Most toxic speeches
Mr. Speaker, we seem to have hit a nerve in the way the Conservatives are misleading Canadians on intolerance. Let us try them on climate. Today, we learned the Conservatives are hiding, from their own constituents, tax benefits that would give Canadians hundreds of dollars. Conservatives want to take hundreds of dollars away from families in New Brunswick, in Ontario, in Manitoba, in Saskatchewan. Indeed, their only plan seems to be to mislead Canadians about our plan to fight climate change. That is even more unacceptable. They continue to mislead Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, those are typical Liberal smear tactics. They know that I have always 100% denounced white supremacy and racism and anyone who promotes those hateful ideologies. The Prime Minister also knows that the senator withdrew and clarified his remarks and that I continue to denounce those types of messages. This is what is disgusting about this. The Liberals are using the very real threat of hatred and racism in this country to cover up their corruption scandal.
Mr. Speaker, Conservatives continue to mislead Canadians, and Canadians deserve better.On Monday, the Conservative leader refused to denounce white supremacists in this House. On Tuesday, a Conservative senator said, I would find it disturbing to believe that there is a politician in this country that believes that white supremacy is a threat to our way of life in Canada. When will the Conservative leader finally denounce white supremacists by name, and will he denounce comments from a member of his own caucus?
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are doubling down on misleading Canadians. It shows that they are still following Stephen Harper's playbook. We put the member on notice because he and his party have a history of making false and defamatory statements. That is what he did in December against the Minister of Innovation. He was forced to swallow his false words and retract his statements. We will not stand by while he continues to mislead Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, many will recall the sad day when the Liberal government and the Prime Minister cancelled the public transit tax credit, claiming that it favoured only wealthy Canadians. Not only is that stupid, but let us talk about some really wealthy folks.Loblaws is a company that made over $3 billion in profits last year. Yesterday the government announced that it is giving Loblaws $12 million to purchase refrigerators. Wow. That means $3 billion in gross profits and $12 million in subsidies. Only the Liberals could possibly see the logic in that.Why is the Prime Minister taking money out of the pockets of Canadian workers and giving it to people who really do not need it?
Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition continues to mislead Canadians. This shows that the Conservatives are still following Stephen Harper's playbook.We put him on notice because he and his party have a history of making false and defamatory statements. That is what he did in December against the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. He was forced to swallow his false words and retract his statements. We will not stand by while he continues to mislead Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition continues to mislead Canadians.This shows that the Conservatives are still following Stephen Harper's playbook. We put him on notice because he and his party have a history of making false and defamatory statements. That is what he did, and he will have to withdraw his statements because that is what happened in December, when he was forced to swallow his false words and retract his statements against the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development.We will not stand by while he continues to mislead Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, using tax dollars to fund his illegal private island vacation, groping a female reporter, strong-arming his former attorney general into interfering in a criminal prosecution with his friend's company, firing the former AG when she refused to do his bidding for himCanadians might think I am describing a Communist dictator, but in fact I am describing the Liberal leader. When the Prime Minister does not like the law, he breaks it. There is one set of rules for him and one set of rules for everyone else. Why?
Mr. Speaker, speaking of misleading Canadians, the very first thing we did was lower taxes on the middle class and raise taxes on the wealthiest 1%. We then delivered a Canada child benefit that lifted 300,000 kids out of poverty. The Conservatives voted against both of those measures.How is our economy doing? It has among the best in growth in the G7 and the lowest unemployment rate in 40 years, and Canadians have created over 900,000 new jobs. No wonder the Conservatives can only sling mud instead of talking about any plan for growing the economy. It is because they have none.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister asked his lawyers to send me a letter threatening me with a lawsuit if I did not retract the statement I made on March 29. Not only will I not retract it, but I stand by every single word of that statement. I repeated it outside the chamber.When will I see him in court to discuss his corruption scandal?
Mr. Speaker, once again the opposition leader is doubling down on his false and misleading statements. We put him on notice because he has a history, and his party has a history, of misleading Canadians. That is exactly what they did when he had to withdraw and retract misleading statements he made about the Minister of Innovation just a few months ago. We know that the Conservatives' way is to try to mislead Canadians as much as they possibly can. We need to call them out on that because falsehoods have no place in an election campaign.
Mr. Speaker, section 121 of the Criminal Code makes it an offence for any government employee to accept a benefit from someone who has business with the government, which is why it was so strange that several years after the Prime Minister accepted over $200,000 in gifts from someone seeking a government grant in the form of his famous island vacation, there still have been no charges laid. Now we know that the Prime Minister implicated the RCMP in planning that very offence. How many times has he discussed that with the police force since he went on that vacation?
Mr. Speaker, we will continue to stay focused on what matters to Canadians. We will always stand up for women's rights. We will always stand up, unequivocally, for women's reproductive rights, unlike the member opposite and her party. We will always be there to defend Canadians. We will always be there to push for gender equality. We will always be there to invest in the middle class and those working hard to join it.The members opposite can only sling mud, because the they have no plan for Canadians on the economy and no plan for Canadians on climate change. All they can do is continue to mislead Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, I look forward to Canadians having a choice between a party that consistently lies to Canadians, as the Conservatives do, and a party that stays focused on what matters to them.We have, over the coming months, an opportunity to put our best feet forward for Canadians and show them our plans to grow the economy, to fight climate change and to continue to increase Canadians' prosperity and safety in the world. We have laid that out. We have acted on it over the past four years. The Conservatives have nothing to show but simple political attacks, partisanship and their misleading of Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, indeed, we have noticed, and Canadians have noticed, that the Leader of the Opposition continues to double down on his misleading statements.We know that Canadians deserve politicians on all sides who speak the truth, who do not mislead Canadians, and who end up talking about the things that matter and not hiding from Canadians. What we have right here is a political party that does not want to talk about the economy, that does not want to talk about the budget, that does not want to talk about climate change and that just wants to play politics and attack us.We are going to stay focused on Canadians, because Canadians deserve a better path forward than what those members are offering.
Mr. Speaker, we are faced with a Prime Minister who has been flatly denying the truth from the beginning, ever since the Globe and Mail broke the story on the interference scandal involving him and his entourage. He was unsuccessful at silencing all the Liberals, so now he is bringing out a new Liberal tactic. He is threatening our leader with legal action, purely in the hope of silencing the members on this side of the House. Does this Prime Minister have the guts to follow through on his notice?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are silencing committees with Harper-like efficiency. They just shut down the ethics committee again, and the justice committee is under a cone of silence. Yesterday, the OECD's anti-bribery unit wrote the NDP and said that it would welcome our input on this matter. It is saying that in the next meeting in June, it is going to put Canada's actions on corporate corruption on the table. With no comprehensive investigation on its way and our reputation at stake, why will the Prime Minister not launch a public inquiry?
Mr. Speaker, the justice committee did not get the job done because the Liberals shut it down. What is the Prime Minister hiding that he does not want Canadians to know?The OECD has referred the PMO's interference scandal to its working group on bribery. The Prime Minister does not seem to understand that Canada's reputation is on the line. The Liberals have blocked any way forward to get to the bottom of what happened. Canadians deserve to know if there was any political interference in the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin.What is the Prime Minister afraid of? Why does he not do the right thing and call a public inquiry now?
Mr. Speaker, we have seen the Conservatives time and time again mislead Canadians, and they are smarting that we actually called them out on it. We put them on notice because, indeed, they continue, particularly in this election year, to spread falsehoods to Canadians. Just recently, the Conservatives actually sent a householder to Canadians that was not telling them about our climate action incentive, which returns hundreds of dollars to Canadians that they have to claim through their taxes. They have no plan on the environment. All they do is mislead Canadians about our plan to
Mr. Speaker, the only thing a Conservative government will take away from Canadians is their obligation to pay his carbon tax, and that will come to an end this October.Canadians finally want to see the Prime Minister testify under oath. They finally want to see documents presented to court in an environment that his members of Parliament cannot control. Once again, I have stood by everything I have said. When will the Prime Minister finally start the lawsuit?
Mr. Speaker, there is no place for discrimination against citizens in a free society, especially not on the basis of their religion. This is what I believe and what this government believes. We will always believe, unequivocally, that we must defend the rights of all Canadians at all times.
Mr. Speaker, Liberals still discriminate against hundreds of thousands of first nations women across Canada. First nations women and their children still do not have the same right to Indian status or the right to transfer their status as first nations men have. This is a violation of their human rights and it denies first nations women's dignity. Liberals know that they could stop this injustice at their next cabinet meeting. Will the Liberals commit now to end the discrimination against first nations women, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, once again, in his very first words in that last intervention, the Leader of the Opposition emphasized that the first thing he would do if he gained power was to make pollution free again. We know, and Canadians know, that climate change is real, and yet it has been 346 days since the Leader of the Opposition promised a climate plan and has not shown anything. He has no plan for the environment, no plan for the economy. All he does is mislead Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister says that he has put me on notice, hoping that I will withdraw my statements. I will not. I repeated them again outside. Therefore, I am putting him on notice that I am looking forward to the day that he sets for this court case to proceed.When it comes to falsehoods, the Prime Minister has stated that his excuse for interfering in this court case was jobs. We now know that is not true either.Once again, is the Prime Minister aware of the criminal penalties for committing perjury in a court case?
Mr. Speaker, I believe that, if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: that this House condemn the comments made on April 5 by the mayor of Hampstead, William Steinberg, who described Bill 21 on secularism, passed at the National Assembly of Quebec, as ethnic cleansing.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister seeks to be judge, jury and executioner in this matter when, quite frankly, he is using a notice of libel as a tool of intimidation, much like he has done for this entire case.He states that it is a fact that the Leader of the Opposition is indeed spreading mistruths. Our fact is that is not the case. Guess who gets to decide that? A real court.When will the Prime Minister bring this to the right place to debate, a court of law in the province of Ontario? When will he start the claim?
Mr. Speaker, I think what Canadians are remarking upon is the fact that the Conservatives do not want to talk about anything that actually matters to Canadians in their day-to-day lives. Canadians are worried about the threat of climate change and the impact on their kids. The Conservatives have no plan, are misleading people about our plan, do not want to talk about it and try to change the subject. What is worse is that the Conservatives have no plan for the economy. They continue to want to lower taxes on the wealthiest Canadians, when what we know is to invest in the middle class is to grow the economy. They have no plan on the economy and no plan on the environment.
Mr. Speaker, evidence confirms the Prime Minister undertook a coordinated, sustained and inappropriate campaign to interfere with the independence of the judicial system. The Criminal Code says that everyone who wilfully attempts in any manner to obstruct, pervert or defeat the course of justice is guilty of an offence.Has the RCMP contacted the Prime Minister or any of his staff or former staff about the SNC-Lavalin scandal?
Mr. Speaker, it is kind of dismaying to see the NDP, which had such a tradition of standing up for workers, put all that aside to try to score a few points now that some international organization has actually noticed that they exist.The fact of the matter is we are going to stay focused on the things that matter to Canadians. We are going to continue to fight for jobs, for workers across this country, for canola farmers across this country and for forestry workers across this country. We are going to stay focused on Canadians while everyone else tries to play politics.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister just said another false statement. A spokesperson for SNC-Lavalin said as late as last week that there was no intention to move the headquarters from Canada.However, I guess the Prime Minister is worried about actually taking this to court. Everything he has said outside the House in front of Canadians if he were to say it again in a court of law, he would be guilty of perjury. I guess the famous just watch me has turned into just watch me run away.Will the Prime Minister have the backbone to stand by his threats and show up in court to fight this case?
Mr. Speaker, Groundhog Day is February 2. We are a long way past that, yet the Conservatives seem to be desperate to reach back into any old thing they can to avoid talking about the fact that they have no plan for the economy, no plan to fight climate change and no plan to continue to grow an economy that works for Canadians in a way that is inclusive and positive.These are the things that we have been working on over the past four years, and they are working for Canadians. All they can do is try to sling mud and bring up old issues that quite frankly are not what Canadians care about.
Mr. Speaker, I can understand why the Prime Minister did not want to answer that question, because this is really about the Prime Minister's motives. It is not just that. It is the illegal, taxpayer-funded vacation that he took while he was raising taxes on people who cannot think about affording their own vacation right now. It is the fact that he punished two strong women for doing the right thing while he moved hell and high water to protect his buddies at SNC-Lavalin from facing a day in court. Why does everything the Prime Minister does benefit him and hurt the people that we are supposed to serve?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister wants to talk about false statements. The Prime Minister said that his motivation for interfering in this criminal court case was that he was afraid that SNC-Lavalin would move its headquarters out of the country. The head of SNC-Lavalin has said that this is completely false.Once again, is the Prime Minister aware of the criminal penalties that he would face if he said that falsehood under oath in a court of law?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is still threatening to sue me over a statement that I made on March 29. I stand by every single word of that statement. In fact, I just repeated it moments ago outside the chamber. He claims I will face consequences for exposing his potentially illegal interference in a criminal trial. However, the only consequence seems to be that the Prime Minister will be forced to finally tell the truth. When will I see him in court?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister now wants to talk about falsehoods. The Prime Minister said, in response to The Globe and Mail story breaking the SNC-Lavalin corruption scandal, that no one, neither himself nor anyone in his office, put pressure on the former attorney general to interfere in this case. We now know that is completely false.Once again, is the Prime Minister aware that if he says something that he knows not to be true in a court case that he will be guilty of perjury?
