 2025 and more.As Canadians know, there is no more choice to be made. We are both protecting the environment and growing the middle class.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are growing increasingly fearful of reports that impacts of climate change are worsening even beyond what scientists predicted. Pressure is mounting for this government to institute measures to make them more transparent and accountable for their decisions on climate action. The United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Finland have long ago instituted effective measures to make this happen. Merely appointing yet another hand-picked advisory body just does not cut it.Will the Prime Minister support my Motion No. 204 to legally enact binding greenhouse gas targets, a duty to act, and measures to ensure improved accountability and transparency for federal action on climate change?
Mr. Speaker, unlike the Conservatives, we believe that emissions need to go down and that we need to continue creating good middle-class jobs for Canadians. What the Conservatives are saying is actually factually wrong. We have set a target for industry to reduce pollution. If companies fail to meet that target, they pay the price. If they do better, for example through innovation, they are rewarded. Our plan will also give money directly to households where the federal backstop applies. The only mystery here is why the Conservatives refuse to have a plan themselves.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians had a choice, and Canadians voted for a balanced budget. That was the promise the Prime Minister ran on. Now we find out that his temporary and tiny deficits are now massive and permanent. They are not $10 billion. They are not $15 billion. They are not $20 billion. They are not $25 billion. The Parliamentary Budget Officer said they could grow to as high as $30 billion. Deficits today mean higher taxes tomorrow. Will the Prime Minister tell Canadians in what year the budget will be balanced?
Mr. Speaker, funny, that is not stopping other countries from completing investigations and getting results. I would remind the Prime Minister that the Auditor General does not know where the money spent by the CRA went. The CRA has no trouble going after Canadians who are not rich and bullying them, but it treats tax evaders with kid gloves. The Canada Revenue Agency has been investigating for over two years now, but it still has not dealt with the 3,000 files of people involved in the Panama papers. However, it has ample time to pore over the files of 332,000 Canadians who receive benefits. With answers like the one we just heard, it is clear that the Liberals are protecting the status quo.Why the double standard? Why go after the least wealthy Canadians and leave the richest alone?
Mr. Speaker, two years after the Panama papers scandal, governments around the world have recouped over $700 million in fines and back taxes as a result of investigations, but Canada has recouped zero. Just as an example, since 2016, the Australian Taxation Office has recouped more than $48 million, but Canada has recouped zero.Canadians who are not rich are presumed guilty until they can prove their innocence, and the CRA goes after them with all guns blazing. However, Canadians who are wealthy are innocent until proven guilty, and they are treated with kid gloves.I ask the Prime Minister, why is there this double standard?
Mr. Speaker, again, we can see that the Conservatives do not want to address the question of what their alternative is and how they are going to fight climate change. We have been very clear. We are going to put a price on pollution. We are accelerating the phase-out of traditional coal power. We are making historic investments in cleaner infrastructure. We are adopting regulations to cut methane emissions. We are moving forward in a way that is going to support families and protect them for the future. The Conservatives have no plan at all. That is unacceptable.
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals say they are working for the middle class, but they side with big corporations every time. They forced Canada Post employees back to work. They gave our money to Bombardier with no strings attached. When Lowe's bought Rona, the government demanded no guarantees. To top it off, there is no local content requirement in the fleet renewal contract VIA Rail awarded to Siemens.Why are they turning their backs on middle-class workers?
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. There have been discussions among the parties and an email sent to all members of Parliament with respect to this motion. If you seek it, I believe you will find unanimous consent for this motion. I move that the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology be instructed to undertake a study of no less than four meetings to investigate the impact of the announced closure of the General Motors automotive assembly plant in Oshawa, and that the study (1) include impacted stakeholders, such as the union Unifor, to solicit input towards devising a plan to address issues that may have contributed to this announcement; (2) provide an opportunity for the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development to appear to address concerns about competitiveness raised by General Motors and any other issues the minister deems instructive toward developing a plan; and that the committee report its findings to the House of Commons no later than March 11, 2019.
Mr. Speaker, it is the government's plan that makes emissions free for the largest emitters. The Conservatives are ideologically opposed to a tax that raises the cost of living for Canadians. That will be the choice in the next election. The Prime Minister has failed in so many areas, but there is one file in which he is succeeding. He went around the world and bragged about his plan to phase out Canada's energy sector. Sad to say, it is working. He has chased out new pipeline proponents. He is bringing in a bill that will ensure no future pipeline gets built. Will the Prime Minister do the right thing and scrap Bill C-69?
Mr. Speaker, we have known for a long time, listening to the energy sector, that its number one priority is getting oil resources to markets other than the United States. It has asked for that for a long time. Stephen Harper and his Conservatives worked very hard to get that done, and they did not get it done for 10 years. We are moving forward in a significant way, in the right way, understanding that working with environmental groups, respecting community interests and partnering with indigenous peoples is the only way to get things done right.
Mr. Speaker, it is the Liberal government that does not have a plan to reduce emissions in Canada. All the Liberals' plan is, is for a tax grab. The reason we know it will not reduce emissions is that they have given a massive exemption to the largest emitters in Canada. The full cost of the carbon tax will fall to hard-working Canadian families, commuters, soccer moms and small businesses. Worse yet, we know now that the carbon tax will be higher in the future.Will the Prime Minister tell us what is the full and final price for the Liberal carbon tax?
Mr. Speaker, we are working with the United States and our provincial partners to ensure that our immigration system remains strong and reliable.We know that irregular arrivals, asylum seekers, present a challenge to the system, but in the meantime we can assure Canadians that in terms of security, all the checks are made and we are applying our immigration system in its entirety. We understand this is a complex situation, but we are working with the provinces and our partners.
Mr. Speaker, one of the first things we discovered when we came to office in 2015 was that the Conservatives' phony balancing of the budget actually hurt Canadians. It hurt our veterans. It hurt our public service. It cut Canadian border services and police services. The Conservatives cut services that Canadians needed right across the country in order to present a phony balanced budget just in time for the election. We made a different choice: to invest in Canadians. What has that delivered? It has delivered the lowest unemployment rate in 40 years and 800,000 new jobs in the past three years.
Mr. Speaker, he can tell that to our men and women in the Canadian Armed Forces and to the Davie shipyard workers. When you look at the scope of the Prime Minister's failures, it is obvious that he has failed to treat the provinces as partners. Instead, like all good Liberals, he maintains a paternalistic and centralizing attitude.The new government in Quebec has identified a third link to the east as a priority for addressing urban mobility problems in the old capital.Can the Prime Minister finally commit to being a reliable partner on that project?
Mr. Speaker, this is very interesting. What we see from the Conservatives is a doubling down on Stephen Harper's economic plan, the plan that Canadians soundly rejected in 2015, giving tax breaks to the wealthiest, cutting things like veterans services, health care for refugees and eliminating the long-form census. These are the things the Harper government did that the Conservatives are once again running on.The Conservatives have no real plan for the economy. We have created 800,000 new jobs and have the
Mr. Speaker, the Conservative Party is usually a lot quieter than this, and usually a lot more respectful. However, on this, the very last Wednesday question period in the House this year, I think they all want to be heard. That is the problem.Will the Leader of the Opposition allow some of his fellow members to ask questions of the Prime Minister? Apparently not.
Mr. Speaker, our Prime Minister grew up in British Columbia and knows the southern resident killer whale is iconic to the people of our province. Sadly, these marine mammals face significant threats to their survival. For 10 years, the Harper government failed to take any measures to protect the environment that would actually sustain B.C.'s orcas.Our government has a plan. Could the Prime Minister update British Columbians on our most recent initiative to save this precious species?
Mr. Speaker, after 10 years of Stephen Harper's government, we stepped forward with a fresh plan to invest in Canadians, to invest in communities, and that plan is working, with over 800,000 new jobs over the past three years and the lowest unemployment rate in over 40 years. Canadians are more confident about the future and looking to their kids' future with optimism. We have a plan on climate change. We are taking action on building a stronger future. The Conservatives have only a failed plan to fall back on, because they are presenting no new ideas of their own.
Mr. Speaker, we have put forward a strong and robust plan to address climate change and to support Canadians through this transition. We have a plan and it is perfectly okay, obviously, for people to ask questions, to criticize or to suggest improvements. What is not correct is to not recognize that the Conservatives have no plan to fight climate change. They have no idea how to fight climate change, prepare our economy for the future and to create the jobs of the future. They do not see it as a priority. That is where they are wrong. Canadians know from wildfires to floods to droughts right across the country that we need to act on climate change and the Conservatives are not.
Mr. Speaker, we know that we have made strong strides forward in the fight against HIV-AIDS, but we know that there is much more to do. That is why Health Canada is working with our provincial partners to ensure that there are even more ways for Canadians to stay safe and more ways for Canadians to counter this terrible epidemic that we know continues, despite all the efforts we and others are putting forward to counter it. We understand, as always, that there is more to do, and we look forward to working with the member opposite and all members in this House to continue to address this terrible challenge.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has often boasted about inheriting a great family fortune. He has never had to worry about the cost of living, so it is no wonder that he does not worry when his policies drive up the cost for Canadians. His tax on gas, on home heating and on groceries will hurt seniors, suburban moms and small businesses. Worse, government documents now show that by the year 2022, the carbon tax will have to be six times higher than the Liberals now admit, driving up gas prices another whopping 70¢ a litre and home heating by another $1,000 a year. What is the full and final price of the Liberal carbon tax?
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for Vancouver Centre for her hard work and her extraordinary service to our country. We recognize that a strong economy and a clean environment go hand in hand and that we must grow our economy responsibly. Canadians and marine mammals have waited long enough during the 10 long years of Harper Conservatives' inaction. That is why in budget 2018, we announced concrete action to fix this problem. We will now have the needed and enforceable tools to address immediate and long-term threats to the marine environment, including marine mammals and the southern resident killer whale.
Mr. Speaker, I have good news for the Prime Minister. After the 2019 election, he will not have to answer the questions he does not like in the House.Here is what he does have to answer for. The Prime Minister has to answer for the fact that he has done absolutely nothing to stop the illegal border crossings into our country. He can try to hide the truth and say things that are not true. He knows it was the Conservative government that added 26% worth of Canada Border Services agents at our borders. It is the Conservatives who are proposing real solutions to solve this problem.When will the Prime Minister do something about it?
Mr. Speaker, I was pleased to sit down for the fifth time with all premiers last week and to have frank discussions about how we can continue to work together. That is something Stephen Harper refused to do in the last years of his term because he did not want to talk to the provinces. Personally, I believe in collaboration and co-operation, and I want to point out that the work we are doing with the Province of Quebec is going very well.We have tremendous respect for its views and we will work with it to improve the lives of Quebeckers and all Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Budget Officer pegs the cost of the Prime Minister's failure at the border at more than $1 billion. The affected provinces are sending the bill to the Prime Minister.When will the Prime Minister understand that the only way to stop paying billion dollar bills is to close the loophole in the safe third country agreement?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have granted a huge exemption. That is from their own documents. When a companies go over that target, they do not pay a tax. They can purchase offsets. The Liberals have come up with a scheme that allows the country's largest emitters to avoid paying the carbon tax. However, that special deal is not available to hard-working Canadian families, commuters, suburban moms or small and medium-size businesses that have to pay the full brunt. We know what the costs are going to be today. What will the full and final costs be for the carbon tax in the future?