Mr. Speaker, over the past weeks, I have heard from constituents concerned about the outbreaks of measles in several regions of our country, including in the greater Toronto area. While Canada made great strides in the fight against measles and eliminated it over two decades ago, outbreaks do occur when the virus is picked up abroad.Can the Prime Minister inform this House and all Canadians how they can protect themselves and their families against measles?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister wants to talk about politicians who have led Canadians in error. The Prime Minister said, when the allegations were first printed in The Globe and Mail, that they were completely false. We now know that is not true.Is the Prime Minister aware that if he says something that he knows not to be true in a court proceeding that he will be guilty of perjury?
Mr. Speaker, today Global News reported that the Prime Minister's vacation to billionaire island was planned at least nine months ahead. Staff in the PMO had this information well in advance, yet the Prime Minister was found guilty of violating the ethics law four times.In nine months of careful planning for his island vacation, how did no one in the PMO ever suggest to the Prime Minister that his trip was going to break the law, or did the Prime Minister just ignore the best advice from those around him because he was in one of his moods?
Mr. Speaker, what Canadians want is a government with an economic plan and a plan to fight climate change, and that is exactly what we are doing.The Conservatives are continuing to mislead Canadians about our economic plan and our plan to fight climate change.I know that all Quebeckers and all Canadians are concerned about the fact that the Conservatives do not have a plan to fight climate change. The Leader of the Opposition promised to present a plan 346 days ago, but he has still not done so.When will he tackle climate change?
Mr. Speaker, in the discussions on misleading Canadians that happened back and forth, it appears that I may have used an unparliamentary word. For that, I apologize and withdraw it.
Mr. Speaker, from the beginning, the Prime Minister has been repeating that there was no political interference. Today, everyone knows that is untrue. He said that the former attorney general never shared her concerns with him, but we now know that is not true either.If the Prime Minister has nothing to hide, then he should follow through on his notice. We, on this side of the House, are not afraid of the truth. In fact, the truth is all we are asking for. Canadians all want to know the truth. The Prime Minister should show a little courage and follow through on his notice.
Mr. Speaker, I would just remind the Prime Minister that it was his idea to bring these allegations to court. I am just waiting for him to tell me on what day I should show up, because I will be there.Now, if he wants to talk about falsehoods, he told Canadians, looked them in the eyes and said that the former attorney general or anyone else never came to him to raise concerns about being pressured to interfere in this case. We now know that is false.Is the Prime Minister aware that if he said that in a court case at this point that he would be guilty of perjury?
Mr. Speaker, to fight climate change, the Liberals are giving $12 million of our money to a billion-dollar corporation led by the second richest person in the country, while our local markets and independent grocers struggle to survive. Our local businesses are greener, yet they are not getting any help from the government.The Liberals would rather help billionaires than make life more affordable for families and fight climate change for future generations.What is the Liberals' priority?
Mr. Speaker, what we have is a Conservative Party flailing and floundering, trying to change the subject away from what matters to Canadians. It has no plan to fight climate change, no plan on the economy and, quite frankly, have continued to demonstrate this.Despite the rejection the Conservatives had from Canadians in 2015, they still do not understand that the economy and the environment need to go to together. To build a stronger economy, we have to take action on fighting climate change. They fail to understand that and, therefore, they are are looking for anything else to talk about.
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Several thousands of my constituents have been impacted by an event that threatens their families, their livelihoods and their business. The House has the obligation to address that issue. Therefore, I ask for the unanimous consent of the House to hold an emergency debate on the canola issue that affects so many western Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, for more than a year, the government has been saying that Canada is meeting the UN's request for assistance in Mali with a smart pledge ending August 1.Now we have learned that the UN has actually requested that Canada extend its excellent and important medevac mission to September 15. This would avoid a reduction in UN stabilization operations in Mali and the potential loss of lives resulting from the gap in medevac services before Romania takes over; otherwise, both the stability of Mali and people's lives will be at risk.Will the Prime Minister now agree to extend Canada's Mali mission, as requested by the UN?
Mr. Speaker, Loblaws made hundreds of millions of dollars selling groceries to Canadians. Its owner is worth over $10 billion. I am pretty sure Loblaws can afford to buy a few energy-efficient fridges.The Liberals are so focused on pleasing big corporations that they have handed over a $12-million cheque to a massively profitable company. Why did they not ask Loblaws to buy its own fridges and instead spend that $12 million on small businesses and Canadians who actually need the help?
Mr. Speaker, Cyclone Idai devastated Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. It destroyed homes and families, affecting more than 1.8 million people. Canada has not ignored the tragic plight of the thousands of people who fled their towns and villages. Our thoughts are with all those who are picking up the pieces after Cyclone Idai.Could the Prime Minister tell the House about the support Canada has offered the people and communities affected by Cyclone Idai?
Mr. Speaker, for months the ferry crossing between Matane and the North Shore has been a nightmare for users and the economy of the Lower St. Lawrence, Gaspé, and the North Shore. Worse yet, it seems that the ferry was not safe for Quebeckers. Following a recent accident involving the Apollo ferry, the inspector from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, the TSB, deemed a Transport Canada certified ship to be unsafe.Can the Prime Minister explain how Transport Canada could certify a ferry that the TSB deemed unseaworthy?
Mr. Speaker, in a moment I will be asking the House for unanimous consent on a motion.Legislative delays in the Senate have meant that time is running out on important bills that have been passed by the elected members of the House of Commons. That includes the watershed bill to enshrine the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples into Canadian law; as well as a desperately needed bill to require better training for judges in the country to deal with sexual assault cases.The time is now to get these bills passed. Therefore, I hope that if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: That, in the opinion of the House, Bill C-262, An Act to ensure that the laws of Canada are in harmony with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as well as Bill C-337, An Act to amend the Judges Act and the Criminal Code (sexual assault), are both critical pieces of legislation that have been duly passed by the House of Commons, and have been in possession of the honourable Senators for many months; that both bills should be passed into law at the earliest opportunity; and that a message be sent to the Senate to acquaint that House accordingly.
Mr. Speaker, this is the problem with the NDP. Those members like to climb up on their high horses and make big speeches about protecting the environment, when this government actually moves forward on doing that. That means partnerships with the provinces. It means investing in Canadians and in renewable technologies. Yes, it means partnering with the private sector so we are moving forward on more efficient technologies and indeed fighting climate change.We understand that everyone needs to do his or her part to fight against climate change. That is something neither the Conservatives nor, apparently, the NDP understand.
Mr. Speaker, I am not asking about a security-related matter; I am asking about a potential offence under section 121 of the Criminal Code.If a junior procurement officer had accepted a small vacation from someone seeking a government contract, he would have been fired the same day and probably would have been charged within a week, yet the Prime Minister takes over $200,000 of illegal gifts from an individual seeking a government grant and there are no criminal consequences.Has the Prime Minister discussed this case with the RCMP since he took that vacation, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, our position remains unchanged.We support the two-state solution, which should be achieved through negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Unilateral actions, such as settlements, are illegitimate and do not help resolve the situation in the Middle East.
Mr. Speaker, many Canadians have been frustrated by the restrictions on the transportation of Canadian beer, wine and spirits between provinces and territories. In St. Catharines and across the Niagara region there are many small and medium-sized businesses that because of barriers to trade within Canada cannot sell their product to other provinces.Could the Prime Minister please update the House on what our government is doing to eliminate the federal barriers to the trade of alcohol within Canada in order to make it easier for businesses to grow and succeed?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's interference scandal is capturing attention from the international community, but not the kind that Canadians are proud of.The Liberals have shut down debate in two committees with their majority. The Ethics Commissioner has a very limited role. Now the world is watching and Canadians want the truth. Canadians have questions that the Prime Minister needs to answer.If the Prime Minister is serious about the truth, then the answer is simple: an independent public inquiry. Will he launch one, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister seems to be missing an important fact here. It is that I am not withdrawing my remarks. In fact, I am standing by them and I repeated them outside of the House of Commons. Once again, if the Prime Minister is so sure of his case, will he commence court proceedings so that Canadians can finally hear the truth about this scandal?
Mr. Speaker, all Canadians remember the Prime Minister's controversial trip at taxpayers' expense. We know that he began planning his trip nine months before going on vacation to the Aga Khan's island.While he was planning his dream trip, no one seems to have pointed out that he would be breaking the law. We would usually say that this was a one-off, but this Prime Minister has made a habit of breaking the law since 2015.Why does the Prime Minister seem to be above the law?
Mr. Speaker, the world is watching. In response to our letter, the OECD anti-bribery unit reiterated its call to follow what is happening in Canada closely, and it will pay even more attention now that the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights has finished its study.The Prime Minister must do the right thing. Will he reassure the OECD and, most importantly, Canadians and launch a public inquiry?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is out of touch with the reality of Canadians. In order to turn the page on the scandal of interference favouring his rich friends, the Liberal government gave $12 million to another rich corporation. That is $12 million to a corporation that makes billions of dollars in profit and refuses to pay its workers a decent wage.Rather than giving money to the wealthy, why does the Prime Minister not give that $12 million to those who need it?
Mr. Speaker, ensuring the safety of Canadians is the responsibility of any government.I can assure the House that Transport Canada takes its responsibilities very seriously. We will always ensure that Canadians are safe on board these ships. We will continue to do that. I will follow up on the question asked by my hon. colleague.
Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the House understand that the fight against climate change requires action on many fronts. The government has a lot to do. The Conservatives and Canadians need to do their part, and the private sector needs to contribute, too.We have programs aimed at supporting the fight against climate change. These programs are open to private-sector businesses across Canada. We are going to keep making sure that we are all working together to fight climate change, not just paying lip service.
Mr. Speaker, I am rising on a point of order. I guess imitation is the greatest form of flattery. I would like to have unanimous consent to table this document from question period, which was given first reading two years ago tomorrow. It is my private member's bill, Bill C-351, which the Liberals, and I thank them very much, copied almost word for word, to free the beer. We tabled it and it was given first reading two years ago. I would like unanimous consent to table the document.
Mr. Speaker, I am glad the member opposite is giving me a chance to talk about our investments in public transit. We have made historic investments worth over $28 billion in public transit systems across Canada. This gives Canadians more time to spend with their families. More than 7,000 new buses have been purchased or upgraded. Nearly 15,000 bus stops or shelters have been built or updated. We are working with our partners, including the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. We will continue to invest in our communities because that creates economic growth and opportunities for Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, we learned from an access to information request that the government has been sitting on for years that senior officials and the RCMP were planning the Prime Minister's billionaire island vacation at least nine months before his flagrant violation of the Conflict of Interest Act. Two of his top advisers have since resigned under the cloud of the current scandal. The PM may consider his job to be only ceremonial, but not once did these advisers point out that he was about to break the law. There is a pattern here.Why do the PM and his acolytes believe he is above the law?
Mr. Speaker, Benjamin Netanyahu hung on to power in Israel's election yesterday.In a last-minute campaign promise, he vowed to annex Israeli settlements in the West Bank. If the Israeli government keeps that promise, there could be serious consequences for stability in the region. Canada's position is clear: the settlements are illegal. The United Nations Security Council agrees. Will the Prime Minister confirm that Canada would view the annexation of those territories as illegal and act accordingly?
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for St. Catharines for his hard work
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Quebec, a majority government, finally has the opportunity to address the issue of secularism. If all goes as planned, the bill should be passed by the summer. Unfortunately, it appears that this Liberal government might well be the biggest obstacle opposing the will of Quebeckers. Could the Prime Minister, the member for Papineau, in Quebec, commit to respecting the will of Quebeckers and promise not to challenge Bill 21 on secularism in the courts or support any legal challenges?
Mr. Speaker, politics aside, the Prime Minister has left something very much open, and it is the response that he has to the notice of libel that he sent to the Leader of the Opposition.Now, he may not be aware of this, but a notice of libel is for the benefit of the defendant to be able to mitigate his damages by apologizing, if he sees fit. In this case, the Leader of the Opposition has indicated that he has nothing to apologize for. It is now in the hands of the Prime Minister. When will the Prime Minister start the statement of claim?
Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the House know that it takes more than just nice words in the House of Commons to fight climate change. It takes action. It takes partnerships. That is why we are working with the provinces. That is why we are working with consumers and citizens, to help them with these changes we are now making.That is why we are working with the private sector, which has a role to play in combatting climate change and helping Canada be more effective in its ongoing fight against this threat.
Mr. Speaker, again, we are unequivocal about standing up for jobs. Indeed, shortly after the head of SNC-Lavalin made those comments, the company came out and corrected the comments he had made.We have been consistent in standing up for jobs. We will continue to defend workers right across the country, whether it is our steel and aluminum workers, or forestry workers or whether it is in manufacturing. We know that investing in Canadians and investing in their communities is way better than the cuts and austerity proposed by the Conservatives.
Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we respect the independence of the RCMP and we will not discuss security-related matters.
Mr. Speaker, no relationship is more important than that between this government and indigenous peoples, and that is why we have made historic strides forward on reconciliation with indigenous peoples. It involves tangible things like ending boil water advisories and creating more housing and schools on reserves, but also moving forward on rights recognition frameworks and self-government agreements. However, all of these are done in partnership and with respect for indigenous peoples. We are not the ones determining the path forward for them. We are working with them to determine that path forward. We will always do it in respect of their views, not impose ours.
Mr. Speaker, as we have said, we have tremendous confidence in the committees of Parliament to do their work. We are pleased that the justice committee heard over 10 hours of testimony, over many weeks. That was facilitated by the fact that we gave an unprecedented waiver to allow for testimony that put aside both attorney-client privilege and cabinet confidentiality, because it is important that Canadians see what went on here. That is exactly what they did.We continue to trust the Ethics Commissioner in the work that he does. We know that Canadians are concerned about this, but are also concerned about
Mr. Speaker, I am rising on a point of order. During question period today, in referencing potential amendments to the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act, the Prime Minister said that the previous government had not improved the situation at all. We had three different provinces that opened it up, Nova Scotia, Manitoba as well as British Columbia. Therefore, I would like to ask for unanimous consent, to table the comments made by the Prime Minister in his speech on May 29, 2012. He said, The Liberal Party and I are pleased...to support this bill, which will encourage our Canadian wine producers and Canadians in particular to be proud of our products from across the country.I would like to table this so the Prime Minister can remind himself of his support for that bill.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for St. Catharines for his hard work. I highlight that for 10 years, Stephen Harper was unable to do what we just did in budget 2019. We removed the only remaining federal barrier to trade of Canadian wine, beer and spirits within Canada. It is now up to provinces to change their regulations to allow for direct-to-consumer alcohol sales across Canada. We did what Stephen Harper and the Conservatives could not. We freed the beer.
Not to my knowledge, no, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the RCMP works diligently to meet its responsibilities under the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act and to be transparent with Canadians. We respect its independence, and as always, I will not discuss security-related matters.
Mr. Speaker, I believe that, if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent of the House to table the document on Loblaws' financial statements. On pages 36, 37 and 56, it shows that the company that made more than $3 billion in gross profits just received a $12-million subsidy from Canadian workers without their consent.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Mississauga EastCooksville for his hard work.The problem is complex, but the solution is simple. Canadians can protect themselves and their families against measles by getting vaccinated. Vaccines are our best weapon to fight disease and the reason that measles was practically eliminated in Canada. We are investing $25 million over five years to get more Canadians vaccinated, to develop new vaccines and, importantly, to keep the public better informed. Vaccines are safe and effective and save lives.
Mr. Speaker, the RCMP works diligently to meet its responsibilities under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act and to be transparent with Canadians.We respect this independence and, as always, will not be discussing security-related matters.
Mr. Speaker, I am happy to explain for the member opposite that parliamentary committees are masters of their own decisions. That is a principle in this Parliament that all parties should take very seriously. We thank the justice committee for its work, for the 10 hours of testimony it heard. Indeed, we were pleased to give an unprecedented waiver to allow individuals to fully share their perspectives on the matter at hand.As for the work the Ethics Commissioner does, on this side of the House we have full confidence in our officers of Parliament.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for BrossardSaint-Lambert for her question and for her hard work.We responded quickly to the humanitarian crisis caused by Cyclone Idai and sent more assistance in light of the magnitude of the crisis. Canada's total contribution is up to $10 million. Last week we launched the Cyclone Idai matching fund. The government will match every dollar raised. We will continue to monitor the situation. We are prepared to offer the assistance required, as are all Canadians, and we encourage them to donate generously.
Mr. Speaker, I can understand the member opposite's frustration. His economic plan is in shambles after 10 years of the lowest growth rate, since the Great Depression, under Stephen Harper.We turned that around with an approach that invests in Canadians. Canadians have created over 900,000 new jobs over the past three years. We have seen the lowest unemployment in 40 years.Our plan is working. We will always fight for jobs and we will never apologize for fighting for them.
Mr. Speaker, the RCMP works diligently to meet its responsibilities under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act and be transparent with Canadians. We respect the independence of the RCMP, and as always, we will not be discussing security-related matters.
Mr. Speaker, I had the honour of visiting our troops in Mali around Christmastime and I have to say we can all be incredibly proud of the work they are doing, not just in keeping their allies safe through medevacs but in actually leading the way on innovative approaches to medevac that is transforming not just the way peace operations are run around the world but the way allied militaries around the world look at medevacs and helping.That is something that Canada is leading on. There are always going to be gaps. There was a gap between Germany and us when taking over. There is going to be a gap before Romania, but we are working with our allies
Mr. Speaker, it is important to get the truth on this matter, which is why we made an unprecedented move, waiving solicitor-client privilege and cabinet confidence and giving the former justice minister permission to speak openly about this matter in committee.We have confidence in the parliamentary committees, which make their own decisions and set their own procedures, and we have confidence in the Ethics Commissioner, who is conducting his investigation.
Mr. Speaker, we seem to have hit a nerve in the way the Conservatives are misleading Canadians on intolerance. Let us try them on climate. Today, we learned the Conservatives are hiding, from their own constituents, tax benefits that would give Canadians hundreds of dollars. Conservatives want to take hundreds of dollars away from families in New Brunswick, in Ontario, in Manitoba, in Saskatchewan. Indeed, their only plan seems to be to mislead Canadians about our plan to fight climate change. That is even more unacceptable. They continue to mislead Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, those are typical Liberal smear tactics. They know that I have always 100% denounced white supremacy and racism and anyone who promotes those hateful ideologies. The Prime Minister also knows that the senator withdrew and clarified his remarks and that I continue to denounce those types of messages. This is what is disgusting about this. The Liberals are using the very real threat of hatred and racism in this country to cover up their corruption scandal.
Mr. Speaker, Conservatives continue to mislead Canadians, and Canadians deserve better.On Monday, the Conservative leader refused to denounce white supremacists in this House. On Tuesday, a Conservative senator said, I would find it disturbing to believe that there is a politician in this country that believes that white supremacy is a threat to our way of life in Canada. When will the Conservative leader finally denounce white supremacists by name, and will he denounce comments from a member of his own caucus?
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are doubling down on misleading Canadians. It shows that they are still following Stephen Harper's playbook. We put the member on notice because he and his party have a history of making false and defamatory statements. That is what he did in December against the Minister of Innovation. He was forced to swallow his false words and retract his statements. We will not stand by while he continues to mislead Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, many will recall the sad day when the Liberal government and the Prime Minister cancelled the public transit tax credit, claiming that it favoured only wealthy Canadians. Not only is that stupid, but let us talk about some really wealthy folks.Loblaws is a company that made over $3 billion in profits last year. Yesterday the government announced that it is giving Loblaws $12 million to purchase refrigerators. Wow. That means $3 billion in gross profits and $12 million in subsidies. Only the Liberals could possibly see the logic in that.Why is the Prime Minister taking money out of the pockets of Canadian workers and giving it to people who really do not need it?
Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition continues to mislead Canadians. This shows that the Conservatives are still following Stephen Harper's playbook.We put him on notice because he and his party have a history of making false and defamatory statements. That is what he did in December against the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. He was forced to swallow his false words and retract his statements. We will not stand by while he continues to mislead Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition continues to mislead Canadians.This shows that the Conservatives are still following Stephen Harper's playbook. We put him on notice because he and his party have a history of making false and defamatory statements. That is what he did, and he will have to withdraw his statements because that is what happened in December, when he was forced to swallow his false words and retract his statements against the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development.We will not stand by while he continues to mislead Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, using tax dollars to fund his illegal private island vacation, groping a female reporter, strong-arming his former attorney general into interfering in a criminal prosecution with his friend's company, firing the former AG when she refused to do his bidding for himCanadians might think I am describing a Communist dictator, but in fact I am describing the Liberal leader. When the Prime Minister does not like the law, he breaks it. There is one set of rules for him and one set of rules for everyone else. Why?
Mr. Speaker, speaking of misleading Canadians, the very first thing we did was lower taxes on the middle class and raise taxes on the wealthiest 1%. We then delivered a Canada child benefit that lifted 300,000 kids out of poverty. The Conservatives voted against both of those measures.How is our economy doing? It has among the best in growth in the G7 and the lowest unemployment rate in 40 years, and Canadians have created over 900,000 new jobs. No wonder the Conservatives can only sling mud instead of talking about any plan for growing the economy. It is because they have none.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister asked his lawyers to send me a letter threatening me with a lawsuit if I did not retract the statement I made on March 29. Not only will I not retract it, but I stand by every single word of that statement. I repeated it outside the chamber.When will I see him in court to discuss his corruption scandal?
Mr. Speaker, once again the opposition leader is doubling down on his false and misleading statements. We put him on notice because he has a history, and his party has a history, of misleading Canadians. That is exactly what they did when he had to withdraw and retract misleading statements he made about the Minister of Innovation just a few months ago. We know that the Conservatives' way is to try to mislead Canadians as much as they possibly can. We need to call them out on that because falsehoods have no place in an election campaign.
Mr. Speaker, section 121 of the Criminal Code makes it an offence for any government employee to accept a benefit from someone who has business with the government, which is why it was so strange that several years after the Prime Minister accepted over $200,000 in gifts from someone seeking a government grant in the form of his famous island vacation, there still have been no charges laid. Now we know that the Prime Minister implicated the RCMP in planning that very offence. How many times has he discussed that with the police force since he went on that vacation?
Mr. Speaker, we will continue to stay focused on what matters to Canadians. We will always stand up for women's rights. We will always stand up, unequivocally, for women's reproductive rights, unlike the member opposite and her party. We will always be there to defend Canadians. We will always be there to push for gender equality. We will always be there to invest in the middle class and those working hard to join it.The members opposite can only sling mud, because the they have no plan for Canadians on the economy and no plan for Canadians on climate change. All they can do is continue to mislead Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, I look forward to Canadians having a choice between a party that consistently lies to Canadians, as the Conservatives do, and a party that stays focused on what matters to them.We have, over the coming months, an opportunity to put our best feet forward for Canadians and show them our plans to grow the economy, to fight climate change and to continue to increase Canadians' prosperity and safety in the world. We have laid that out. We have acted on it over the past four years. The Conservatives have nothing to show but simple political attacks, partisanship and their misleading of Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, indeed, we have noticed, and Canadians have noticed, that the Leader of the Opposition continues to double down on his misleading statements.We know that Canadians deserve politicians on all sides who speak the truth, who do not mislead Canadians, and who end up talking about the things that matter and not hiding from Canadians. What we have right here is a political party that does not want to talk about the economy, that does not want to talk about the budget, that does not want to talk about climate change and that just wants to play politics and attack us.We are going to stay focused on Canadians, because Canadians deserve a better path forward than what those members are offering.
Mr. Speaker, we are faced with a Prime Minister who has been flatly denying the truth from the beginning, ever since the Globe and Mail broke the story on the interference scandal involving him and his entourage. He was unsuccessful at silencing all the Liberals, so now he is bringing out a new Liberal tactic. He is threatening our leader with legal action, purely in the hope of silencing the members on this side of the House. Does this Prime Minister have the guts to follow through on his notice?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are silencing committees with Harper-like efficiency. They just shut down the ethics committee again, and the justice committee is under a cone of silence. Yesterday, the OECD's anti-bribery unit wrote the NDP and said that it would welcome our input on this matter. It is saying that in the next meeting in June, it is going to put Canada's actions on corporate corruption on the table. With no comprehensive investigation on its way and our reputation at stake, why will the Prime Minister not launch a public inquiry?
Mr. Speaker, the justice committee did not get the job done because the Liberals shut it down. What is the Prime Minister hiding that he does not want Canadians to know?The OECD has referred the PMO's interference scandal to its working group on bribery. The Prime Minister does not seem to understand that Canada's reputation is on the line. The Liberals have blocked any way forward to get to the bottom of what happened. Canadians deserve to know if there was any political interference in the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin.What is the Prime Minister afraid of? Why does he not do the right thing and call a public inquiry now?
Mr. Speaker, we have seen the Conservatives time and time again mislead Canadians, and they are smarting that we actually called them out on it. We put them on notice because, indeed, they continue, particularly in this election year, to spread falsehoods to Canadians. Just recently, the Conservatives actually sent a householder to Canadians that was not telling them about our climate action incentive, which returns hundreds of dollars to Canadians that they have to claim through their taxes. They have no plan on the environment. All they do is mislead Canadians about our plan to
Mr. Speaker, the only thing a Conservative government will take away from Canadians is their obligation to pay his carbon tax, and that will come to an end this October.Canadians finally want to see the Prime Minister testify under oath. They finally want to see documents presented to court in an environment that his members of Parliament cannot control. Once again, I have stood by everything I have said. When will the Prime Minister finally start the lawsuit?