Mr. Speaker, the member opposite wants to talk about the facts. The Conservatives, under Stephen Harper, had the lowest growth rate in Canadian history since the depths of the Great Depression. They added $150 billion to our national debt with stubbornly low growth to show for it. We made a different choice and Canadians supported us in investing in communities, in investing in the middle class instead of giving boutique tax credits to the wealthiest Canadians. We focused on growing the economy for everyone
Mr. Speaker, I want to take a moment once again to thank all the Canadians from across the country, including of different ideologies, including some Conservatives, who worked hard to negotiate the right deal for Canada. We can be assured that this is a deal that will continue to secure our access to our most important trading partner at a time of uncertainty and unpredictability from that trading partner. We got rid of the ratchet clause, which infringed upon our sovereignty by preventing our government from controlling access to our energy resources. We kept chapter 19, and the cultural exemption will apply to digital programs. We
Mr. Speaker, the number of Canadians being infected with HIV is once again rising rapidly among young gay men and has reached epidemic proportions in indigenous communities, yet the Liberals have cut funding to many front-line HIV agencies and have failed to increase access to testing, when we know that knowing one's status is the key to reducing new infections.Will the Liberal government move quickly to approve home testing kits for sale in pharmacies to help reach all men who have sex with men, and will it work with the provinces to ensure that testing is widely available without needing to see a doctor first?
Mr. Speaker, in 2015, the Liberals masqueraded as progressives, trying to convince labour they cared. While GM has decided to close its plant in Oshawa, the Liberals are nowhere to be seen in the fight to keep these jobs in Canada. When postal workers were fighting for better working conditions, the Liberals, like the Conservatives before them, legislated them back to work. The Liberals did nothing to remove Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs, which are costing jobs. The year 2018 has been defined by the Liberals betraying Canadian workers. Why will the Liberals not admit what Canadians see clearly; that the government has never had their backs?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister needs to stop saying falsehoods about our record and start telling the truth about his record. It was the Conservatives who left a balanced budget. How do we know it was balanced? The finance department said it was. His own minister's department told Canadians that the budget was balanced. We did that while lowering taxes and protecting core services for Canadians. However, his reckless deficits are putting social services under great pressure. In less than five years, more tax dollars will go to the interest on the debt than are currently being spent on health care. When will the budget be balanced?
Mr. Speaker, it is not about meeting with the provinces; it is about respecting them.On the other side of the river in Lévis, Davie shipyard workers delivered the Asterix supply ship on time and on budget.Our brave men and women in uniform need another supply ship, the Obelix, and the Davie shipyard is prepared to start work on it tomorrow morning.The Prime Minister needs to stop playing political games and give Davie that contract before Christmas.What is he waiting for to do that?
Mr. Speaker, he claims that Canada's immigration system should be compassionate and fair. There is nothing fair about crossing through an illegal border crossing from a safe part of upstate New York into Canada, jumping the queue, skipping the line and forcing others to wait longer, because more and more resources have to go to those coming into Canada illegally. This is the legacy that the Prime Minister caused with his irresponsible tweet. Literally, the Liberals have done nothing to stop the problem. Instead of just adding up the costs, will they finally do something to stop the crossings themselves?
Mr. Speaker, we are ensuring that our immigration system remains fair and compassionate, all the while ensuring the integrity of our border and the security of our communities. We will continue to ensure that Canadian law is applied and that our international obligations are respected. I will also highlight, in this, the last opportunity for PMQs in the House, it is a pleasure to be taking questions from everyone, not just the Leader of the Opposition.
Mr. Speaker, we are proud of the work we are doing with the CRTC to ensure that our digital programming and protection of our airwaves keep pace with the transformations of our economy. We recognize there is more and more need for data and for proper access to broadband. That is something we are continuing to invest in across the country and work with the CRTC on, although it is odd to see the NDP members complaining about this when they are the ones who want to impose extra taxes on Internet usage by Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, it is the Liberal government which has put a price of zero on the largest emitters in Canada. It has granted a huge exemption to large emitters that can afford to hire lobbyists to get a special deal. Hard-working Canadian families and commuters have to bear the full brunt of the Liberal carbon tax. Now we find out that the carbon tax will have to be even higher in the future.If the Prime Minister claims that he does not mind getting questions, will he answer this simple question: What is the full and final cost of his carbon tax?
Mr. Speaker, from the very beginning, this government has worked in partnership with organized labour in the country. Among the very first things we did was eliminate Bill C-525 and Bill C-377, the anti-union bills the Conservatives had put forward. We then continued to work with labour, ensuring we would get to the bargaining table between labour and employers. We have demonstrated the tripartite working model works very well. We know we are not always going to agree on everything with organized labour. However, we do know that basing everything on a respectful approach that values the contributions of labour and the strength of the middle class of the country is the way to do it.
Mr. Speaker, there are two reasons why the Conservatives are so worked up about our plan. First, they have no plan about which they can talk. Second, in provinces where the federal backstop applies, Canadian households will be receiving more from the climate action incentive than the cost of pricing pollution. This means that the ones who will pay are the companies who pollute the most. Conservatives, like Stephen Harper and Doug Ford, and the current leader, are so ideologically against any environmental protection. They want to take that money away from Canadians. While Conservatives want to make pollution free again, we are putting it
Mr. Speaker, In 2016, our government reached a historic agreement with the provinces and territories to expand the Canada pension plan to protect income security for pensioners. That CPP expansion is supposed to begin this year, but the Conservative Party opposes that expansion, which will allow greater security for pensioners. Will the Prime Minister assure the House, despite the opposition from the Conservatives, that the CPP will be expanded as intended?
Mr. Speaker, southwestern Nova Scotia depends on fishing, which is why I was so pleased last week when the Minister of Fisheries announced funding in excess of $18 million to be distributed through the Atlantic fisheries fund. The money will be invested in aquaculture, science, innovation, research and development.Can the Prime Minister tell us what measures our government has taken to support fisheries across Canada?
Mr. Speaker, I want to start by thanking the member for Malpeque for his hard work as chair of the finance committee, and his extraordinary service to this House and to Canada.We worked with the provinces and territories to reach a historic agreement that will help to ensure that Canadians get the secure and dignified retirement they deserve. The enhanced Canada pension plan will mean Canadians receive up to $7,000 more per year when they retire. This means that more Canadians will actually be able to retire at age 65. Despite the Conservative opposition, we are moving forward with the CPP expansion to make sure Canadians have a secure retirement.
Mr. Speaker, I cannot believe that the member opposite just asked me to stop playing political games on this issue, because he is the one playing petty politics. The Canadian Armed Forces conducted an analysis and found that the Obelix is not needed. For the member to suggest that we should buy it anyway is just cheap politics.We make decisions based on facts. We recognize that the Davie shipyard does good work, and we are working with Davie to give it more jobs, but we are not going to invent contracts for political reasons.
Mr. Speaker, before I ask my question, I want to take this opportunity, in the last question period on a Wednesday for Prime Minister's questions, to wish the Prime Minister the very best, on a personal basis, for him and his family. I hope all parliamentarians and all party members enjoy some time with their friends and families and connect with their constituents. In the spirit of giving, I have given the Prime Minister 23 opportunities to answer simple and straightforward questions. I have one more gift for the Prime Minister. I am going to give him one final chance to tell Canadians in what year the budget will be balanced.
Mr. Speaker, the crisis created by the Prime Minister will cost more than $1 billion, and now we learned this morning that residents living near Roxham Road are being offered compensation. This adds to the impact of this crisis, on top of the facilities in Lacolle becoming permanent and the provinces being stuck with the bills.The Prime Minister needs to stop making others pay for his failures.Will he finally resolve this crisis?
Mr. Speaker, we are taking action now. We recognize how unacceptable it is that some reserves in this country still do not have clean drinking water. That is why we have committed to ending all boil water advisories in the country by 2021, and we will. We have ended 73 long-term boil water advisories. We know we have a lot more work to do, and we are doing it. We will keep our promise.
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government has made all kinds of commitments to first nations and promised billions of dollars in infrastructure to improve their living conditions. However, many indigenous communities do not have access to safe drinking water and will not have access before 2021. That is unacceptable. Some communities have been boiling their water for 25 years now, and they are being asked to wait another three years.It is the government's responsibility, so will it take action now?
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the member opposite's kind words and wish him and his family, indeed all members in this House, a happy and safe and merry Christmas and happy holidays. We know that this is a time of year when we are a long way from our families. We still have a couple of more days, at least, of work to do in this House, so we know that the days grow shorter but the time seems to grow longer.We put forward a fiscally responsible plan that is growing the economy the way Canadians expect us to. We will keep working on creating jobs and growing the economy for all Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, our government maintains a safe, effective and reliable rail transportation system for Canadian passengers.Today's investment will give millions of passengers access to new trains with a smaller environmental footprint that offer more space for people with reduced mobility and are equipped with the latest technology. Unlike the previous government, we got the best possible contract to provide Canadians with modern, more accessible, high-quality trains.
Mr. Speaker, our government maintains a safe, effective and reliable rail transportation system for Canadian passengers. Today's investment will give millions of passengers access to new trains with a smaller environmental footprint that offer more space for people with reduced mobility and are equipped with the latest technology.Unlike the previous government, we got the best possible contract to provide Canadians with modern, more accessible, high-quality trains.
Mr. Speaker, we will make sure that our immigration system remains fair and compassionate while maintaining the integrity of our borders and keeping our communities safe.We are investing $173 million to make our borders more secure and to fast-track the asylum claim process. The Conservatives cut the agency's budget by $390 million, they cut health care for refugees, and now they want Canadians to violate international law. We will continue to enforce Canadian laws and respect our international commitments.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for West Nova for his work as a member of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans and for the excellent work he is doing for his riding.Our $325-million investment in the Atlantic fisheries fund will support many different projects throughout the region. We have also announced the $100-million British Columbia salmon restoration and innovation fund. In Quebec, we are investing $30 million to support the province's fish and seafood sector. We are supporting our coastal regions.
Mr. Speaker, this government understands how important it is to protect our environment while creating economic growth. That is why we put a price on pollution. Across the country we know that putting a price on pollution is the best way to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and ensure that families will be able to adapt to this change and prosper during this economic transformation period. We know that it is important to fight climate change for the future of our children and we will do so the right way.
Mr. Speaker, according to a report released on Monday at COP24, Canada ranks 54th out of 60 on the climate change performance index. My goodness that is shameful.Where is the leadership the Liberals promised?The time to act is now, not in 2050. Experts have recommended that the Liberals implement accountability and transparency mechanisms like the ones proposed by my colleague from Edmonton StrathconaWill they listen to the experts or will they keep listening to rich polluters?
Mr. Speaker, it is wonderful to be able to look into this space and see every seat filled. I know there may be a few people here for the first time, but let me tell members that the Conservative benches
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister did not say he would go to Washington to get a good deal. He said he would go to get a better deal. Let us look at the deal he got. He uses the word capitulate. It was the Liberals who capitulated on dairy, signing away market access and preventing our farmers from exporting. It was the Liberals who agreed to a cap on auto exports. They agreed to adopt Donald Trump's pharmaceutical regime, increasing costs for Canadian patients. After giving all of that away to Donald Trump, did the Prime Minister get any assurances on when steel and aluminum tariffs would finally be lifted?