Mr. Speaker, there is no place for discrimination against citizens in a free society, especially not on the basis of their religion. This is what I believe and what this government believes. We will always believe, unequivocally, that we must defend the rights of all Canadians at all times.
Mr. Speaker, Liberals still discriminate against hundreds of thousands of first nations women across Canada. First nations women and their children still do not have the same right to Indian status or the right to transfer their status as first nations men have. This is a violation of their human rights and it denies first nations women's dignity. Liberals know that they could stop this injustice at their next cabinet meeting. Will the Liberals commit now to end the discrimination against first nations women, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, once again, in his very first words in that last intervention, the Leader of the Opposition emphasized that the first thing he would do if he gained power was to make pollution free again. We know, and Canadians know, that climate change is real, and yet it has been 346 days since the Leader of the Opposition promised a climate plan and has not shown anything. He has no plan for the environment, no plan for the economy. All he does is mislead Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister says that he has put me on notice, hoping that I will withdraw my statements. I will not. I repeated them again outside. Therefore, I am putting him on notice that I am looking forward to the day that he sets for this court case to proceed.When it comes to falsehoods, the Prime Minister has stated that his excuse for interfering in this court case was jobs. We now know that is not true either.Once again, is the Prime Minister aware of the criminal penalties for committing perjury in a court case?
Mr. Speaker, I believe that, if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: that this House condemn the comments made on April 5 by the mayor of Hampstead, William Steinberg, who described Bill 21 on secularism, passed at the National Assembly of Quebec, as ethnic cleansing.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister seeks to be judge, jury and executioner in this matter when, quite frankly, he is using a notice of libel as a tool of intimidation, much like he has done for this entire case.He states that it is a fact that the Leader of the Opposition is indeed spreading mistruths. Our fact is that is not the case. Guess who gets to decide that? A real court.When will the Prime Minister bring this to the right place to debate, a court of law in the province of Ontario? When will he start the claim?
Mr. Speaker, I think what Canadians are remarking upon is the fact that the Conservatives do not want to talk about anything that actually matters to Canadians in their day-to-day lives. Canadians are worried about the threat of climate change and the impact on their kids. The Conservatives have no plan, are misleading people about our plan, do not want to talk about it and try to change the subject. What is worse is that the Conservatives have no plan for the economy. They continue to want to lower taxes on the wealthiest Canadians, when what we know is to invest in the middle class is to grow the economy. They have no plan on the economy and no plan on the environment.
Mr. Speaker, evidence confirms the Prime Minister undertook a coordinated, sustained and inappropriate campaign to interfere with the independence of the judicial system. The Criminal Code says that everyone who wilfully attempts in any manner to obstruct, pervert or defeat the course of justice is guilty of an offence.Has the RCMP contacted the Prime Minister or any of his staff or former staff about the SNC-Lavalin scandal?
Mr. Speaker, it is kind of dismaying to see the NDP, which had such a tradition of standing up for workers, put all that aside to try to score a few points now that some international organization has actually noticed that they exist.The fact of the matter is we are going to stay focused on the things that matter to Canadians. We are going to continue to fight for jobs, for workers across this country, for canola farmers across this country and for forestry workers across this country. We are going to stay focused on Canadians while everyone else tries to play politics.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister just said another false statement. A spokesperson for SNC-Lavalin said as late as last week that there was no intention to move the headquarters from Canada.However, I guess the Prime Minister is worried about actually taking this to court. Everything he has said outside the House in front of Canadians if he were to say it again in a court of law, he would be guilty of perjury. I guess the famous just watch me has turned into just watch me run away.Will the Prime Minister have the backbone to stand by his threats and show up in court to fight this case?
Mr. Speaker, Groundhog Day is February 2. We are a long way past that, yet the Conservatives seem to be desperate to reach back into any old thing they can to avoid talking about the fact that they have no plan for the economy, no plan to fight climate change and no plan to continue to grow an economy that works for Canadians in a way that is inclusive and positive.These are the things that we have been working on over the past four years, and they are working for Canadians. All they can do is try to sling mud and bring up old issues that quite frankly are not what Canadians care about.
Mr. Speaker, I can understand why the Prime Minister did not want to answer that question, because this is really about the Prime Minister's motives. It is not just that. It is the illegal, taxpayer-funded vacation that he took while he was raising taxes on people who cannot think about affording their own vacation right now. It is the fact that he punished two strong women for doing the right thing while he moved hell and high water to protect his buddies at SNC-Lavalin from facing a day in court. Why does everything the Prime Minister does benefit him and hurt the people that we are supposed to serve?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister wants to talk about false statements. The Prime Minister said that his motivation for interfering in this criminal court case was that he was afraid that SNC-Lavalin would move its headquarters out of the country. The head of SNC-Lavalin has said that this is completely false.Once again, is the Prime Minister aware of the criminal penalties that he would face if he said that falsehood under oath in a court of law?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is still threatening to sue me over a statement that I made on March 29. I stand by every single word of that statement. In fact, I just repeated it moments ago outside the chamber. He claims I will face consequences for exposing his potentially illegal interference in a criminal trial. However, the only consequence seems to be that the Prime Minister will be forced to finally tell the truth. When will I see him in court?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister now wants to talk about falsehoods. The Prime Minister said, in response to The Globe and Mail story breaking the SNC-Lavalin corruption scandal, that no one, neither himself nor anyone in his office, put pressure on the former attorney general to interfere in this case. We now know that is completely false.Once again, is the Prime Minister aware that if he says something that he knows not to be true in a court case that he will be guilty of perjury?
Mr. Speaker, over the past weeks, I have heard from constituents concerned about the outbreaks of measles in several regions of our country, including in the greater Toronto area. While Canada made great strides in the fight against measles and eliminated it over two decades ago, outbreaks do occur when the virus is picked up abroad.Can the Prime Minister inform this House and all Canadians how they can protect themselves and their families against measles?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister wants to talk about politicians who have led Canadians in error. The Prime Minister said, when the allegations were first printed in The Globe and Mail, that they were completely false. We now know that is not true.Is the Prime Minister aware that if he says something that he knows not to be true in a court proceeding that he will be guilty of perjury?
Mr. Speaker, today Global News reported that the Prime Minister's vacation to billionaire island was planned at least nine months ahead. Staff in the PMO had this information well in advance, yet the Prime Minister was found guilty of violating the ethics law four times.In nine months of careful planning for his island vacation, how did no one in the PMO ever suggest to the Prime Minister that his trip was going to break the law, or did the Prime Minister just ignore the best advice from those around him because he was in one of his moods?
Mr. Speaker, what Canadians want is a government with an economic plan and a plan to fight climate change, and that is exactly what we are doing.The Conservatives are continuing to mislead Canadians about our economic plan and our plan to fight climate change.I know that all Quebeckers and all Canadians are concerned about the fact that the Conservatives do not have a plan to fight climate change. The Leader of the Opposition promised to present a plan 346 days ago, but he has still not done so.When will he tackle climate change?
Mr. Speaker, in the discussions on misleading Canadians that happened back and forth, it appears that I may have used an unparliamentary word. For that, I apologize and withdraw it.
Mr. Speaker, from the beginning, the Prime Minister has been repeating that there was no political interference. Today, everyone knows that is untrue. He said that the former attorney general never shared her concerns with him, but we now know that is not true either.If the Prime Minister has nothing to hide, then he should follow through on his notice. We, on this side of the House, are not afraid of the truth. In fact, the truth is all we are asking for. Canadians all want to know the truth. The Prime Minister should show a little courage and follow through on his notice.
Mr. Speaker, I would just remind the Prime Minister that it was his idea to bring these allegations to court. I am just waiting for him to tell me on what day I should show up, because I will be there.Now, if he wants to talk about falsehoods, he told Canadians, looked them in the eyes and said that the former attorney general or anyone else never came to him to raise concerns about being pressured to interfere in this case. We now know that is false.Is the Prime Minister aware that if he said that in a court case at this point that he would be guilty of perjury?
Mr. Speaker, to fight climate change, the Liberals are giving $12 million of our money to a billion-dollar corporation led by the second richest person in the country, while our local markets and independent grocers struggle to survive. Our local businesses are greener, yet they are not getting any help from the government.The Liberals would rather help billionaires than make life more affordable for families and fight climate change for future generations.What is the Liberals' priority?
Mr. Speaker, what we have is a Conservative Party flailing and floundering, trying to change the subject away from what matters to Canadians. It has no plan to fight climate change, no plan on the economy and, quite frankly, have continued to demonstrate this.Despite the rejection the Conservatives had from Canadians in 2015, they still do not understand that the economy and the environment need to go to together. To build a stronger economy, we have to take action on fighting climate change. They fail to understand that and, therefore, they are are looking for anything else to talk about.
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Several thousands of my constituents have been impacted by an event that threatens their families, their livelihoods and their business. The House has the obligation to address that issue. Therefore, I ask for the unanimous consent of the House to hold an emergency debate on the canola issue that affects so many western Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, for more than a year, the government has been saying that Canada is meeting the UN's request for assistance in Mali with a smart pledge ending August 1.Now we have learned that the UN has actually requested that Canada extend its excellent and important medevac mission to September 15. This would avoid a reduction in UN stabilization operations in Mali and the potential loss of lives resulting from the gap in medevac services before Romania takes over; otherwise, both the stability of Mali and people's lives will be at risk.Will the Prime Minister now agree to extend Canada's Mali mission, as requested by the UN?
Mr. Speaker, Loblaws made hundreds of millions of dollars selling groceries to Canadians. Its owner is worth over $10 billion. I am pretty sure Loblaws can afford to buy a few energy-efficient fridges.The Liberals are so focused on pleasing big corporations that they have handed over a $12-million cheque to a massively profitable company. Why did they not ask Loblaws to buy its own fridges and instead spend that $12 million on small businesses and Canadians who actually need the help?
Mr. Speaker, Cyclone Idai devastated Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. It destroyed homes and families, affecting more than 1.8 million people. Canada has not ignored the tragic plight of the thousands of people who fled their towns and villages. Our thoughts are with all those who are picking up the pieces after Cyclone Idai.Could the Prime Minister tell the House about the support Canada has offered the people and communities affected by Cyclone Idai?
Mr. Speaker, for months the ferry crossing between Matane and the North Shore has been a nightmare for users and the economy of the Lower St. Lawrence, Gaspé, and the North Shore. Worse yet, it seems that the ferry was not safe for Quebeckers. Following a recent accident involving the Apollo ferry, the inspector from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, the TSB, deemed a Transport Canada certified ship to be unsafe.Can the Prime Minister explain how Transport Canada could certify a ferry that the TSB deemed unseaworthy?
Mr. Speaker, in a moment I will be asking the House for unanimous consent on a motion.Legislative delays in the Senate have meant that time is running out on important bills that have been passed by the elected members of the House of Commons. That includes the watershed bill to enshrine the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples into Canadian law; as well as a desperately needed bill to require better training for judges in the country to deal with sexual assault cases.The time is now to get these bills passed. Therefore, I hope that if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: That, in the opinion of the House, Bill C-262, An Act to ensure that the laws of Canada are in harmony with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as well as Bill C-337, An Act to amend the Judges Act and the Criminal Code (sexual assault), are both critical pieces of legislation that have been duly passed by the House of Commons, and have been in possession of the honourable Senators for many months; that both bills should be passed into law at the earliest opportunity; and that a message be sent to the Senate to acquaint that House accordingly.
Mr. Speaker, this is the problem with the NDP. Those members like to climb up on their high horses and make big speeches about protecting the environment, when this government actually moves forward on doing that. That means partnerships with the provinces. It means investing in Canadians and in renewable technologies. Yes, it means partnering with the private sector so we are moving forward on more efficient technologies and indeed fighting climate change.We understand that everyone needs to do his or her part to fight against climate change. That is something neither the Conservatives nor, apparently, the NDP understand.
Mr. Speaker, I am not asking about a security-related matter; I am asking about a potential offence under section 121 of the Criminal Code.If a junior procurement officer had accepted a small vacation from someone seeking a government contract, he would have been fired the same day and probably would have been charged within a week, yet the Prime Minister takes over $200,000 of illegal gifts from an individual seeking a government grant and there are no criminal consequences.Has the Prime Minister discussed this case with the RCMP since he took that vacation, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, our position remains unchanged.We support the two-state solution, which should be achieved through negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Unilateral actions, such as settlements, are illegitimate and do not help resolve the situation in the Middle East.