Mr. Speaker, from the beginning of the NAFTA negotiations, our number one goal was always to get a good deal for Canada, and that is exactly what we did.This deal will protect more than $2 billion a day in cross-border trade, allow tariff-free access for more than 70% of Canadian exports and improve opportunities for Canadians.This agreement makes the rules fairer for the automotive industry, preserves the binational dispute settlement mechanism and protects supply management. While the Conservatives wanted to take Stephen Harper's advice and sign any
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order.I rise today in the Christmas spirit, and also in a spirit of great nonpartisanship, to table, with unanimous consent, a copy of the Liberal platform, which promises a balanced budget in 2019.
Most positive speeches
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order.I rise today in the Christmas spirit, and also in a spirit of great nonpartisanship, to table, with unanimous consent, a copy of the Liberal platform, which promises a balanced budget in 2019.
Mr. Speaker, from the beginning of the NAFTA negotiations, our number one goal was always to get a good deal for Canada, and that is exactly what we did.This deal will protect more than $2 billion a day in cross-border trade, allow tariff-free access for more than 70% of Canadian exports and improve opportunities for Canadians.This agreement makes the rules fairer for the automotive industry, preserves the binational dispute settlement mechanism and protects supply management. While the Conservatives wanted to take Stephen Harper's advice and sign any
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister did not say he would go to Washington to get a good deal. He said he would go to get a better deal. Let us look at the deal he got. He uses the word capitulate. It was the Liberals who capitulated on dairy, signing away market access and preventing our farmers from exporting. It was the Liberals who agreed to a cap on auto exports. They agreed to adopt Donald Trump's pharmaceutical regime, increasing costs for Canadian patients. After giving all of that away to Donald Trump, did the Prime Minister get any assurances on when steel and aluminum tariffs would finally be lifted?
Mr. Speaker, it is wonderful to be able to look into this space and see every seat filled. I know there may be a few people here for the first time, but let me tell members that the Conservative benches
Mr. Speaker, according to a report released on Monday at COP24, Canada ranks 54th out of 60 on the climate change performance index. My goodness that is shameful.Where is the leadership the Liberals promised?The time to act is now, not in 2050. Experts have recommended that the Liberals implement accountability and transparency mechanisms like the ones proposed by my colleague from Edmonton StrathconaWill they listen to the experts or will they keep listening to rich polluters?
Mr. Speaker, this government understands how important it is to protect our environment while creating economic growth. That is why we put a price on pollution. Across the country we know that putting a price on pollution is the best way to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and ensure that families will be able to adapt to this change and prosper during this economic transformation period. We know that it is important to fight climate change for the future of our children and we will do so the right way.
Mr. Speaker, we will make sure that our immigration system remains fair and compassionate while maintaining the integrity of our borders and keeping our communities safe.We are investing $173 million to make our borders more secure and to fast-track the asylum claim process. The Conservatives cut the agency's budget by $390 million, they cut health care for refugees, and now they want Canadians to violate international law. We will continue to enforce Canadian laws and respect our international commitments.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for West Nova for his work as a member of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans and for the excellent work he is doing for his riding.Our $325-million investment in the Atlantic fisheries fund will support many different projects throughout the region. We have also announced the $100-million British Columbia salmon restoration and innovation fund. In Quebec, we are investing $30 million to support the province's fish and seafood sector. We are supporting our coastal regions.
Mr. Speaker, our government maintains a safe, effective and reliable rail transportation system for Canadian passengers.Today's investment will give millions of passengers access to new trains with a smaller environmental footprint that offer more space for people with reduced mobility and are equipped with the latest technology. Unlike the previous government, we got the best possible contract to provide Canadians with modern, more accessible, high-quality trains.
Mr. Speaker, our government maintains a safe, effective and reliable rail transportation system for Canadian passengers. Today's investment will give millions of passengers access to new trains with a smaller environmental footprint that offer more space for people with reduced mobility and are equipped with the latest technology.Unlike the previous government, we got the best possible contract to provide Canadians with modern, more accessible, high-quality trains.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the member opposite's kind words and wish him and his family, indeed all members in this House, a happy and safe and merry Christmas and happy holidays. We know that this is a time of year when we are a long way from our families. We still have a couple of more days, at least, of work to do in this House, so we know that the days grow shorter but the time seems to grow longer.We put forward a fiscally responsible plan that is growing the economy the way Canadians expect us to. We will keep working on creating jobs and growing the economy for all Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government has made all kinds of commitments to first nations and promised billions of dollars in infrastructure to improve their living conditions. However, many indigenous communities do not have access to safe drinking water and will not have access before 2021. That is unacceptable. Some communities have been boiling their water for 25 years now, and they are being asked to wait another three years.It is the government's responsibility, so will it take action now?
Mr. Speaker, we are taking action now. We recognize how unacceptable it is that some reserves in this country still do not have clean drinking water. That is why we have committed to ending all boil water advisories in the country by 2021, and we will. We have ended 73 long-term boil water advisories. We know we have a lot more work to do, and we are doing it. We will keep our promise.
Mr. Speaker, the crisis created by the Prime Minister will cost more than $1 billion, and now we learned this morning that residents living near Roxham Road are being offered compensation. This adds to the impact of this crisis, on top of the facilities in Lacolle becoming permanent and the provinces being stuck with the bills.The Prime Minister needs to stop making others pay for his failures.Will he finally resolve this crisis?
Mr. Speaker, before I ask my question, I want to take this opportunity, in the last question period on a Wednesday for Prime Minister's questions, to wish the Prime Minister the very best, on a personal basis, for him and his family. I hope all parliamentarians and all party members enjoy some time with their friends and families and connect with their constituents. In the spirit of giving, I have given the Prime Minister 23 opportunities to answer simple and straightforward questions. I have one more gift for the Prime Minister. I am going to give him one final chance to tell Canadians in what year the budget will be balanced.
Mr. Speaker, I cannot believe that the member opposite just asked me to stop playing political games on this issue, because he is the one playing petty politics. The Canadian Armed Forces conducted an analysis and found that the Obelix is not needed. For the member to suggest that we should buy it anyway is just cheap politics.We make decisions based on facts. We recognize that the Davie shipyard does good work, and we are working with Davie to give it more jobs, but we are not going to invent contracts for political reasons.
Mr. Speaker, I want to start by thanking the member for Malpeque for his hard work as chair of the finance committee, and his extraordinary service to this House and to Canada.We worked with the provinces and territories to reach a historic agreement that will help to ensure that Canadians get the secure and dignified retirement they deserve. The enhanced Canada pension plan will mean Canadians receive up to $7,000 more per year when they retire. This means that more Canadians will actually be able to retire at age 65. Despite the Conservative opposition, we are moving forward with the CPP expansion to make sure Canadians have a secure retirement.
Mr. Speaker, there are two reasons why the Conservatives are so worked up about our plan. First, they have no plan about which they can talk. Second, in provinces where the federal backstop applies, Canadian households will be receiving more from the climate action incentive than the cost of pricing pollution. This means that the ones who will pay are the companies who pollute the most. Conservatives, like Stephen Harper and Doug Ford, and the current leader, are so ideologically against any environmental protection. They want to take that money away from Canadians. While Conservatives want to make pollution free again, we are putting it
Mr. Speaker, In 2016, our government reached a historic agreement with the provinces and territories to expand the Canada pension plan to protect income security for pensioners. That CPP expansion is supposed to begin this year, but the Conservative Party opposes that expansion, which will allow greater security for pensioners. Will the Prime Minister assure the House, despite the opposition from the Conservatives, that the CPP will be expanded as intended?
Mr. Speaker, southwestern Nova Scotia depends on fishing, which is why I was so pleased last week when the Minister of Fisheries announced funding in excess of $18 million to be distributed through the Atlantic fisheries fund. The money will be invested in aquaculture, science, innovation, research and development.Can the Prime Minister tell us what measures our government has taken to support fisheries across Canada?
Mr. Speaker, from the very beginning, this government has worked in partnership with organized labour in the country. Among the very first things we did was eliminate Bill C-525 and Bill C-377, the anti-union bills the Conservatives had put forward. We then continued to work with labour, ensuring we would get to the bargaining table between labour and employers. We have demonstrated the tripartite working model works very well. We know we are not always going to agree on everything with organized labour. However, we do know that basing everything on a respectful approach that values the contributions of labour and the strength of the middle class of the country is the way to do it.
Mr. Speaker, it is the Liberal government which has put a price of zero on the largest emitters in Canada. It has granted a huge exemption to large emitters that can afford to hire lobbyists to get a special deal. Hard-working Canadian families and commuters have to bear the full brunt of the Liberal carbon tax. Now we find out that the carbon tax will have to be even higher in the future.If the Prime Minister claims that he does not mind getting questions, will he answer this simple question: What is the full and final cost of his carbon tax?
Mr. Speaker, we are ensuring that our immigration system remains fair and compassionate, all the while ensuring the integrity of our border and the security of our communities. We will continue to ensure that Canadian law is applied and that our international obligations are respected. I will also highlight, in this, the last opportunity for PMQs in the House, it is a pleasure to be taking questions from everyone, not just the Leader of the Opposition.
Mr. Speaker, we are proud of the work we are doing with the CRTC to ensure that our digital programming and protection of our airwaves keep pace with the transformations of our economy. We recognize there is more and more need for data and for proper access to broadband. That is something we are continuing to invest in across the country and work with the CRTC on, although it is odd to see the NDP members complaining about this when they are the ones who want to impose extra taxes on Internet usage by Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, he claims that Canada's immigration system should be compassionate and fair. There is nothing fair about crossing through an illegal border crossing from a safe part of upstate New York into Canada, jumping the queue, skipping the line and forcing others to wait longer, because more and more resources have to go to those coming into Canada illegally. This is the legacy that the Prime Minister caused with his irresponsible tweet. Literally, the Liberals have done nothing to stop the problem. Instead of just adding up the costs, will they finally do something to stop the crossings themselves?
Mr. Speaker, it is not about meeting with the provinces; it is about respecting them.On the other side of the river in Lévis, Davie shipyard workers delivered the Asterix supply ship on time and on budget.Our brave men and women in uniform need another supply ship, the Obelix, and the Davie shipyard is prepared to start work on it tomorrow morning.The Prime Minister needs to stop playing political games and give Davie that contract before Christmas.What is he waiting for to do that?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister needs to stop saying falsehoods about our record and start telling the truth about his record. It was the Conservatives who left a balanced budget. How do we know it was balanced? The finance department said it was. His own minister's department told Canadians that the budget was balanced. We did that while lowering taxes and protecting core services for Canadians. However, his reckless deficits are putting social services under great pressure. In less than five years, more tax dollars will go to the interest on the debt than are currently being spent on health care. When will the budget be balanced?