Mr. Speaker, many Canadians have been frustrated by the restrictions on the transportation of Canadian beer, wine and spirits between provinces and territories. In St. Catharines and across the Niagara region there are many small and medium-sized businesses that because of barriers to trade within Canada cannot sell their product to other provinces.Could the Prime Minister please update the House on what our government is doing to eliminate the federal barriers to the trade of alcohol within Canada in order to make it easier for businesses to grow and succeed?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's interference scandal is capturing attention from the international community, but not the kind that Canadians are proud of.The Liberals have shut down debate in two committees with their majority. The Ethics Commissioner has a very limited role. Now the world is watching and Canadians want the truth. Canadians have questions that the Prime Minister needs to answer.If the Prime Minister is serious about the truth, then the answer is simple: an independent public inquiry. Will he launch one, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister seems to be missing an important fact here. It is that I am not withdrawing my remarks. In fact, I am standing by them and I repeated them outside of the House of Commons. Once again, if the Prime Minister is so sure of his case, will he commence court proceedings so that Canadians can finally hear the truth about this scandal?
Mr. Speaker, all Canadians remember the Prime Minister's controversial trip at taxpayers' expense. We know that he began planning his trip nine months before going on vacation to the Aga Khan's island.While he was planning his dream trip, no one seems to have pointed out that he would be breaking the law. We would usually say that this was a one-off, but this Prime Minister has made a habit of breaking the law since 2015.Why does the Prime Minister seem to be above the law?
Mr. Speaker, the world is watching. In response to our letter, the OECD anti-bribery unit reiterated its call to follow what is happening in Canada closely, and it will pay even more attention now that the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights has finished its study.The Prime Minister must do the right thing. Will he reassure the OECD and, most importantly, Canadians and launch a public inquiry?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is out of touch with the reality of Canadians. In order to turn the page on the scandal of interference favouring his rich friends, the Liberal government gave $12 million to another rich corporation. That is $12 million to a corporation that makes billions of dollars in profit and refuses to pay its workers a decent wage.Rather than giving money to the wealthy, why does the Prime Minister not give that $12 million to those who need it?
Mr. Speaker, ensuring the safety of Canadians is the responsibility of any government.I can assure the House that Transport Canada takes its responsibilities very seriously. We will always ensure that Canadians are safe on board these ships. We will continue to do that. I will follow up on the question asked by my hon. colleague.
Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the House understand that the fight against climate change requires action on many fronts. The government has a lot to do. The Conservatives and Canadians need to do their part, and the private sector needs to contribute, too.We have programs aimed at supporting the fight against climate change. These programs are open to private-sector businesses across Canada. We are going to keep making sure that we are all working together to fight climate change, not just paying lip service.
Mr. Speaker, I am rising on a point of order. I guess imitation is the greatest form of flattery. I would like to have unanimous consent to table this document from question period, which was given first reading two years ago tomorrow. It is my private member's bill, Bill C-351, which the Liberals, and I thank them very much, copied almost word for word, to free the beer. We tabled it and it was given first reading two years ago. I would like unanimous consent to table the document.
Mr. Speaker, I am glad the member opposite is giving me a chance to talk about our investments in public transit. We have made historic investments worth over $28 billion in public transit systems across Canada. This gives Canadians more time to spend with their families. More than 7,000 new buses have been purchased or upgraded. Nearly 15,000 bus stops or shelters have been built or updated. We are working with our partners, including the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. We will continue to invest in our communities because that creates economic growth and opportunities for Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, we learned from an access to information request that the government has been sitting on for years that senior officials and the RCMP were planning the Prime Minister's billionaire island vacation at least nine months before his flagrant violation of the Conflict of Interest Act. Two of his top advisers have since resigned under the cloud of the current scandal. The PM may consider his job to be only ceremonial, but not once did these advisers point out that he was about to break the law. There is a pattern here.Why do the PM and his acolytes believe he is above the law?
Mr. Speaker, Benjamin Netanyahu hung on to power in Israel's election yesterday.In a last-minute campaign promise, he vowed to annex Israeli settlements in the West Bank. If the Israeli government keeps that promise, there could be serious consequences for stability in the region. Canada's position is clear: the settlements are illegal. The United Nations Security Council agrees. Will the Prime Minister confirm that Canada would view the annexation of those territories as illegal and act accordingly?
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for St. Catharines for his hard work
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Quebec, a majority government, finally has the opportunity to address the issue of secularism. If all goes as planned, the bill should be passed by the summer. Unfortunately, it appears that this Liberal government might well be the biggest obstacle opposing the will of Quebeckers. Could the Prime Minister, the member for Papineau, in Quebec, commit to respecting the will of Quebeckers and promise not to challenge Bill 21 on secularism in the courts or support any legal challenges?
Mr. Speaker, politics aside, the Prime Minister has left something very much open, and it is the response that he has to the notice of libel that he sent to the Leader of the Opposition.Now, he may not be aware of this, but a notice of libel is for the benefit of the defendant to be able to mitigate his damages by apologizing, if he sees fit. In this case, the Leader of the Opposition has indicated that he has nothing to apologize for. It is now in the hands of the Prime Minister. When will the Prime Minister start the statement of claim?
Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the House know that it takes more than just nice words in the House of Commons to fight climate change. It takes action. It takes partnerships. That is why we are working with the provinces. That is why we are working with consumers and citizens, to help them with these changes we are now making.That is why we are working with the private sector, which has a role to play in combatting climate change and helping Canada be more effective in its ongoing fight against this threat.
Mr. Speaker, again, we are unequivocal about standing up for jobs. Indeed, shortly after the head of SNC-Lavalin made those comments, the company came out and corrected the comments he had made.We have been consistent in standing up for jobs. We will continue to defend workers right across the country, whether it is our steel and aluminum workers, or forestry workers or whether it is in manufacturing. We know that investing in Canadians and investing in their communities is way better than the cuts and austerity proposed by the Conservatives.
Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we respect the independence of the RCMP and we will not discuss security-related matters.
Mr. Speaker, no relationship is more important than that between this government and indigenous peoples, and that is why we have made historic strides forward on reconciliation with indigenous peoples. It involves tangible things like ending boil water advisories and creating more housing and schools on reserves, but also moving forward on rights recognition frameworks and self-government agreements. However, all of these are done in partnership and with respect for indigenous peoples. We are not the ones determining the path forward for them. We are working with them to determine that path forward. We will always do it in respect of their views, not impose ours.
Mr. Speaker, as we have said, we have tremendous confidence in the committees of Parliament to do their work. We are pleased that the justice committee heard over 10 hours of testimony, over many weeks. That was facilitated by the fact that we gave an unprecedented waiver to allow for testimony that put aside both attorney-client privilege and cabinet confidentiality, because it is important that Canadians see what went on here. That is exactly what they did.We continue to trust the Ethics Commissioner in the work that he does. We know that Canadians are concerned about this, but are also concerned about
Mr. Speaker, I am rising on a point of order. During question period today, in referencing potential amendments to the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act, the Prime Minister said that the previous government had not improved the situation at all. We had three different provinces that opened it up, Nova Scotia, Manitoba as well as British Columbia. Therefore, I would like to ask for unanimous consent, to table the comments made by the Prime Minister in his speech on May 29, 2012. He said, The Liberal Party and I are pleased...to support this bill, which will encourage our Canadian wine producers and Canadians in particular to be proud of our products from across the country.I would like to table this so the Prime Minister can remind himself of his support for that bill.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for St. Catharines for his hard work. I highlight that for 10 years, Stephen Harper was unable to do what we just did in budget 2019. We removed the only remaining federal barrier to trade of Canadian wine, beer and spirits within Canada. It is now up to provinces to change their regulations to allow for direct-to-consumer alcohol sales across Canada. We did what Stephen Harper and the Conservatives could not. We freed the beer.
Not to my knowledge, no, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the RCMP works diligently to meet its responsibilities under the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act and to be transparent with Canadians. We respect its independence, and as always, I will not discuss security-related matters.
Mr. Speaker, I believe that, if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent of the House to table the document on Loblaws' financial statements. On pages 36, 37 and 56, it shows that the company that made more than $3 billion in gross profits just received a $12-million subsidy from Canadian workers without their consent.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Mississauga EastCooksville for his hard work.The problem is complex, but the solution is simple. Canadians can protect themselves and their families against measles by getting vaccinated. Vaccines are our best weapon to fight disease and the reason that measles was practically eliminated in Canada. We are investing $25 million over five years to get more Canadians vaccinated, to develop new vaccines and, importantly, to keep the public better informed. Vaccines are safe and effective and save lives.
Mr. Speaker, the RCMP works diligently to meet its responsibilities under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act and to be transparent with Canadians.We respect this independence and, as always, will not be discussing security-related matters.
Mr. Speaker, I am happy to explain for the member opposite that parliamentary committees are masters of their own decisions. That is a principle in this Parliament that all parties should take very seriously. We thank the justice committee for its work, for the 10 hours of testimony it heard. Indeed, we were pleased to give an unprecedented waiver to allow individuals to fully share their perspectives on the matter at hand.As for the work the Ethics Commissioner does, on this side of the House we have full confidence in our officers of Parliament.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for BrossardSaint-Lambert for her question and for her hard work.We responded quickly to the humanitarian crisis caused by Cyclone Idai and sent more assistance in light of the magnitude of the crisis. Canada's total contribution is up to $10 million. Last week we launched the Cyclone Idai matching fund. The government will match every dollar raised. We will continue to monitor the situation. We are prepared to offer the assistance required, as are all Canadians, and we encourage them to donate generously.
Mr. Speaker, I can understand the member opposite's frustration. His economic plan is in shambles after 10 years of the lowest growth rate, since the Great Depression, under Stephen Harper.We turned that around with an approach that invests in Canadians. Canadians have created over 900,000 new jobs over the past three years. We have seen the lowest unemployment in 40 years.Our plan is working. We will always fight for jobs and we will never apologize for fighting for them.
Mr. Speaker, the RCMP works diligently to meet its responsibilities under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act and be transparent with Canadians. We respect the independence of the RCMP, and as always, we will not be discussing security-related matters.
Mr. Speaker, I had the honour of visiting our troops in Mali around Christmastime and I have to say we can all be incredibly proud of the work they are doing, not just in keeping their allies safe through medevacs but in actually leading the way on innovative approaches to medevac that is transforming not just the way peace operations are run around the world but the way allied militaries around the world look at medevacs and helping.That is something that Canada is leading on. There are always going to be gaps. There was a gap between Germany and us when taking over. There is going to be a gap before Romania, but we are working with our allies
Mr. Speaker, it is important to get the truth on this matter, which is why we made an unprecedented move, waiving solicitor-client privilege and cabinet confidence and giving the former justice minister permission to speak openly about this matter in committee.We have confidence in the parliamentary committees, which make their own decisions and set their own procedures, and we have confidence in the Ethics Commissioner, who is conducting his investigation.
Most negative speeches
Mr. Speaker, Benjamin Netanyahu hung on to power in Israel's election yesterday.In a last-minute campaign promise, he vowed to annex Israeli settlements in the West Bank. If the Israeli government keeps that promise, there could be serious consequences for stability in the region. Canada's position is clear: the settlements are illegal. The United Nations Security Council agrees. Will the Prime Minister confirm that Canada would view the annexation of those territories as illegal and act accordingly?
Mr. Speaker, evidence confirms the Prime Minister undertook a coordinated, sustained and inappropriate campaign to interfere with the independence of the judicial system. The Criminal Code says that everyone who wilfully attempts in any manner to obstruct, pervert or defeat the course of justice is guilty of an offence.Has the RCMP contacted the Prime Minister or any of his staff or former staff about the SNC-Lavalin scandal?
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for St. Catharines for his hard work
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for St. Catharines for his hard work. I highlight that for 10 years, Stephen Harper was unable to do what we just did in budget 2019. We removed the only remaining federal barrier to trade of Canadian wine, beer and spirits within Canada. It is now up to provinces to change their regulations to allow for direct-to-consumer alcohol sales across Canada. We did what Stephen Harper and the Conservatives could not. We freed the beer.
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are doubling down on misleading Canadians. It shows that they are still following Stephen Harper's playbook. We put the member on notice because he and his party have a history of making false and defamatory statements. That is what he did in December against the Minister of Innovation. He was forced to swallow his false words and retract his statements. We will not stand by while he continues to mislead Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, those are typical Liberal smear tactics. They know that I have always 100% denounced white supremacy and racism and anyone who promotes those hateful ideologies. The Prime Minister also knows that the senator withdrew and clarified his remarks and that I continue to denounce those types of messages. This is what is disgusting about this. The Liberals are using the very real threat of hatred and racism in this country to cover up their corruption scandal.
Mr. Speaker, what we have is a Conservative Party flailing and floundering, trying to change the subject away from what matters to Canadians. It has no plan to fight climate change, no plan on the economy and, quite frankly, have continued to demonstrate this.Despite the rejection the Conservatives had from Canadians in 2015, they still do not understand that the economy and the environment need to go to together. To build a stronger economy, we have to take action on fighting climate change. They fail to understand that and, therefore, they are are looking for anything else to talk about.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is still threatening to sue me over a statement that I made on March 29. I stand by every single word of that statement. In fact, I just repeated it moments ago outside the chamber. He claims I will face consequences for exposing his potentially illegal interference in a criminal trial. However, the only consequence seems to be that the Prime Minister will be forced to finally tell the truth. When will I see him in court?
Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition continues to mislead Canadians.This shows that the Conservatives are still following Stephen Harper's playbook. We put him on notice because he and his party have a history of making false and defamatory statements. That is what he did, and he will have to withdraw his statements because that is what happened in December, when he was forced to swallow his false words and retract his statements against the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development.We will not stand by while he continues to mislead Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition continues to mislead Canadians. This shows that the Conservatives are still following Stephen Harper's playbook.We put him on notice because he and his party have a history of making false and defamatory statements. That is what he did in December against the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. He was forced to swallow his false words and retract his statements. We will not stand by while he continues to mislead Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister wants to talk about false statements. The Prime Minister said that his motivation for interfering in this criminal court case was that he was afraid that SNC-Lavalin would move its headquarters out of the country. The head of SNC-Lavalin has said that this is completely false.Once again, is the Prime Minister aware of the criminal penalties that he would face if he said that falsehood under oath in a court of law?
Mr. Speaker, our position remains unchanged.We support the two-state solution, which should be achieved through negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Unilateral actions, such as settlements, are illegitimate and do not help resolve the situation in the Middle East.
Mr. Speaker, for months the ferry crossing between Matane and the North Shore has been a nightmare for users and the economy of the Lower St. Lawrence, Gaspé, and the North Shore. Worse yet, it seems that the ferry was not safe for Quebeckers. Following a recent accident involving the Apollo ferry, the inspector from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, the TSB, deemed a Transport Canada certified ship to be unsafe.Can the Prime Minister explain how Transport Canada could certify a ferry that the TSB deemed unseaworthy?
Mr. Speaker, I think what Canadians are remarking upon is the fact that the Conservatives do not want to talk about anything that actually matters to Canadians in their day-to-day lives. Canadians are worried about the threat of climate change and the impact on their kids. The Conservatives have no plan, are misleading people about our plan, do not want to talk about it and try to change the subject. What is worse is that the Conservatives have no plan for the economy. They continue to want to lower taxes on the wealthiest Canadians, when what we know is to invest in the middle class is to grow the economy. They have no plan on the economy and no plan on the environment.
Mr. Speaker, I am not asking about a security-related matter; I am asking about a potential offence under section 121 of the Criminal Code.If a junior procurement officer had accepted a small vacation from someone seeking a government contract, he would have been fired the same day and probably would have been charged within a week, yet the Prime Minister takes over $200,000 of illegal gifts from an individual seeking a government grant and there are no criminal consequences.Has the Prime Minister discussed this case with the RCMP since he took that vacation, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, Groundhog Day is February 2. We are a long way past that, yet the Conservatives seem to be desperate to reach back into any old thing they can to avoid talking about the fact that they have no plan for the economy, no plan to fight climate change and no plan to continue to grow an economy that works for Canadians in a way that is inclusive and positive.These are the things that we have been working on over the past four years, and they are working for Canadians. All they can do is try to sling mud and bring up old issues that quite frankly are not what Canadians care about.
Mr. Speaker, Cyclone Idai devastated Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. It destroyed homes and families, affecting more than 1.8 million people. Canada has not ignored the tragic plight of the thousands of people who fled their towns and villages. Our thoughts are with all those who are picking up the pieces after Cyclone Idai.Could the Prime Minister tell the House about the support Canada has offered the people and communities affected by Cyclone Idai?
Mr. Speaker, using tax dollars to fund his illegal private island vacation, groping a female reporter, strong-arming his former attorney general into interfering in a criminal prosecution with his friend's company, firing the former AG when she refused to do his bidding for himCanadians might think I am describing a Communist dictator, but in fact I am describing the Liberal leader. When the Prime Minister does not like the law, he breaks it. There is one set of rules for him and one set of rules for everyone else. Why?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister just said another false statement. A spokesperson for SNC-Lavalin said as late as last week that there was no intention to move the headquarters from Canada.However, I guess the Prime Minister is worried about actually taking this to court. Everything he has said outside the House in front of Canadians if he were to say it again in a court of law, he would be guilty of perjury. I guess the famous just watch me has turned into just watch me run away.Will the Prime Minister have the backbone to stand by his threats and show up in court to fight this case?
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Quebec, a majority government, finally has the opportunity to address the issue of secularism. If all goes as planned, the bill should be passed by the summer. Unfortunately, it appears that this Liberal government might well be the biggest obstacle opposing the will of Quebeckers. Could the Prime Minister, the member for Papineau, in Quebec, commit to respecting the will of Quebeckers and promise not to challenge Bill 21 on secularism in the courts or support any legal challenges?
Mr. Speaker, the justice committee did not get the job done because the Liberals shut it down. What is the Prime Minister hiding that he does not want Canadians to know?The OECD has referred the PMO's interference scandal to its working group on bribery. The Prime Minister does not seem to understand that Canada's reputation is on the line. The Liberals have blocked any way forward to get to the bottom of what happened. Canadians deserve to know if there was any political interference in the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin.What is the Prime Minister afraid of? Why does he not do the right thing and call a public inquiry now?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister says that he has put me on notice, hoping that I will withdraw my statements. I will not. I repeated them again outside. Therefore, I am putting him on notice that I am looking forward to the day that he sets for this court case to proceed.When it comes to falsehoods, the Prime Minister has stated that his excuse for interfering in this court case was jobs. We now know that is not true either.Once again, is the Prime Minister aware of the criminal penalties for committing perjury in a court case?
Mr. Speaker, we will continue to stay focused on what matters to Canadians. We will always stand up for women's rights. We will always stand up, unequivocally, for women's reproductive rights, unlike the member opposite and her party. We will always be there to defend Canadians. We will always be there to push for gender equality. We will always be there to invest in the middle class and those working hard to join it.The members opposite can only sling mud, because the they have no plan for Canadians on the economy and no plan for Canadians on climate change. All they can do is continue to mislead Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, once again the opposition leader is doubling down on his false and misleading statements. We put him on notice because he has a history, and his party has a history, of misleading Canadians. That is exactly what they did when he had to withdraw and retract misleading statements he made about the Minister of Innovation just a few months ago. We know that the Conservatives' way is to try to mislead Canadians as much as they possibly can. We need to call them out on that because falsehoods have no place in an election campaign.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister asked his lawyers to send me a letter threatening me with a lawsuit if I did not retract the statement I made on March 29. Not only will I not retract it, but I stand by every single word of that statement. I repeated it outside the chamber.When will I see him in court to discuss his corruption scandal?
Mr. Speaker, many Canadians have been frustrated by the restrictions on the transportation of Canadian beer, wine and spirits between provinces and territories. In St. Catharines and across the Niagara region there are many small and medium-sized businesses that because of barriers to trade within Canada cannot sell their product to other provinces.Could the Prime Minister please update the House on what our government is doing to eliminate the federal barriers to the trade of alcohol within Canada in order to make it easier for businesses to grow and succeed?
Mr. Speaker, from the beginning, the Prime Minister has been repeating that there was no political interference. Today, everyone knows that is untrue. He said that the former attorney general never shared her concerns with him, but we now know that is not true either.If the Prime Minister has nothing to hide, then he should follow through on his notice. We, on this side of the House, are not afraid of the truth. In fact, the truth is all we are asking for. Canadians all want to know the truth. The Prime Minister should show a little courage and follow through on his notice.
Mr. Speaker, the only thing a Conservative government will take away from Canadians is their obligation to pay his carbon tax, and that will come to an end this October.Canadians finally want to see the Prime Minister testify under oath. They finally want to see documents presented to court in an environment that his members of Parliament cannot control. Once again, I have stood by everything I have said. When will the Prime Minister finally start the lawsuit?
Mr. Speaker, I would just remind the Prime Minister that it was his idea to bring these allegations to court. I am just waiting for him to tell me on what day I should show up, because I will be there.Now, if he wants to talk about falsehoods, he told Canadians, looked them in the eyes and said that the former attorney general or anyone else never came to him to raise concerns about being pressured to interfere in this case. We now know that is false.Is the Prime Minister aware that if he said that in a court case at this point that he would be guilty of perjury?
Mr. Speaker, the RCMP works diligently to meet its responsibilities under the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act and to be transparent with Canadians. We respect its independence, and as always, I will not discuss security-related matters.
Mr. Speaker, the RCMP works diligently to meet its responsibilities under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act and to be transparent with Canadians.We respect this independence and, as always, will not be discussing security-related matters.
Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we respect the independence of the RCMP and we will not discuss security-related matters.
Mr. Speaker, the RCMP works diligently to meet its responsibilities under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act and be transparent with Canadians. We respect the independence of the RCMP, and as always, we will not be discussing security-related matters.
Not to my knowledge, no, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, in the discussions on misleading Canadians that happened back and forth, it appears that I may have used an unparliamentary word. For that, I apologize and withdraw it.
Mr. Speaker, I believe that, if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: that this House condemn the comments made on April 5 by the mayor of Hampstead, William Steinberg, who described Bill 21 on secularism, passed at the National Assembly of Quebec, as ethnic cleansing.
Mr. Speaker, many will recall the sad day when the Liberal government and the Prime Minister cancelled the public transit tax credit, claiming that it favoured only wealthy Canadians. Not only is that stupid, but let us talk about some really wealthy folks.Loblaws is a company that made over $3 billion in profits last year. Yesterday the government announced that it is giving Loblaws $12 million to purchase refrigerators. Wow. That means $3 billion in gross profits and $12 million in subsidies. Only the Liberals could possibly see the logic in that.Why is the Prime Minister taking money out of the pockets of Canadian workers and giving it to people who really do not need it?
Mr. Speaker, Conservatives continue to mislead Canadians, and Canadians deserve better.On Monday, the Conservative leader refused to denounce white supremacists in this House. On Tuesday, a Conservative senator said, I would find it disturbing to believe that there is a politician in this country that believes that white supremacy is a threat to our way of life in Canada. When will the Conservative leader finally denounce white supremacists by name, and will he denounce comments from a member of his own caucus?
Mr. Speaker, today Global News reported that the Prime Minister's vacation to billionaire island was planned at least nine months ahead. Staff in the PMO had this information well in advance, yet the Prime Minister was found guilty of violating the ethics law four times.In nine months of careful planning for his island vacation, how did no one in the PMO ever suggest to the Prime Minister that his trip was going to break the law, or did the Prime Minister just ignore the best advice from those around him because he was in one of his moods?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister wants to talk about politicians who have led Canadians in error. The Prime Minister said, when the allegations were first printed in The Globe and Mail, that they were completely false. We now know that is not true.Is the Prime Minister aware that if he says something that he knows not to be true in a court proceeding that he will be guilty of perjury?
Mr. Speaker, ensuring the safety of Canadians is the responsibility of any government.I can assure the House that Transport Canada takes its responsibilities very seriously. We will always ensure that Canadians are safe on board these ships. We will continue to do that. I will follow up on the question asked by my hon. colleague.
Mr. Speaker, we learned from an access to information request that the government has been sitting on for years that senior officials and the RCMP were planning the Prime Minister's billionaire island vacation at least nine months before his flagrant violation of the Conflict of Interest Act. Two of his top advisers have since resigned under the cloud of the current scandal. The PM may consider his job to be only ceremonial, but not once did these advisers point out that he was about to break the law. There is a pattern here.Why do the PM and his acolytes believe he is above the law?
Mr. Speaker, it is kind of dismaying to see the NDP, which had such a tradition of standing up for workers, put all that aside to try to score a few points now that some international organization has actually noticed that they exist.The fact of the matter is we are going to stay focused on the things that matter to Canadians. We are going to continue to fight for jobs, for workers across this country, for canola farmers across this country and for forestry workers across this country. We are going to stay focused on Canadians while everyone else tries to play politics.
Mr. Speaker, section 121 of the Criminal Code makes it an offence for any government employee to accept a benefit from someone who has business with the government, which is why it was so strange that several years after the Prime Minister accepted over $200,000 in gifts from someone seeking a government grant in the form of his famous island vacation, there still have been no charges laid. Now we know that the Prime Minister implicated the RCMP in planning that very offence. How many times has he discussed that with the police force since he went on that vacation?
Mr. Speaker, we have seen the Conservatives time and time again mislead Canadians, and they are smarting that we actually called them out on it. We put them on notice because, indeed, they continue, particularly in this election year, to spread falsehoods to Canadians. Just recently, the Conservatives actually sent a householder to Canadians that was not telling them about our climate action incentive, which returns hundreds of dollars to Canadians that they have to claim through their taxes. They have no plan on the environment. All they do is mislead Canadians about our plan to
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister now wants to talk about falsehoods. The Prime Minister said, in response to The Globe and Mail story breaking the SNC-Lavalin corruption scandal, that no one, neither himself nor anyone in his office, put pressure on the former attorney general to interfere in this case. We now know that is completely false.Once again, is the Prime Minister aware that if he says something that he knows not to be true in a court case that he will be guilty of perjury?