Mr. Speaker, in 2015, the Liberals masqueraded as progressives, trying to convince labour they cared. While GM has decided to close its plant in Oshawa, the Liberals are nowhere to be seen in the fight to keep these jobs in Canada. When postal workers were fighting for better working conditions, the Liberals, like the Conservatives before them, legislated them back to work. The Liberals did nothing to remove Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs, which are costing jobs. The year 2018 has been defined by the Liberals betraying Canadian workers. Why will the Liberals not admit what Canadians see clearly; that the government has never had their backs?
Mr. Speaker, the number of Canadians being infected with HIV is once again rising rapidly among young gay men and has reached epidemic proportions in indigenous communities, yet the Liberals have cut funding to many front-line HIV agencies and have failed to increase access to testing, when we know that knowing one's status is the key to reducing new infections.Will the Liberal government move quickly to approve home testing kits for sale in pharmacies to help reach all men who have sex with men, and will it work with the provinces to ensure that testing is widely available without needing to see a doctor first?
Mr. Speaker, I want to take a moment once again to thank all the Canadians from across the country, including of different ideologies, including some Conservatives, who worked hard to negotiate the right deal for Canada. We can be assured that this is a deal that will continue to secure our access to our most important trading partner at a time of uncertainty and unpredictability from that trading partner. We got rid of the ratchet clause, which infringed upon our sovereignty by preventing our government from controlling access to our energy resources. We kept chapter 19, and the cultural exemption will apply to digital programs. We
Mr. Speaker, the member opposite wants to talk about the facts. The Conservatives, under Stephen Harper, had the lowest growth rate in Canadian history since the depths of the Great Depression. They added $150 billion to our national debt with stubbornly low growth to show for it. We made a different choice and Canadians supported us in investing in communities, in investing in the middle class instead of giving boutique tax credits to the wealthiest Canadians. We focused on growing the economy for everyone
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have granted a huge exemption. That is from their own documents. When a companies go over that target, they do not pay a tax. They can purchase offsets. The Liberals have come up with a scheme that allows the country's largest emitters to avoid paying the carbon tax. However, that special deal is not available to hard-working Canadian families, commuters, suburban moms or small and medium-size businesses that have to pay the full brunt. We know what the costs are going to be today. What will the full and final costs be for the carbon tax in the future?
Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Budget Officer pegs the cost of the Prime Minister's failure at the border at more than $1 billion. The affected provinces are sending the bill to the Prime Minister.When will the Prime Minister understand that the only way to stop paying billion dollar bills is to close the loophole in the safe third country agreement?
Mr. Speaker, I was pleased to sit down for the fifth time with all premiers last week and to have frank discussions about how we can continue to work together. That is something Stephen Harper refused to do in the last years of his term because he did not want to talk to the provinces. Personally, I believe in collaboration and co-operation, and I want to point out that the work we are doing with the Province of Quebec is going very well.We have tremendous respect for its views and we will work with it to improve the lives of Quebeckers and all Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, I have good news for the Prime Minister. After the 2019 election, he will not have to answer the questions he does not like in the House.Here is what he does have to answer for. The Prime Minister has to answer for the fact that he has done absolutely nothing to stop the illegal border crossings into our country. He can try to hide the truth and say things that are not true. He knows it was the Conservative government that added 26% worth of Canada Border Services agents at our borders. It is the Conservatives who are proposing real solutions to solve this problem.When will the Prime Minister do something about it?
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for Vancouver Centre for her hard work and her extraordinary service to our country. We recognize that a strong economy and a clean environment go hand in hand and that we must grow our economy responsibly. Canadians and marine mammals have waited long enough during the 10 long years of Harper Conservatives' inaction. That is why in budget 2018, we announced concrete action to fix this problem. We will now have the needed and enforceable tools to address immediate and long-term threats to the marine environment, including marine mammals and the southern resident killer whale.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has often boasted about inheriting a great family fortune. He has never had to worry about the cost of living, so it is no wonder that he does not worry when his policies drive up the cost for Canadians. His tax on gas, on home heating and on groceries will hurt seniors, suburban moms and small businesses. Worse, government documents now show that by the year 2022, the carbon tax will have to be six times higher than the Liberals now admit, driving up gas prices another whopping 70¢ a litre and home heating by another $1,000 a year. What is the full and final price of the Liberal carbon tax?
Mr. Speaker, we know that we have made strong strides forward in the fight against HIV-AIDS, but we know that there is much more to do. That is why Health Canada is working with our provincial partners to ensure that there are even more ways for Canadians to stay safe and more ways for Canadians to counter this terrible epidemic that we know continues, despite all the efforts we and others are putting forward to counter it. We understand, as always, that there is more to do, and we look forward to working with the member opposite and all members in this House to continue to address this terrible challenge.
Mr. Speaker, we have put forward a strong and robust plan to address climate change and to support Canadians through this transition. We have a plan and it is perfectly okay, obviously, for people to ask questions, to criticize or to suggest improvements. What is not correct is to not recognize that the Conservatives have no plan to fight climate change. They have no idea how to fight climate change, prepare our economy for the future and to create the jobs of the future. They do not see it as a priority. That is where they are wrong. Canadians know from wildfires to floods to droughts right across the country that we need to act on climate change and the Conservatives are not.
Mr. Speaker, after 10 years of Stephen Harper's government, we stepped forward with a fresh plan to invest in Canadians, to invest in communities, and that plan is working, with over 800,000 new jobs over the past three years and the lowest unemployment rate in over 40 years. Canadians are more confident about the future and looking to their kids' future with optimism. We have a plan on climate change. We are taking action on building a stronger future. The Conservatives have only a failed plan to fall back on, because they are presenting no new ideas of their own.
Mr. Speaker, our Prime Minister grew up in British Columbia and knows the southern resident killer whale is iconic to the people of our province. Sadly, these marine mammals face significant threats to their survival. For 10 years, the Harper government failed to take any measures to protect the environment that would actually sustain B.C.'s orcas.Our government has a plan. Could the Prime Minister update British Columbians on our most recent initiative to save this precious species?
Mr. Speaker, the Conservative Party is usually a lot quieter than this, and usually a lot more respectful. However, on this, the very last Wednesday question period in the House this year, I think they all want to be heard. That is the problem.Will the Leader of the Opposition allow some of his fellow members to ask questions of the Prime Minister? Apparently not.
Mr. Speaker, this is very interesting. What we see from the Conservatives is a doubling down on Stephen Harper's economic plan, the plan that Canadians soundly rejected in 2015, giving tax breaks to the wealthiest, cutting things like veterans services, health care for refugees and eliminating the long-form census. These are the things the Harper government did that the Conservatives are once again running on.The Conservatives have no real plan for the economy. We have created 800,000 new jobs and have the
Mr. Speaker, he can tell that to our men and women in the Canadian Armed Forces and to the Davie shipyard workers. When you look at the scope of the Prime Minister's failures, it is obvious that he has failed to treat the provinces as partners. Instead, like all good Liberals, he maintains a paternalistic and centralizing attitude.The new government in Quebec has identified a third link to the east as a priority for addressing urban mobility problems in the old capital.Can the Prime Minister finally commit to being a reliable partner on that project?
Mr. Speaker, one of the first things we discovered when we came to office in 2015 was that the Conservatives' phony balancing of the budget actually hurt Canadians. It hurt our veterans. It hurt our public service. It cut Canadian border services and police services. The Conservatives cut services that Canadians needed right across the country in order to present a phony balanced budget just in time for the election. We made a different choice: to invest in Canadians. What has that delivered? It has delivered the lowest unemployment rate in 40 years and 800,000 new jobs in the past three years.
Mr. Speaker, we are working with the United States and our provincial partners to ensure that our immigration system remains strong and reliable.We know that irregular arrivals, asylum seekers, present a challenge to the system, but in the meantime we can assure Canadians that in terms of security, all the checks are made and we are applying our immigration system in its entirety. We understand this is a complex situation, but we are working with the provinces and our partners.
Mr. Speaker, it is the Liberal government that does not have a plan to reduce emissions in Canada. All the Liberals' plan is, is for a tax grab. The reason we know it will not reduce emissions is that they have given a massive exemption to the largest emitters in Canada. The full cost of the carbon tax will fall to hard-working Canadian families, commuters, soccer moms and small businesses. Worse yet, we know now that the carbon tax will be higher in the future.Will the Prime Minister tell us what is the full and final price for the Liberal carbon tax?
Mr. Speaker, we have known for a long time, listening to the energy sector, that its number one priority is getting oil resources to markets other than the United States. It has asked for that for a long time. Stephen Harper and his Conservatives worked very hard to get that done, and they did not get it done for 10 years. We are moving forward in a significant way, in the right way, understanding that working with environmental groups, respecting community interests and partnering with indigenous peoples is the only way to get things done right.
Mr. Speaker, it is the government's plan that makes emissions free for the largest emitters. The Conservatives are ideologically opposed to a tax that raises the cost of living for Canadians. That will be the choice in the next election. The Prime Minister has failed in so many areas, but there is one file in which he is succeeding. He went around the world and bragged about his plan to phase out Canada's energy sector. Sad to say, it is working. He has chased out new pipeline proponents. He is bringing in a bill that will ensure no future pipeline gets built. Will the Prime Minister do the right thing and scrap Bill C-69?
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. There have been discussions among the parties and an email sent to all members of Parliament with respect to this motion. If you seek it, I believe you will find unanimous consent for this motion. I move that the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology be instructed to undertake a study of no less than four meetings to investigate the impact of the announced closure of the General Motors automotive assembly plant in Oshawa, and that the study (1) include impacted stakeholders, such as the union Unifor, to solicit input towards devising a plan to address issues that may have contributed to this announcement; (2) provide an opportunity for the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development to appear to address concerns about competitiveness raised by General Motors and any other issues the minister deems instructive toward developing a plan; and that the committee report its findings to the House of Commons no later than March 11, 2019.
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals say they are working for the middle class, but they side with big corporations every time. They forced Canada Post employees back to work. They gave our money to Bombardier with no strings attached. When Lowe's bought Rona, the government demanded no guarantees. To top it off, there is no local content requirement in the fleet renewal contract VIA Rail awarded to Siemens.Why are they turning their backs on middle-class workers?
Mr. Speaker, again, we can see that the Conservatives do not want to address the question of what their alternative is and how they are going to fight climate change. We have been very clear. We are going to put a price on pollution. We are accelerating the phase-out of traditional coal power. We are making historic investments in cleaner infrastructure. We are adopting regulations to cut methane emissions. We are moving forward in a way that is going to support families and protect them for the future. The Conservatives have no plan at all. That is unacceptable.
Mr. Speaker, two years after the Panama papers scandal, governments around the world have recouped over $700 million in fines and back taxes as a result of investigations, but Canada has recouped zero. Just as an example, since 2016, the Australian Taxation Office has recouped more than $48 million, but Canada has recouped zero.Canadians who are not rich are presumed guilty until they can prove their innocence, and the CRA goes after them with all guns blazing. However, Canadians who are wealthy are innocent until proven guilty, and they are treated with kid gloves.I ask the Prime Minister, why is there this double standard?
Mr. Speaker, funny, that is not stopping other countries from completing investigations and getting results. I would remind the Prime Minister that the Auditor General does not know where the money spent by the CRA went. The CRA has no trouble going after Canadians who are not rich and bullying them, but it treats tax evaders with kid gloves. The Canada Revenue Agency has been investigating for over two years now, but it still has not dealt with the 3,000 files of people involved in the Panama papers. However, it has ample time to pore over the files of 332,000 Canadians who receive benefits. With answers like the one we just heard, it is clear that the Liberals are protecting the status quo.Why the double standard? Why go after the least wealthy Canadians and leave the richest alone?
Mr. Speaker, Canadians had a choice, and Canadians voted for a balanced budget. That was the promise the Prime Minister ran on. Now we find out that his temporary and tiny deficits are now massive and permanent. They are not $10 billion. They are not $15 billion. They are not $20 billion. They are not $25 billion. The Parliamentary Budget Officer said they could grow to as high as $30 billion. Deficits today mean higher taxes tomorrow. Will the Prime Minister tell Canadians in what year the budget will be balanced?
Mr. Speaker, unlike the Conservatives, we believe that emissions need to go down and that we need to continue creating good middle-class jobs for Canadians. What the Conservatives are saying is actually factually wrong. We have set a target for industry to reduce pollution. If companies fail to meet that target, they pay the price. If they do better, for example through innovation, they are rewarded. Our plan will also give money directly to households where the federal backstop applies. The only mystery here is why the Conservatives refuse to have a plan themselves.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are growing increasingly fearful of reports that impacts of climate change are worsening even beyond what scientists predicted. Pressure is mounting for this government to institute measures to make them more transparent and accountable for their decisions on climate action. The United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Finland have long ago instituted effective measures to make this happen. Merely appointing yet another hand-picked advisory body just does not cut it.Will the Prime Minister support my Motion No. 204 to legally enact binding greenhouse gas targets, a duty to act, and measures to ensure improved accountability and transparency for federal action on climate change?
Mr. Speaker, we are working to reduce emissions across the Canadian economy to create jobs and meet our international commitments. Our actions include pricing pollution right across the country, accelerating the phase-out of traditional coal power, making historic investments in cleaner infrastructure like public transit and charging stations for electric vehicles, adopting regulations to cut methane emissions from oil and gas by 40% to 45% by 2025 and more.As Canadians know, there is no more choice to be made. We are both protecting the environment and growing the middle class.
Mr. Speaker, I look forward to the opportunity to present our plan to Canadians next year in the federal election. I look forward to going against what seems to be the Harper Conservative platform once again. The Harper Conservatives cut $390 million
Mr. Speaker, and so it is. VIA Rail would rather sign a $1.3-billion agreement with a German multinational than with a Quebec company, to purchase trains that will be used in Quebec. What a lump of coal.Workers in La Pocatière are being laid off, and they are popping champagne corks in Sacramento, where the cars are manufactured. How can the Prime Minister justify abandoning workers in La Pocatière and allowing VIA Rail to choose Siemens?
Mr. Speaker, we have made record investments in infrastructure over the past three years, proving that we are here to be a reliable partner. I can say, however, that the project the member opposite referred to does not yet exist; it is still in the idea phase.If he submits a plan, we will look at it. That is what we are here for. No one should be inventing projects for political rhetoric.Our decisions will be based on the facts, on real projects submitted to us. We are not there yet with regard to the third link. When that happens, we will work with the stakeholders.
Mr. Speaker, after being elected, the new Quebec government made several decisions in different areas. It received a clear mandate from the people to do so.What is the Prime Minister's usual response on every issue? He criticizes the provincial decisions and tries to lecture Quebec.When will the Prime Minister understand that there are separate jurisdictions in Canada and that Quebec is entitled to deal with the matters under its responsibility without constantly being criticized by this centralist Prime Minister?
Mr. Speaker, what the Prime Minister is trying to do is convince Canadians that his reckless actions have not had an impact on the energy sector. However, here is the reality. Under the Conservative government, four major pipeline projects were built by private sector dollars, increasing our capacity to ship our energy to markets by over a million barrels a day. Three pipeline projects were on the books when he took over. Two are completely dead and one is on a lifeline, with no plan to move it forward. Therefore, will the Prime Minister do the right thing and scrap his no more pipeline bill?
Mr. Speaker, another massive failure for the Liberal government under this Prime Minister has been the ethics file. This is the only Prime Minister in Canadian history to have been found guilty of breaking ethics laws, and several other members of his team have followed suit.The finance minister conveniently forgot about a villa in France, and other ministers have been found guilty of breaking rules. Now there is a massive investigation, with a big cloud of suspicion around a former Liberal MP and a Liberal cabinet minister.Can the Prime Minister tell us exactly how many more Liberals are currently being investigated by the RCMP or by other investigators?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister should be ashamed of himself for saying that.With the closure of STC in Saskatchewan, people with disabilities in northern Saskatchewan are being left in the dark by the Liberals. People like Gary Tinker from Pinehouse, Saskatchewan are forced to hitchhike across the province to get to appointments, to see their families or just to live a normal life.People with disabilities cannot wait until after the election. What are the Liberals waiting for to help northerners like Gary and to restore the bus service?
Mr. Speaker, the commitment we made in 2015 was to create economic growth, which would benefit the middle class and all those working hard to join it. That is exactly what we did by cutting taxes for the middle class and increasing taxes for the wealthiest 1%. We introduced the Canada child benefit, which helped nine in 10 families and lifted 300,000 children out of poverty across the country.We know that there is still much work to be done on infrastructure investment, fighting poverty and investing in youth and our seniors. We will continue
Mr. Speaker, what the Prime Minister is trying to do is double down on a failed plan of higher taxes and massive deficits, threatening Canadians as we head into difficult economic headwinds. In fact, the IMF said today that there are significant risks that it is worried Canada is not prepared for. However, it is not a surprise that the Prime Minister is not worried. He has never had to worry about money, so he does not worry about what happens to Canadians when he blows through their savings.When will the Prime Minister understand that the federal budget is not a trust fund at his disposal?
Mr. Speaker, I am convinced that the Prime Minister had to google what the ratchet clause was.Every single thing the current Prime Minister points to as a victory was something that a previous Conservative government already got for Canadians. He had one bargaining chip left. He told Donald Trump that if he did not get rid of the tariffs, there would be no photo op. Donald called his bluff. He knew that the Prime Minister could not resist another photo being taken, and there he was, signing along with the rest of the leaders. In exchange for taking his picture with Donald Trump, did he get an end to the steel and aluminum tariffs?
Mr. Speaker, I suggest you give them a little indulgence. They all want an opportunity to ask questions and make comments on this last day of Prime Minister's question period in the House of Commons.We are going to continue to stand up for Canadians and ensure that things move forward properly. That is something we committed to Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, Canada has an immigration system that is based on rules and principles, and we follow those rules. Canadians are among the few people on this planet who are, as a whole, generally positively inclined towards immigration, because they know that our system works. Our system is based on rules, procedures and processes. We know that sometimes the decisions can be difficult. We will, of course, take a look at all files on compassionate grounds, but we will continue to apply our immigration system based on the rules and the facts of the cases.
Mr. Speaker, when the Conservatives talk about scrapping Bill C-69, which is focused on giving tighter timelines, a single project single evaluation and responds to the concerns of industry, they actually mean let us go back to CEAA 2012 that Harper put forward. That was an absolute failure for industry. There was a failure in getting anything built. It would be a disaster for the oil and gas industry and for industries right across the country. We will not do that.
Mr. Speaker, what the Prime Minister is trying to do is distract from his terrible record by saying things that just are not true. The Conservative government protected Canada's economy through the worst global recession since the 1920s. We did it while cutting taxes and bringing Canada back to balance. What he has done is racked up massive amounts of new debt. He inherited a great fortune, a perfect situation for the Canadian economy, a balanced budget and a booming global economy. He has squandered that and blown through the savings. When will the budget be balanced?
Mr. Speaker, what the Conservatives did not understand and what they obviously fail to understand is we cannot grow the Canadian economy through cuts to services, through cuts to Canadians. We need to invest in Canadians. We need to invest in the middle class and those working hard to join it. We need to invest in infrastructure in their communities. We need to invest in science and research. We need to invest in our young people. That is exactly what we have done and that is how we have created 800,000 new jobs over the past years and have the lowest unemployment in
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to set the record straight. We have made investments of over $1 billion to give the Canada Revenue Agency the resources needed to crack down on tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance.On the Panama papers specifically, the CRA has identified over 3,000 offshore entities with over 2,600 beneficial owners that have some link to Canada, of which the CRA has risk assessed over 80%. I can confirm that there are several criminal investigations under way regarding the Panama papers which, as my colleague knows, can be complex and require months or years to complete.
Mr. Speaker, we were extremely concerned with the decision by Greyhound to suspend bus service across parts of the northwest. That is why we have been working with local communities and other providers to ensure that there are alternatives in place. We have created programs and are partnering with and allowing indigenous communities to step up. We recognize the situation is difficult on top of an already difficult situation. That is why we are working in partnership with indigenous communities to solve this problem. I thank the member opposite for her question and for her work on this file.
Mr. Speaker, the crowning touch to the Prime Minister's year of failure has to be his disastrous NAFTA deal, which contains a long list of concessions in areas like the automotive sector, prescription drugs and dairy products.The deal is so bad that Donald Trump's top economic adviser said Canada gave very graciously.Why did the Prime Minister fail to secure the removal of the steel and aluminum tariffs during the NAFTA negotiations?
Mr. Speaker, the member opposite just got censured by the Ethics Commissioner for having told one of his members to break the ethics rules. We will take no lessons on ethics from them or from the legacy of 10 years of the kinds of practices that were all too common under the Harper Conservatives.
Mr. Speaker, we have made investments of over $1 billion to give the Canada Revenue Agency the resources needed to crack down on tax cheats.On the Panama papers specifically, the CRA has identified over 3,000 offshore entities with over 2,600 beneficial owners that have some link to Canada, of which the CRA has risk-assessed over 80%. I can confirm that there are several criminal investigations under way involving the Panama papers. As my colleague knows, these investigations can be complex and take time to complete.
Mr. Speaker, this is what happens when a Prime Minister does not like the questions and has to answer for his failed record on carbon taxes, deficits, and signing away concession after concession to Donald Trump without anything in return. Then, he asks for someone else to ask him questions. Do not worry. The Prime Minister need not worry for too long, because come 2019, Canadians will send someone into his chair who is not afraid of the tough questions, and actually
Mr. Speaker, that answer let the nation and a family down.Canadians are subjected to unfair Internet data overcharges, restrictions when switching Internet providers and misleading aggressive telecom practices. The CRTC says it wants to establish a consumer Internet code of conduct, but has failed to provide sufficient time for consumer groups and the public. The result is a boycotted and broken system. Consumer groups have been clear. They want an extension so they can participate. Why is the Prime Minister allowing the CRTC to make up a toothless code of conduct for consumers in Canada?