Mr. Speaker, to fight climate change, the Liberals are giving $12 million of our money to a billion-dollar corporation led by the second richest person in the country, while our local markets and independent grocers struggle to survive. Our local businesses are greener, yet they are not getting any help from the government.The Liberals would rather help billionaires than make life more affordable for families and fight climate change for future generations.What is the Liberals' priority?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's interference scandal is capturing attention from the international community, but not the kind that Canadians are proud of.The Liberals have shut down debate in two committees with their majority. The Ethics Commissioner has a very limited role. Now the world is watching and Canadians want the truth. Canadians have questions that the Prime Minister needs to answer.If the Prime Minister is serious about the truth, then the answer is simple: an independent public inquiry. Will he launch one, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, all Canadians remember the Prime Minister's controversial trip at taxpayers' expense. We know that he began planning his trip nine months before going on vacation to the Aga Khan's island.While he was planning his dream trip, no one seems to have pointed out that he would be breaking the law. We would usually say that this was a one-off, but this Prime Minister has made a habit of breaking the law since 2015.Why does the Prime Minister seem to be above the law?
Mr. Speaker, this is the problem with the NDP. Those members like to climb up on their high horses and make big speeches about protecting the environment, when this government actually moves forward on doing that. That means partnerships with the provinces. It means investing in Canadians and in renewable technologies. Yes, it means partnering with the private sector so we are moving forward on more efficient technologies and indeed fighting climate change.We understand that everyone needs to do his or her part to fight against climate change. That is something neither the Conservatives nor, apparently, the NDP understand.
Mr. Speaker, we are faced with a Prime Minister who has been flatly denying the truth from the beginning, ever since the Globe and Mail broke the story on the interference scandal involving him and his entourage. He was unsuccessful at silencing all the Liberals, so now he is bringing out a new Liberal tactic. He is threatening our leader with legal action, purely in the hope of silencing the members on this side of the House. Does this Prime Minister have the guts to follow through on his notice?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are silencing committees with Harper-like efficiency. They just shut down the ethics committee again, and the justice committee is under a cone of silence. Yesterday, the OECD's anti-bribery unit wrote the NDP and said that it would welcome our input on this matter. It is saying that in the next meeting in June, it is going to put Canada's actions on corporate corruption on the table. With no comprehensive investigation on its way and our reputation at stake, why will the Prime Minister not launch a public inquiry?
Mr. Speaker, Loblaws made hundreds of millions of dollars selling groceries to Canadians. Its owner is worth over $10 billion. I am pretty sure Loblaws can afford to buy a few energy-efficient fridges.The Liberals are so focused on pleasing big corporations that they have handed over a $12-million cheque to a massively profitable company. Why did they not ask Loblaws to buy its own fridges and instead spend that $12 million on small businesses and Canadians who actually need the help?
Mr. Speaker, I am rising on a point of order. During question period today, in referencing potential amendments to the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act, the Prime Minister said that the previous government had not improved the situation at all. We had three different provinces that opened it up, Nova Scotia, Manitoba as well as British Columbia. Therefore, I would like to ask for unanimous consent, to table the comments made by the Prime Minister in his speech on May 29, 2012. He said, The Liberal Party and I are pleased...to support this bill, which will encourage our Canadian wine producers and Canadians in particular to be proud of our products from across the country.I would like to table this so the Prime Minister can remind himself of his support for that bill.
Mr. Speaker, indeed, we have noticed, and Canadians have noticed, that the Leader of the Opposition continues to double down on his misleading statements.We know that Canadians deserve politicians on all sides who speak the truth, who do not mislead Canadians, and who end up talking about the things that matter and not hiding from Canadians. What we have right here is a political party that does not want to talk about the economy, that does not want to talk about the budget, that does not want to talk about climate change and that just wants to play politics and attack us.We are going to stay focused on Canadians, because Canadians deserve a better path forward than what those members are offering.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister seems to be missing an important fact here. It is that I am not withdrawing my remarks. In fact, I am standing by them and I repeated them outside of the House of Commons. Once again, if the Prime Minister is so sure of his case, will he commence court proceedings so that Canadians can finally hear the truth about this scandal?
Mr. Speaker, in a moment I will be asking the House for unanimous consent on a motion.Legislative delays in the Senate have meant that time is running out on important bills that have been passed by the elected members of the House of Commons. That includes the watershed bill to enshrine the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples into Canadian law; as well as a desperately needed bill to require better training for judges in the country to deal with sexual assault cases.The time is now to get these bills passed. Therefore, I hope that if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: That, in the opinion of the House, Bill C-262, An Act to ensure that the laws of Canada are in harmony with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as well as Bill C-337, An Act to amend the Judges Act and the Criminal Code (sexual assault), are both critical pieces of legislation that have been duly passed by the House of Commons, and have been in possession of the honourable Senators for many months; that both bills should be passed into law at the earliest opportunity; and that a message be sent to the Senate to acquaint that House accordingly.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for BrossardSaint-Lambert for her question and for her hard work.We responded quickly to the humanitarian crisis caused by Cyclone Idai and sent more assistance in light of the magnitude of the crisis. Canada's total contribution is up to $10 million. Last week we launched the Cyclone Idai matching fund. The government will match every dollar raised. We will continue to monitor the situation. We are prepared to offer the assistance required, as are all Canadians, and we encourage them to donate generously.
Mr. Speaker, what Canadians want is a government with an economic plan and a plan to fight climate change, and that is exactly what we are doing.The Conservatives are continuing to mislead Canadians about our economic plan and our plan to fight climate change.I know that all Quebeckers and all Canadians are concerned about the fact that the Conservatives do not have a plan to fight climate change. The Leader of the Opposition promised to present a plan 346 days ago, but he has still not done so.When will he tackle climate change?
Mr. Speaker, I believe that, if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent of the House to table the document on Loblaws' financial statements. On pages 36, 37 and 56, it shows that the company that made more than $3 billion in gross profits just received a $12-million subsidy from Canadian workers without their consent.
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Several thousands of my constituents have been impacted by an event that threatens their families, their livelihoods and their business. The House has the obligation to address that issue. Therefore, I ask for the unanimous consent of the House to hold an emergency debate on the canola issue that affects so many western Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister seeks to be judge, jury and executioner in this matter when, quite frankly, he is using a notice of libel as a tool of intimidation, much like he has done for this entire case.He states that it is a fact that the Leader of the Opposition is indeed spreading mistruths. Our fact is that is not the case. Guess who gets to decide that? A real court.When will the Prime Minister bring this to the right place to debate, a court of law in the province of Ontario? When will he start the claim?
Mr. Speaker, I can understand the member opposite's frustration. His economic plan is in shambles after 10 years of the lowest growth rate, since the Great Depression, under Stephen Harper.We turned that around with an approach that invests in Canadians. Canadians have created over 900,000 new jobs over the past three years. We have seen the lowest unemployment in 40 years.Our plan is working. We will always fight for jobs and we will never apologize for fighting for them.
Mr. Speaker, Liberals still discriminate against hundreds of thousands of first nations women across Canada. First nations women and their children still do not have the same right to Indian status or the right to transfer their status as first nations men have. This is a violation of their human rights and it denies first nations women's dignity. Liberals know that they could stop this injustice at their next cabinet meeting. Will the Liberals commit now to end the discrimination against first nations women, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, I look forward to Canadians having a choice between a party that consistently lies to Canadians, as the Conservatives do, and a party that stays focused on what matters to them.We have, over the coming months, an opportunity to put our best feet forward for Canadians and show them our plans to grow the economy, to fight climate change and to continue to increase Canadians' prosperity and safety in the world. We have laid that out. We have acted on it over the past four years. The Conservatives have nothing to show but simple political attacks, partisanship and their misleading of Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, there is no place for discrimination against citizens in a free society, especially not on the basis of their religion. This is what I believe and what this government believes. We will always believe, unequivocally, that we must defend the rights of all Canadians at all times.
Mr. Speaker, I am glad the member opposite is giving me a chance to talk about our investments in public transit. We have made historic investments worth over $28 billion in public transit systems across Canada. This gives Canadians more time to spend with their families. More than 7,000 new buses have been purchased or upgraded. Nearly 15,000 bus stops or shelters have been built or updated. We are working with our partners, including the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. We will continue to invest in our communities because that creates economic growth and opportunities for Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, I can understand why the Prime Minister did not want to answer that question, because this is really about the Prime Minister's motives. It is not just that. It is the illegal, taxpayer-funded vacation that he took while he was raising taxes on people who cannot think about affording their own vacation right now. It is the fact that he punished two strong women for doing the right thing while he moved hell and high water to protect his buddies at SNC-Lavalin from facing a day in court. Why does everything the Prime Minister does benefit him and hurt the people that we are supposed to serve?
Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the House understand that the fight against climate change requires action on many fronts. The government has a lot to do. The Conservatives and Canadians need to do their part, and the private sector needs to contribute, too.We have programs aimed at supporting the fight against climate change. These programs are open to private-sector businesses across Canada. We are going to keep making sure that we are all working together to fight climate change, not just paying lip service.
Mr. Speaker, politics aside, the Prime Minister has left something very much open, and it is the response that he has to the notice of libel that he sent to the Leader of the Opposition.Now, he may not be aware of this, but a notice of libel is for the benefit of the defendant to be able to mitigate his damages by apologizing, if he sees fit. In this case, the Leader of the Opposition has indicated that he has nothing to apologize for. It is now in the hands of the Prime Minister. When will the Prime Minister start the statement of claim?
Mr. Speaker, once again, in his very first words in that last intervention, the Leader of the Opposition emphasized that the first thing he would do if he gained power was to make pollution free again. We know, and Canadians know, that climate change is real, and yet it has been 346 days since the Leader of the Opposition promised a climate plan and has not shown anything. He has no plan for the environment, no plan for the economy. All he does is mislead Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, again, we are unequivocal about standing up for jobs. Indeed, shortly after the head of SNC-Lavalin made those comments, the company came out and corrected the comments he had made.We have been consistent in standing up for jobs. We will continue to defend workers right across the country, whether it is our steel and aluminum workers, or forestry workers or whether it is in manufacturing. We know that investing in Canadians and investing in their communities is way better than the cuts and austerity proposed by the Conservatives.
Mr. Speaker, over the past weeks, I have heard from constituents concerned about the outbreaks of measles in several regions of our country, including in the greater Toronto area. While Canada made great strides in the fight against measles and eliminated it over two decades ago, outbreaks do occur when the virus is picked up abroad.Can the Prime Minister inform this House and all Canadians how they can protect themselves and their families against measles?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Mississauga EastCooksville for his hard work.The problem is complex, but the solution is simple. Canadians can protect themselves and their families against measles by getting vaccinated. Vaccines are our best weapon to fight disease and the reason that measles was practically eliminated in Canada. We are investing $25 million over five years to get more Canadians vaccinated, to develop new vaccines and, importantly, to keep the public better informed. Vaccines are safe and effective and save lives.
Mr. Speaker, the world is watching. In response to our letter, the OECD anti-bribery unit reiterated its call to follow what is happening in Canada closely, and it will pay even more attention now that the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights has finished its study.The Prime Minister must do the right thing. Will he reassure the OECD and, most importantly, Canadians and launch a public inquiry?
Mr. Speaker, I am rising on a point of order. I guess imitation is the greatest form of flattery. I would like to have unanimous consent to table this document from question period, which was given first reading two years ago tomorrow. It is my private member's bill, Bill C-351, which the Liberals, and I thank them very much, copied almost word for word, to free the beer. We tabled it and it was given first reading two years ago. I would like unanimous consent to table the document.
Mr. Speaker, speaking of misleading Canadians, the very first thing we did was lower taxes on the middle class and raise taxes on the wealthiest 1%. We then delivered a Canada child benefit that lifted 300,000 kids out of poverty. The Conservatives voted against both of those measures.How is our economy doing? It has among the best in growth in the G7 and the lowest unemployment rate in 40 years, and Canadians have created over 900,000 new jobs. No wonder the Conservatives can only sling mud instead of talking about any plan for growing the economy. It is because they have none.
Mr. Speaker, we seem to have hit a nerve in the way the Conservatives are misleading Canadians on intolerance. Let us try them on climate. Today, we learned the Conservatives are hiding, from their own constituents, tax benefits that would give Canadians hundreds of dollars. Conservatives want to take hundreds of dollars away from families in New Brunswick, in Ontario, in Manitoba, in Saskatchewan. Indeed, their only plan seems to be to mislead Canadians about our plan to fight climate change. That is even more unacceptable. They continue to mislead Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, I am happy to explain for the member opposite that parliamentary committees are masters of their own decisions. That is a principle in this Parliament that all parties should take very seriously. We thank the justice committee for its work, for the 10 hours of testimony it heard. Indeed, we were pleased to give an unprecedented waiver to allow individuals to fully share their perspectives on the matter at hand.As for the work the Ethics Commissioner does, on this side of the House we have full confidence in our officers of Parliament.
Mr. Speaker, no relationship is more important than that between this government and indigenous peoples, and that is why we have made historic strides forward on reconciliation with indigenous peoples. It involves tangible things like ending boil water advisories and creating more housing and schools on reserves, but also moving forward on rights recognition frameworks and self-government agreements. However, all of these are done in partnership and with respect for indigenous peoples. We are not the ones determining the path forward for them. We are working with them to determine that path forward. We will always do it in respect of their views, not impose ours.