Mr. Speaker, Luisa Montoya and her family arrived in Canada in 2012, fleeing violence and extortion in Colombia. As a legacy case, they have been in limbo for six years. Luisa is married to a Canadian and their son Thomas was born in Canada. The family of seven is fully integrated and thriving. Violence in Colombia has displaced millions and the Canadian government has issued an alert to avoid travel there. However, this family is being deported on Christmas eve. This is a cruel way for the minister to meet his quota of deporting 10,000 asylum seekers.Will the Prime Minister direct his minister to intervene
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's worst failure, in this year of failures, is his promise to balance the budget.This promise was really cast in stone, but the Parliamentary Budget Officer tabled a report indicating that next year's deficit will be $28 billion.Why did the Prime Minister mislead Canadians about balancing the budget?
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order.I rise today in the Christmas spirit, and also in a spirit of great nonpartisanship, to table, with unanimous consent, a copy of the Liberal platform, which promises a balanced budget in 2019.
Mr. Speaker, from the beginning of the NAFTA negotiations, our number one goal was always to get a good deal for Canada, and that is exactly what we did.This deal will protect more than $2 billion a day in cross-border trade, allow tariff-free access for more than 70% of Canadian exports and improve opportunities for Canadians.This agreement makes the rules fairer for the automotive industry, preserves the binational dispute settlement mechanism and protects supply management. While the Conservatives wanted to take Stephen Harper's advice and sign any
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister did not say he would go to Washington to get a good deal. He said he would go to get a better deal. Let us look at the deal he got. He uses the word capitulate. It was the Liberals who capitulated on dairy, signing away market access and preventing our farmers from exporting. It was the Liberals who agreed to a cap on auto exports. They agreed to adopt Donald Trump's pharmaceutical regime, increasing costs for Canadian patients. After giving all of that away to Donald Trump, did the Prime Minister get any assurances on when steel and aluminum tariffs would finally be lifted?
Mr. Speaker, it is wonderful to be able to look into this space and see every seat filled. I know there may be a few people here for the first time, but let me tell members that the Conservative benches
Mr. Speaker, according to a report released on Monday at COP24, Canada ranks 54th out of 60 on the climate change performance index. My goodness that is shameful.Where is the leadership the Liberals promised?The time to act is now, not in 2050. Experts have recommended that the Liberals implement accountability and transparency mechanisms like the ones proposed by my colleague from Edmonton StrathconaWill they listen to the experts or will they keep listening to rich polluters?
Mr. Speaker, this government understands how important it is to protect our environment while creating economic growth. That is why we put a price on pollution. Across the country we know that putting a price on pollution is the best way to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and ensure that families will be able to adapt to this change and prosper during this economic transformation period. We know that it is important to fight climate change for the future of our children and we will do so the right way.
Mr. Speaker, we will make sure that our immigration system remains fair and compassionate while maintaining the integrity of our borders and keeping our communities safe.We are investing $173 million to make our borders more secure and to fast-track the asylum claim process. The Conservatives cut the agency's budget by $390 million, they cut health care for refugees, and now they want Canadians to violate international law. We will continue to enforce Canadian laws and respect our international commitments.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for West Nova for his work as a member of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans and for the excellent work he is doing for his riding.Our $325-million investment in the Atlantic fisheries fund will support many different projects throughout the region. We have also announced the $100-million British Columbia salmon restoration and innovation fund. In Quebec, we are investing $30 million to support the province's fish and seafood sector. We are supporting our coastal regions.
Mr. Speaker, our government maintains a safe, effective and reliable rail transportation system for Canadian passengers.Today's investment will give millions of passengers access to new trains with a smaller environmental footprint that offer more space for people with reduced mobility and are equipped with the latest technology. Unlike the previous government, we got the best possible contract to provide Canadians with modern, more accessible, high-quality trains.
Mr. Speaker, our government maintains a safe, effective and reliable rail transportation system for Canadian passengers. Today's investment will give millions of passengers access to new trains with a smaller environmental footprint that offer more space for people with reduced mobility and are equipped with the latest technology.Unlike the previous government, we got the best possible contract to provide Canadians with modern, more accessible, high-quality trains.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the member opposite's kind words and wish him and his family, indeed all members in this House, a happy and safe and merry Christmas and happy holidays. We know that this is a time of year when we are a long way from our families. We still have a couple of more days, at least, of work to do in this House, so we know that the days grow shorter but the time seems to grow longer.We put forward a fiscally responsible plan that is growing the economy the way Canadians expect us to. We will keep working on creating jobs and growing the economy for all Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government has made all kinds of commitments to first nations and promised billions of dollars in infrastructure to improve their living conditions. However, many indigenous communities do not have access to safe drinking water and will not have access before 2021. That is unacceptable. Some communities have been boiling their water for 25 years now, and they are being asked to wait another three years.It is the government's responsibility, so will it take action now?
Mr. Speaker, we are taking action now. We recognize how unacceptable it is that some reserves in this country still do not have clean drinking water. That is why we have committed to ending all boil water advisories in the country by 2021, and we will. We have ended 73 long-term boil water advisories. We know we have a lot more work to do, and we are doing it. We will keep our promise.
Mr. Speaker, the crisis created by the Prime Minister will cost more than $1 billion, and now we learned this morning that residents living near Roxham Road are being offered compensation. This adds to the impact of this crisis, on top of the facilities in Lacolle becoming permanent and the provinces being stuck with the bills.The Prime Minister needs to stop making others pay for his failures.Will he finally resolve this crisis?
Mr. Speaker, before I ask my question, I want to take this opportunity, in the last question period on a Wednesday for Prime Minister's questions, to wish the Prime Minister the very best, on a personal basis, for him and his family. I hope all parliamentarians and all party members enjoy some time with their friends and families and connect with their constituents. In the spirit of giving, I have given the Prime Minister 23 opportunities to answer simple and straightforward questions. I have one more gift for the Prime Minister. I am going to give him one final chance to tell Canadians in what year the budget will be balanced.
Mr. Speaker, I cannot believe that the member opposite just asked me to stop playing political games on this issue, because he is the one playing petty politics. The Canadian Armed Forces conducted an analysis and found that the Obelix is not needed. For the member to suggest that we should buy it anyway is just cheap politics.We make decisions based on facts. We recognize that the Davie shipyard does good work, and we are working with Davie to give it more jobs, but we are not going to invent contracts for political reasons.
Mr. Speaker, I want to start by thanking the member for Malpeque for his hard work as chair of the finance committee, and his extraordinary service to this House and to Canada.We worked with the provinces and territories to reach a historic agreement that will help to ensure that Canadians get the secure and dignified retirement they deserve. The enhanced Canada pension plan will mean Canadians receive up to $7,000 more per year when they retire. This means that more Canadians will actually be able to retire at age 65. Despite the Conservative opposition, we are moving forward with the CPP expansion to make sure Canadians have a secure retirement.
Mr. Speaker, there are two reasons why the Conservatives are so worked up about our plan. First, they have no plan about which they can talk. Second, in provinces where the federal backstop applies, Canadian households will be receiving more from the climate action incentive than the cost of pricing pollution. This means that the ones who will pay are the companies who pollute the most. Conservatives, like Stephen Harper and Doug Ford, and the current leader, are so ideologically against any environmental protection. They want to take that money away from Canadians. While Conservatives want to make pollution free again, we are putting it
Mr. Speaker, In 2016, our government reached a historic agreement with the provinces and territories to expand the Canada pension plan to protect income security for pensioners. That CPP expansion is supposed to begin this year, but the Conservative Party opposes that expansion, which will allow greater security for pensioners. Will the Prime Minister assure the House, despite the opposition from the Conservatives, that the CPP will be expanded as intended?
Mr. Speaker, southwestern Nova Scotia depends on fishing, which is why I was so pleased last week when the Minister of Fisheries announced funding in excess of $18 million to be distributed through the Atlantic fisheries fund. The money will be invested in aquaculture, science, innovation, research and development.Can the Prime Minister tell us what measures our government has taken to support fisheries across Canada?
Mr. Speaker, from the very beginning, this government has worked in partnership with organized labour in the country. Among the very first things we did was eliminate Bill C-525 and Bill C-377, the anti-union bills the Conservatives had put forward. We then continued to work with labour, ensuring we would get to the bargaining table between labour and employers. We have demonstrated the tripartite working model works very well. We know we are not always going to agree on everything with organized labour. However, we do know that basing everything on a respectful approach that values the contributions of labour and the strength of the middle class of the country is the way to do it.
Mr. Speaker, it is the Liberal government which has put a price of zero on the largest emitters in Canada. It has granted a huge exemption to large emitters that can afford to hire lobbyists to get a special deal. Hard-working Canadian families and commuters have to bear the full brunt of the Liberal carbon tax. Now we find out that the carbon tax will have to be even higher in the future.If the Prime Minister claims that he does not mind getting questions, will he answer this simple question: What is the full and final cost of his carbon tax?
Mr. Speaker, we are ensuring that our immigration system remains fair and compassionate, all the while ensuring the integrity of our border and the security of our communities. We will continue to ensure that Canadian law is applied and that our international obligations are respected. I will also highlight, in this, the last opportunity for PMQs in the House, it is a pleasure to be taking questions from everyone, not just the Leader of the Opposition.
Mr. Speaker, we are proud of the work we are doing with the CRTC to ensure that our digital programming and protection of our airwaves keep pace with the transformations of our economy. We recognize there is more and more need for data and for proper access to broadband. That is something we are continuing to invest in across the country and work with the CRTC on, although it is odd to see the NDP members complaining about this when they are the ones who want to impose extra taxes on Internet usage by Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, he claims that Canada's immigration system should be compassionate and fair. There is nothing fair about crossing through an illegal border crossing from a safe part of upstate New York into Canada, jumping the queue, skipping the line and forcing others to wait longer, because more and more resources have to go to those coming into Canada illegally. This is the legacy that the Prime Minister caused with his irresponsible tweet. Literally, the Liberals have done nothing to stop the problem. Instead of just adding up the costs, will they finally do something to stop the crossings themselves?
Mr. Speaker, it is not about meeting with the provinces; it is about respecting them.On the other side of the river in Lévis, Davie shipyard workers delivered the Asterix supply ship on time and on budget.Our brave men and women in uniform need another supply ship, the Obelix, and the Davie shipyard is prepared to start work on it tomorrow morning.The Prime Minister needs to stop playing political games and give Davie that contract before Christmas.What is he waiting for to do that?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister needs to stop saying falsehoods about our record and start telling the truth about his record. It was the Conservatives who left a balanced budget. How do we know it was balanced? The finance department said it was. His own minister's department told Canadians that the budget was balanced. We did that while lowering taxes and protecting core services for Canadians. However, his reckless deficits are putting social services under great pressure. In less than five years, more tax dollars will go to the interest on the debt than are currently being spent on health care. When will the budget be balanced?
Mr. Speaker, in 2015, the Liberals masqueraded as progressives, trying to convince labour they cared. While GM has decided to close its plant in Oshawa, the Liberals are nowhere to be seen in the fight to keep these jobs in Canada. When postal workers were fighting for better working conditions, the Liberals, like the Conservatives before them, legislated them back to work. The Liberals did nothing to remove Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs, which are costing jobs. The year 2018 has been defined by the Liberals betraying Canadian workers. Why will the Liberals not admit what Canadians see clearly; that the government has never had their backs?
Mr. Speaker, the number of Canadians being infected with HIV is once again rising rapidly among young gay men and has reached epidemic proportions in indigenous communities, yet the Liberals have cut funding to many front-line HIV agencies and have failed to increase access to testing, when we know that knowing one's status is the key to reducing new infections.Will the Liberal government move quickly to approve home testing kits for sale in pharmacies to help reach all men who have sex with men, and will it work with the provinces to ensure that testing is widely available without needing to see a doctor first?
Mr. Speaker, I want to take a moment once again to thank all the Canadians from across the country, including of different ideologies, including some Conservatives, who worked hard to negotiate the right deal for Canada. We can be assured that this is a deal that will continue to secure our access to our most important trading partner at a time of uncertainty and unpredictability from that trading partner. We got rid of the ratchet clause, which infringed upon our sovereignty by preventing our government from controlling access to our energy resources. We kept chapter 19, and the cultural exemption will apply to digital programs. We
Mr. Speaker, the member opposite wants to talk about the facts. The Conservatives, under Stephen Harper, had the lowest growth rate in Canadian history since the depths of the Great Depression. They added $150 billion to our national debt with stubbornly low growth to show for it. We made a different choice and Canadians supported us in investing in communities, in investing in the middle class instead of giving boutique tax credits to the wealthiest Canadians. We focused on growing the economy for everyone
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have granted a huge exemption. That is from their own documents. When a companies go over that target, they do not pay a tax. They can purchase offsets. The Liberals have come up with a scheme that allows the country's largest emitters to avoid paying the carbon tax. However, that special deal is not available to hard-working Canadian families, commuters, suburban moms or small and medium-size businesses that have to pay the full brunt. We know what the costs are going to be today. What will the full and final costs be for the carbon tax in the future?
Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Budget Officer pegs the cost of the Prime Minister's failure at the border at more than $1 billion. The affected provinces are sending the bill to the Prime Minister.When will the Prime Minister understand that the only way to stop paying billion dollar bills is to close the loophole in the safe third country agreement?
Mr. Speaker, I was pleased to sit down for the fifth time with all premiers last week and to have frank discussions about how we can continue to work together. That is something Stephen Harper refused to do in the last years of his term because he did not want to talk to the provinces. Personally, I believe in collaboration and co-operation, and I want to point out that the work we are doing with the Province of Quebec is going very well.We have tremendous respect for its views and we will work with it to improve the lives of Quebeckers and all Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, I have good news for the Prime Minister. After the 2019 election, he will not have to answer the questions he does not like in the House.Here is what he does have to answer for. The Prime Minister has to answer for the fact that he has done absolutely nothing to stop the illegal border crossings into our country. He can try to hide the truth and say things that are not true. He knows it was the Conservative government that added 26% worth of Canada Border Services agents at our borders. It is the Conservatives who are proposing real solutions to solve this problem.When will the Prime Minister do something about it?
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for Vancouver Centre for her hard work and her extraordinary service to our country. We recognize that a strong economy and a clean environment go hand in hand and that we must grow our economy responsibly. Canadians and marine mammals have waited long enough during the 10 long years of Harper Conservatives' inaction. That is why in budget 2018, we announced concrete action to fix this problem. We will now have the needed and enforceable tools to address immediate and long-term threats to the marine environment, including marine mammals and the southern resident killer whale.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has often boasted about inheriting a great family fortune. He has never had to worry about the cost of living, so it is no wonder that he does not worry when his policies drive up the cost for Canadians. His tax on gas, on home heating and on groceries will hurt seniors, suburban moms and small businesses. Worse, government documents now show that by the year 2022, the carbon tax will have to be six times higher than the Liberals now admit, driving up gas prices another whopping 70¢ a litre and home heating by another $1,000 a year. What is the full and final price of the Liberal carbon tax?
Mr. Speaker, we know that we have made strong strides forward in the fight against HIV-AIDS, but we know that there is much more to do. That is why Health Canada is working with our provincial partners to ensure that there are even more ways for Canadians to stay safe and more ways for Canadians to counter this terrible epidemic that we know continues, despite all the efforts we and others are putting forward to counter it. We understand, as always, that there is more to do, and we look forward to working with the member opposite and all members in this House to continue to address this terrible challenge.
Mr. Speaker, we have put forward a strong and robust plan to address climate change and to support Canadians through this transition. We have a plan and it is perfectly okay, obviously, for people to ask questions, to criticize or to suggest improvements. What is not correct is to not recognize that the Conservatives have no plan to fight climate change. They have no idea how to fight climate change, prepare our economy for the future and to create the jobs of the future. They do not see it as a priority. That is where they are wrong. Canadians know from wildfires to floods to droughts right across the country that we need to act on climate change and the Conservatives are not.
Mr. Speaker, after 10 years of Stephen Harper's government, we stepped forward with a fresh plan to invest in Canadians, to invest in communities, and that plan is working, with over 800,000 new jobs over the past three years and the lowest unemployment rate in over 40 years. Canadians are more confident about the future and looking to their kids' future with optimism. We have a plan on climate change. We are taking action on building a stronger future. The Conservatives have only a failed plan to fall back on, because they are presenting no new ideas of their own.
Mr. Speaker, our Prime Minister grew up in British Columbia and knows the southern resident killer whale is iconic to the people of our province. Sadly, these marine mammals face significant threats to their survival. For 10 years, the Harper government failed to take any measures to protect the environment that would actually sustain B.C.'s orcas.Our government has a plan. Could the Prime Minister update British Columbians on our most recent initiative to save this precious species?
Mr. Speaker, the Conservative Party is usually a lot quieter than this, and usually a lot more respectful. However, on this, the very last Wednesday question period in the House this year, I think they all want to be heard. That is the problem.Will the Leader of the Opposition allow some of his fellow members to ask questions of the Prime Minister? Apparently not.
Mr. Speaker, this is very interesting. What we see from the Conservatives is a doubling down on Stephen Harper's economic plan, the plan that Canadians soundly rejected in 2015, giving tax breaks to the wealthiest, cutting things like veterans services, health care for refugees and eliminating the long-form census. These are the things the Harper government did that the Conservatives are once again running on.The Conservatives have no real plan for the economy. We have created 800,000 new jobs and have the
Mr. Speaker, he can tell that to our men and women in the Canadian Armed Forces and to the Davie shipyard workers. When you look at the scope of the Prime Minister's failures, it is obvious that he has failed to treat the provinces as partners. Instead, like all good Liberals, he maintains a paternalistic and centralizing attitude.The new government in Quebec has identified a third link to the east as a priority for addressing urban mobility problems in the old capital.Can the Prime Minister finally commit to being a reliable partner on that project?
Mr. Speaker, one of the first things we discovered when we came to office in 2015 was that the Conservatives' phony balancing of the budget actually hurt Canadians. It hurt our veterans. It hurt our public service. It cut Canadian border services and police services. The Conservatives cut services that Canadians needed right across the country in order to present a phony balanced budget just in time for the election. We made a different choice: to invest in Canadians. What has that delivered? It has delivered the lowest unemployment rate in 40 years and 800,000 new jobs in the past three years.
Mr. Speaker, we are working with the United States and our provincial partners to ensure that our immigration system remains strong and reliable.We know that irregular arrivals, asylum seekers, present a challenge to the system, but in the meantime we can assure Canadians that in terms of security, all the checks are made and we are applying our immigration system in its entirety. We understand this is a complex situation, but we are working with the provinces and our partners.
Mr. Speaker, it is the Liberal government that does not have a plan to reduce emissions in Canada. All the Liberals' plan is, is for a tax grab. The reason we know it will not reduce emissions is that they have given a massive exemption to the largest emitters in Canada. The full cost of the carbon tax will fall to hard-working Canadian families, commuters, soccer moms and small businesses. Worse yet, we know now that the carbon tax will be higher in the future.Will the Prime Minister tell us what is the full and final price for the Liberal carbon tax?
Mr. Speaker, we have known for a long time, listening to the energy sector, that its number one priority is getting oil resources to markets other than the United States. It has asked for that for a long time. Stephen Harper and his Conservatives worked very hard to get that done, and they did not get it done for 10 years. We are moving forward in a significant way, in the right way, understanding that working with environmental groups, respecting community interests and partnering with indigenous peoples is the only way to get things done right.
Mr. Speaker, it is the government's plan that makes emissions free for the largest emitters. The Conservatives are ideologically opposed to a tax that raises the cost of living for Canadians. That will be the choice in the next election. The Prime Minister has failed in so many areas, but there is one file in which he is succeeding. He went around the world and bragged about his plan to phase out Canada's energy sector. Sad to say, it is working. He has chased out new pipeline proponents. He is bringing in a bill that will ensure no future pipeline gets built. Will the Prime Minister do the right thing and scrap Bill C-69?
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. There have been discussions among the parties and an email sent to all members of Parliament with respect to this motion. If you seek it, I believe you will find unanimous consent for this motion. I move that the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology be instructed to undertake a study of no less than four meetings to investigate the impact of the announced closure of the General Motors automotive assembly plant in Oshawa, and that the study (1) include impacted stakeholders, such as the union Unifor, to solicit input towards devising a plan to address issues that may have contributed to this announcement; (2) provide an opportunity for the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development to appear to address concerns about competitiveness raised by General Motors and any other issues the minister deems instructive toward developing a plan; and that the committee report its findings to the House of Commons no later than March 11, 2019.
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals say they are working for the middle class, but they side with big corporations every time. They forced Canada Post employees back to work. They gave our money to Bombardier with no strings attached. When Lowe's bought Rona, the government demanded no guarantees. To top it off, there is no local content requirement in the fleet renewal contract VIA Rail awarded to Siemens.Why are they turning their backs on middle-class workers?
Mr. Speaker, again, we can see that the Conservatives do not want to address the question of what their alternative is and how they are going to fight climate change. We have been very clear. We are going to put a price on pollution. We are accelerating the phase-out of traditional coal power. We are making historic investments in cleaner infrastructure. We are adopting regulations to cut methane emissions. We are moving forward in a way that is going to support families and protect them for the future. The Conservatives have no plan at all. That is unacceptable.
Mr. Speaker, two years after the Panama papers scandal, governments around the world have recouped over $700 million in fines and back taxes as a result of investigations, but Canada has recouped zero. Just as an example, since 2016, the Australian Taxation Office has recouped more than $48 million, but Canada has recouped zero.Canadians who are not rich are presumed guilty until they can prove their innocence, and the CRA goes after them with all guns blazing. However, Canadians who are wealthy are innocent until proven guilty, and they are treated with kid gloves.I ask the Prime Minister, why is there this double standard?
Mr. Speaker, funny, that is not stopping other countries from completing investigations and getting results. I would remind the Prime Minister that the Auditor General does not know where the money spent by the CRA went. The CRA has no trouble going after Canadians who are not rich and bullying them, but it treats tax evaders with kid gloves. The Canada Revenue Agency has been investigating for over two years now, but it still has not dealt with the 3,000 files of people involved in the Panama papers. However, it has ample time to pore over the files of 332,000 Canadians who receive benefits. With answers like the one we just heard, it is clear that the Liberals are protecting the status quo.Why the double standard? Why go after the least wealthy Canadians and leave the richest alone?
Mr. Speaker, Canadians had a choice, and Canadians voted for a balanced budget. That was the promise the Prime Minister ran on. Now we find out that his temporary and tiny deficits are now massive and permanent. They are not $10 billion. They are not $15 billion. They are not $20 billion. They are not $25 billion. The Parliamentary Budget Officer said they could grow to as high as $30 billion. Deficits today mean higher taxes tomorrow. Will the Prime Minister tell Canadians in what year the budget will be balanced?
Mr. Speaker, unlike the Conservatives, we believe that emissions need to go down and that we need to continue creating good middle-class jobs for Canadians. What the Conservatives are saying is actually factually wrong. We have set a target for industry to reduce pollution. If companies fail to meet that target, they pay the price. If they do better, for example through innovation, they are rewarded. Our plan will also give money directly to households where the federal backstop applies. The only mystery here is why the Conservatives refuse to have a plan themselves.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are growing increasingly fearful of reports that impacts of climate change are worsening even beyond what scientists predicted. Pressure is mounting for this government to institute measures to make them more transparent and accountable for their decisions on climate action. The United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Finland have long ago instituted effective measures to make this happen. Merely appointing yet another hand-picked advisory body just does not cut it.Will the Prime Minister support my Motion No. 204 to legally enact binding greenhouse gas targets, a duty to act, and measures to ensure improved accountability and transparency for federal action on climate change?
Mr. Speaker, we are working to reduce emissions across the Canadian economy to create jobs and meet our international commitments. Our actions include pricing pollution right across the country, accelerating the phase-out of traditional coal power, making historic investments in cleaner infrastructure like public transit and charging stations for electric vehicles, adopting regulations to cut methane emissions from oil and gas by 40% to 45% by 2025 and more.As Canadians know, there is no more choice to be made. We are both protecting the environment and growing the middle class.
Mr. Speaker, I look forward to the opportunity to present our plan to Canadians next year in the federal election. I look forward to going against what seems to be the Harper Conservative platform once again. The Harper Conservatives cut $390 million
Mr. Speaker, and so it is. VIA Rail would rather sign a $1.3-billion agreement with a German multinational than with a Quebec company, to purchase trains that will be used in Quebec. What a lump of coal.Workers in La Pocatière are being laid off, and they are popping champagne corks in Sacramento, where the cars are manufactured. How can the Prime Minister justify abandoning workers in La Pocatière and allowing VIA Rail to choose Siemens?
Mr. Speaker, we have made record investments in infrastructure over the past three years, proving that we are here to be a reliable partner. I can say, however, that the project the member opposite referred to does not yet exist; it is still in the idea phase.If he submits a plan, we will look at it. That is what we are here for. No one should be inventing projects for political rhetoric.Our decisions will be based on the facts, on real projects submitted to us. We are not there yet with regard to the third link. When that happens, we will work with the stakeholders.
Mr. Speaker, after being elected, the new Quebec government made several decisions in different areas. It received a clear mandate from the people to do so.What is the Prime Minister's usual response on every issue? He criticizes the provincial decisions and tries to lecture Quebec.When will the Prime Minister understand that there are separate jurisdictions in Canada and that Quebec is entitled to deal with the matters under its responsibility without constantly being criticized by this centralist Prime Minister?
Mr. Speaker, what the Prime Minister is trying to do is convince Canadians that his reckless actions have not had an impact on the energy sector. However, here is the reality. Under the Conservative government, four major pipeline projects were built by private sector dollars, increasing our capacity to ship our energy to markets by over a million barrels a day. Three pipeline projects were on the books when he took over. Two are completely dead and one is on a lifeline, with no plan to move it forward. Therefore, will the Prime Minister do the right thing and scrap his no more pipeline bill?
Mr. Speaker, another massive failure for the Liberal government under this Prime Minister has been the ethics file. This is the only Prime Minister in Canadian history to have been found guilty of breaking ethics laws, and several other members of his team have followed suit.The finance minister conveniently forgot about a villa in France, and other ministers have been found guilty of breaking rules. Now there is a massive investigation, with a big cloud of suspicion around a former Liberal MP and a Liberal cabinet minister.Can the Prime Minister tell us exactly how many more Liberals are currently being investigated by the RCMP or by other investigators?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister should be ashamed of himself for saying that.With the closure of STC in Saskatchewan, people with disabilities in northern Saskatchewan are being left in the dark by the Liberals. People like Gary Tinker from Pinehouse, Saskatchewan are forced to hitchhike across the province to get to appointments, to see their families or just to live a normal life.People with disabilities cannot wait until after the election. What are the Liberals waiting for to help northerners like Gary and to restore the bus service?
Mr. Speaker, the commitment we made in 2015 was to create economic growth, which would benefit the middle class and all those working hard to join it. That is exactly what we did by cutting taxes for the middle class and increasing taxes for the wealthiest 1%. We introduced the Canada child benefit, which helped nine in 10 families and lifted 300,000 children out of poverty across the country.We know that there is still much work to be done on infrastructure investment, fighting poverty and investing in youth and our seniors. We will continue
Mr. Speaker, what the Prime Minister is trying to do is double down on a failed plan of higher taxes and massive deficits, threatening Canadians as we head into difficult economic headwinds. In fact, the IMF said today that there are significant risks that it is worried Canada is not prepared for. However, it is not a surprise that the Prime Minister is not worried. He has never had to worry about money, so he does not worry about what happens to Canadians when he blows through their savings.When will the Prime Minister understand that the federal budget is not a trust fund at his disposal?
Mr. Speaker, I am convinced that the Prime Minister had to google what the ratchet clause was.Every single thing the current Prime Minister points to as a victory was something that a previous Conservative government already got for Canadians. He had one bargaining chip left. He told Donald Trump that if he did not get rid of the tariffs, there would be no photo op. Donald called his bluff. He knew that the Prime Minister could not resist another photo being taken, and there he was, signing along with the rest of the leaders. In exchange for taking his picture with Donald Trump, did he get an end to the steel and aluminum tariffs?
Mr. Speaker, I suggest you give them a little indulgence. They all want an opportunity to ask questions and make comments on this last day of Prime Minister's question period in the House of Commons.We are going to continue to stand up for Canadians and ensure that things move forward properly. That is something we committed to Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, Canada has an immigration system that is based on rules and principles, and we follow those rules. Canadians are among the few people on this planet who are, as a whole, generally positively inclined towards immigration, because they know that our system works. Our system is based on rules, procedures and processes. We know that sometimes the decisions can be difficult. We will, of course, take a look at all files on compassionate grounds, but we will continue to apply our immigration system based on the rules and the facts of the cases.
Mr. Speaker, when the Conservatives talk about scrapping Bill C-69, which is focused on giving tighter timelines, a single project single evaluation and responds to the concerns of industry, they actually mean let us go back to CEAA 2012 that Harper put forward. That was an absolute failure for industry. There was a failure in getting anything built. It would be a disaster for the oil and gas industry and for industries right across the country. We will not do that.
Mr. Speaker, what the Prime Minister is trying to do is distract from his terrible record by saying things that just are not true. The Conservative government protected Canada's economy through the worst global recession since the 1920s. We did it while cutting taxes and bringing Canada back to balance. What he has done is racked up massive amounts of new debt. He inherited a great fortune, a perfect situation for the Canadian economy, a balanced budget and a booming global economy. He has squandered that and blown through the savings. When will the budget be balanced?
Mr. Speaker, what the Conservatives did not understand and what they obviously fail to understand is we cannot grow the Canadian economy through cuts to services, through cuts to Canadians. We need to invest in Canadians. We need to invest in the middle class and those working hard to join it. We need to invest in infrastructure in their communities. We need to invest in science and research. We need to invest in our young people. That is exactly what we have done and that is how we have created 800,000 new jobs over the past years and have the lowest unemployment in
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to set the record straight. We have made investments of over $1 billion to give the Canada Revenue Agency the resources needed to crack down on tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance.On the Panama papers specifically, the CRA has identified over 3,000 offshore entities with over 2,600 beneficial owners that have some link to Canada, of which the CRA has risk assessed over 80%. I can confirm that there are several criminal investigations under way regarding the Panama papers which, as my colleague knows, can be complex and require months or years to complete.
Mr. Speaker, we were extremely concerned with the decision by Greyhound to suspend bus service across parts of the northwest. That is why we have been working with local communities and other providers to ensure that there are alternatives in place. We have created programs and are partnering with and allowing indigenous communities to step up. We recognize the situation is difficult on top of an already difficult situation. That is why we are working in partnership with indigenous communities to solve this problem. I thank the member opposite for her question and for her work on this file.
Mr. Speaker, the crowning touch to the Prime Minister's year of failure has to be his disastrous NAFTA deal, which contains a long list of concessions in areas like the automotive sector, prescription drugs and dairy products.The deal is so bad that Donald Trump's top economic adviser said Canada gave very graciously.Why did the Prime Minister fail to secure the removal of the steel and aluminum tariffs during the NAFTA negotiations?
Mr. Speaker, the member opposite just got censured by the Ethics Commissioner for having told one of his members to break the ethics rules. We will take no lessons on ethics from them or from the legacy of 10 years of the kinds of practices that were all too common under the Harper Conservatives.
Mr. Speaker, we have made investments of over $1 billion to give the Canada Revenue Agency the resources needed to crack down on tax cheats.On the Panama papers specifically, the CRA has identified over 3,000 offshore entities with over 2,600 beneficial owners that have some link to Canada, of which the CRA has risk-assessed over 80%. I can confirm that there are several criminal investigations under way involving the Panama papers. As my colleague knows, these investigations can be complex and take time to complete.
Mr. Speaker, this is what happens when a Prime Minister does not like the questions and has to answer for his failed record on carbon taxes, deficits, and signing away concession after concession to Donald Trump without anything in return. Then, he asks for someone else to ask him questions. Do not worry. The Prime Minister need not worry for too long, because come 2019, Canadians will send someone into his chair who is not afraid of the tough questions, and actually
Mr. Speaker, that answer let the nation and a family down.Canadians are subjected to unfair Internet data overcharges, restrictions when switching Internet providers and misleading aggressive telecom practices. The CRTC says it wants to establish a consumer Internet code of conduct, but has failed to provide sufficient time for consumer groups and the public. The result is a boycotted and broken system. Consumer groups have been clear. They want an extension so they can participate. Why is the Prime Minister allowing the CRTC to make up a toothless code of conduct for consumers in Canada?
Mr. Speaker, Luisa Montoya and her family arrived in Canada in 2012, fleeing violence and extortion in Colombia. As a legacy case, they have been in limbo for six years. Luisa is married to a Canadian and their son Thomas was born in Canada. The family of seven is fully integrated and thriving. Violence in Colombia has displaced millions and the Canadian government has issued an alert to avoid travel there. However, this family is being deported on Christmas eve. This is a cruel way for the minister to meet his quota of deporting 10,000 asylum seekers.Will the Prime Minister direct his minister to intervene
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's worst failure, in this year of failures, is his promise to balance the budget.This promise was really cast in stone, but the Parliamentary Budget Officer tabled a report indicating that next year's deficit will be $28 billion.Why did the Prime Minister mislead Canadians about balancing the budget?