Mr. Speaker, for more than a year, the government has been saying that Canada is meeting the UN's request for assistance in Mali with a smart pledge ending August 1.Now we have learned that the UN has actually requested that Canada extend its excellent and important medevac mission to September 15. This would avoid a reduction in UN stabilization operations in Mali and the potential loss of lives resulting from the gap in medevac services before Romania takes over; otherwise, both the stability of Mali and people's lives will be at risk.Will the Prime Minister now agree to extend Canada's Mali mission, as requested by the UN?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is out of touch with the reality of Canadians. In order to turn the page on the scandal of interference favouring his rich friends, the Liberal government gave $12 million to another rich corporation. That is $12 million to a corporation that makes billions of dollars in profit and refuses to pay its workers a decent wage.Rather than giving money to the wealthy, why does the Prime Minister not give that $12 million to those who need it?
Mr. Speaker, it is important to get the truth on this matter, which is why we made an unprecedented move, waiving solicitor-client privilege and cabinet confidence and giving the former justice minister permission to speak openly about this matter in committee.We have confidence in the parliamentary committees, which make their own decisions and set their own procedures, and we have confidence in the Ethics Commissioner, who is conducting his investigation.
Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the House know that it takes more than just nice words in the House of Commons to fight climate change. It takes action. It takes partnerships. That is why we are working with the provinces. That is why we are working with consumers and citizens, to help them with these changes we are now making.That is why we are working with the private sector, which has a role to play in combatting climate change and helping Canada be more effective in its ongoing fight against this threat.
Mr. Speaker, as we have said, we have tremendous confidence in the committees of Parliament to do their work. We are pleased that the justice committee heard over 10 hours of testimony, over many weeks. That was facilitated by the fact that we gave an unprecedented waiver to allow for testimony that put aside both attorney-client privilege and cabinet confidentiality, because it is important that Canadians see what went on here. That is exactly what they did.We continue to trust the Ethics Commissioner in the work that he does. We know that Canadians are concerned about this, but are also concerned about
Mr. Speaker, I had the honour of visiting our troops in Mali around Christmastime and I have to say we can all be incredibly proud of the work they are doing, not just in keeping their allies safe through medevacs but in actually leading the way on innovative approaches to medevac that is transforming not just the way peace operations are run around the world but the way allied militaries around the world look at medevacs and helping.That is something that Canada is leading on. There are always going to be gaps. There was a gap between Germany and us when taking over. There is going to be a gap before Romania, but we are working with our allies
Mr. Speaker, Benjamin Netanyahu hung on to power in Israel's election yesterday.In a last-minute campaign promise, he vowed to annex Israeli settlements in the West Bank. If the Israeli government keeps that promise, there could be serious consequences for stability in the region. Canada's position is clear: the settlements are illegal. The United Nations Security Council agrees. Will the Prime Minister confirm that Canada would view the annexation of those territories as illegal and act accordingly?
Mr. Speaker, evidence confirms the Prime Minister undertook a coordinated, sustained and inappropriate campaign to interfere with the independence of the judicial system. The Criminal Code says that everyone who wilfully attempts in any manner to obstruct, pervert or defeat the course of justice is guilty of an offence.Has the RCMP contacted the Prime Minister or any of his staff or former staff about the SNC-Lavalin scandal?
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for St. Catharines for his hard work
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for St. Catharines for his hard work. I highlight that for 10 years, Stephen Harper was unable to do what we just did in budget 2019. We removed the only remaining federal barrier to trade of Canadian wine, beer and spirits within Canada. It is now up to provinces to change their regulations to allow for direct-to-consumer alcohol sales across Canada. We did what Stephen Harper and the Conservatives could not. We freed the beer.
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are doubling down on misleading Canadians. It shows that they are still following Stephen Harper's playbook. We put the member on notice because he and his party have a history of making false and defamatory statements. That is what he did in December against the Minister of Innovation. He was forced to swallow his false words and retract his statements. We will not stand by while he continues to mislead Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, those are typical Liberal smear tactics. They know that I have always 100% denounced white supremacy and racism and anyone who promotes those hateful ideologies. The Prime Minister also knows that the senator withdrew and clarified his remarks and that I continue to denounce those types of messages. This is what is disgusting about this. The Liberals are using the very real threat of hatred and racism in this country to cover up their corruption scandal.
Mr. Speaker, what we have is a Conservative Party flailing and floundering, trying to change the subject away from what matters to Canadians. It has no plan to fight climate change, no plan on the economy and, quite frankly, have continued to demonstrate this.Despite the rejection the Conservatives had from Canadians in 2015, they still do not understand that the economy and the environment need to go to together. To build a stronger economy, we have to take action on fighting climate change. They fail to understand that and, therefore, they are are looking for anything else to talk about.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is still threatening to sue me over a statement that I made on March 29. I stand by every single word of that statement. In fact, I just repeated it moments ago outside the chamber. He claims I will face consequences for exposing his potentially illegal interference in a criminal trial. However, the only consequence seems to be that the Prime Minister will be forced to finally tell the truth. When will I see him in court?
Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition continues to mislead Canadians.This shows that the Conservatives are still following Stephen Harper's playbook. We put him on notice because he and his party have a history of making false and defamatory statements. That is what he did, and he will have to withdraw his statements because that is what happened in December, when he was forced to swallow his false words and retract his statements against the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development.We will not stand by while he continues to mislead Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition continues to mislead Canadians. This shows that the Conservatives are still following Stephen Harper's playbook.We put him on notice because he and his party have a history of making false and defamatory statements. That is what he did in December against the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. He was forced to swallow his false words and retract his statements. We will not stand by while he continues to mislead Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister wants to talk about false statements. The Prime Minister said that his motivation for interfering in this criminal court case was that he was afraid that SNC-Lavalin would move its headquarters out of the country. The head of SNC-Lavalin has said that this is completely false.Once again, is the Prime Minister aware of the criminal penalties that he would face if he said that falsehood under oath in a court of law?
Mr. Speaker, our position remains unchanged.We support the two-state solution, which should be achieved through negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Unilateral actions, such as settlements, are illegitimate and do not help resolve the situation in the Middle East.
Mr. Speaker, for months the ferry crossing between Matane and the North Shore has been a nightmare for users and the economy of the Lower St. Lawrence, Gaspé, and the North Shore. Worse yet, it seems that the ferry was not safe for Quebeckers. Following a recent accident involving the Apollo ferry, the inspector from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, the TSB, deemed a Transport Canada certified ship to be unsafe.Can the Prime Minister explain how Transport Canada could certify a ferry that the TSB deemed unseaworthy?
Mr. Speaker, I think what Canadians are remarking upon is the fact that the Conservatives do not want to talk about anything that actually matters to Canadians in their day-to-day lives. Canadians are worried about the threat of climate change and the impact on their kids. The Conservatives have no plan, are misleading people about our plan, do not want to talk about it and try to change the subject. What is worse is that the Conservatives have no plan for the economy. They continue to want to lower taxes on the wealthiest Canadians, when what we know is to invest in the middle class is to grow the economy. They have no plan on the economy and no plan on the environment.
Mr. Speaker, I am not asking about a security-related matter; I am asking about a potential offence under section 121 of the Criminal Code.If a junior procurement officer had accepted a small vacation from someone seeking a government contract, he would have been fired the same day and probably would have been charged within a week, yet the Prime Minister takes over $200,000 of illegal gifts from an individual seeking a government grant and there are no criminal consequences.Has the Prime Minister discussed this case with the RCMP since he took that vacation, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, Groundhog Day is February 2. We are a long way past that, yet the Conservatives seem to be desperate to reach back into any old thing they can to avoid talking about the fact that they have no plan for the economy, no plan to fight climate change and no plan to continue to grow an economy that works for Canadians in a way that is inclusive and positive.These are the things that we have been working on over the past four years, and they are working for Canadians. All they can do is try to sling mud and bring up old issues that quite frankly are not what Canadians care about.
Mr. Speaker, Cyclone Idai devastated Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. It destroyed homes and families, affecting more than 1.8 million people. Canada has not ignored the tragic plight of the thousands of people who fled their towns and villages. Our thoughts are with all those who are picking up the pieces after Cyclone Idai.Could the Prime Minister tell the House about the support Canada has offered the people and communities affected by Cyclone Idai?
Mr. Speaker, using tax dollars to fund his illegal private island vacation, groping a female reporter, strong-arming his former attorney general into interfering in a criminal prosecution with his friend's company, firing the former AG when she refused to do his bidding for himCanadians might think I am describing a Communist dictator, but in fact I am describing the Liberal leader. When the Prime Minister does not like the law, he breaks it. There is one set of rules for him and one set of rules for everyone else. Why?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister just said another false statement. A spokesperson for SNC-Lavalin said as late as last week that there was no intention to move the headquarters from Canada.However, I guess the Prime Minister is worried about actually taking this to court. Everything he has said outside the House in front of Canadians if he were to say it again in a court of law, he would be guilty of perjury. I guess the famous just watch me has turned into just watch me run away.Will the Prime Minister have the backbone to stand by his threats and show up in court to fight this case?
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Quebec, a majority government, finally has the opportunity to address the issue of secularism. If all goes as planned, the bill should be passed by the summer. Unfortunately, it appears that this Liberal government might well be the biggest obstacle opposing the will of Quebeckers. Could the Prime Minister, the member for Papineau, in Quebec, commit to respecting the will of Quebeckers and promise not to challenge Bill 21 on secularism in the courts or support any legal challenges?
Mr. Speaker, the justice committee did not get the job done because the Liberals shut it down. What is the Prime Minister hiding that he does not want Canadians to know?The OECD has referred the PMO's interference scandal to its working group on bribery. The Prime Minister does not seem to understand that Canada's reputation is on the line. The Liberals have blocked any way forward to get to the bottom of what happened. Canadians deserve to know if there was any political interference in the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin.What is the Prime Minister afraid of? Why does he not do the right thing and call a public inquiry now?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister says that he has put me on notice, hoping that I will withdraw my statements. I will not. I repeated them again outside. Therefore, I am putting him on notice that I am looking forward to the day that he sets for this court case to proceed.When it comes to falsehoods, the Prime Minister has stated that his excuse for interfering in this court case was jobs. We now know that is not true either.Once again, is the Prime Minister aware of the criminal penalties for committing perjury in a court case?
Mr. Speaker, we will continue to stay focused on what matters to Canadians. We will always stand up for women's rights. We will always stand up, unequivocally, for women's reproductive rights, unlike the member opposite and her party. We will always be there to defend Canadians. We will always be there to push for gender equality. We will always be there to invest in the middle class and those working hard to join it.The members opposite can only sling mud, because the they have no plan for Canadians on the economy and no plan for Canadians on climate change. All they can do is continue to mislead Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, once again the opposition leader is doubling down on his false and misleading statements. We put him on notice because he has a history, and his party has a history, of misleading Canadians. That is exactly what they did when he had to withdraw and retract misleading statements he made about the Minister of Innovation just a few months ago. We know that the Conservatives' way is to try to mislead Canadians as much as they possibly can. We need to call them out on that because falsehoods have no place in an election campaign.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister asked his lawyers to send me a letter threatening me with a lawsuit if I did not retract the statement I made on March 29. Not only will I not retract it, but I stand by every single word of that statement. I repeated it outside the chamber.When will I see him in court to discuss his corruption scandal?
Mr. Speaker, many Canadians have been frustrated by the restrictions on the transportation of Canadian beer, wine and spirits between provinces and territories. In St. Catharines and across the Niagara region there are many small and medium-sized businesses that because of barriers to trade within Canada cannot sell their product to other provinces.Could the Prime Minister please update the House on what our government is doing to eliminate the federal barriers to the trade of alcohol within Canada in order to make it easier for businesses to grow and succeed?
Mr. Speaker, from the beginning, the Prime Minister has been repeating that there was no political interference. Today, everyone knows that is untrue. He said that the former attorney general never shared her concerns with him, but we now know that is not true either.If the Prime Minister has nothing to hide, then he should follow through on his notice. We, on this side of the House, are not afraid of the truth. In fact, the truth is all we are asking for. Canadians all want to know the truth. The Prime Minister should show a little courage and follow through on his notice.
Mr. Speaker, the only thing a Conservative government will take away from Canadians is their obligation to pay his carbon tax, and that will come to an end this October.Canadians finally want to see the Prime Minister testify under oath. They finally want to see documents presented to court in an environment that his members of Parliament cannot control. Once again, I have stood by everything I have said. When will the Prime Minister finally start the lawsuit?
Mr. Speaker, I would just remind the Prime Minister that it was his idea to bring these allegations to court. I am just waiting for him to tell me on what day I should show up, because I will be there.Now, if he wants to talk about falsehoods, he told Canadians, looked them in the eyes and said that the former attorney general or anyone else never came to him to raise concerns about being pressured to interfere in this case. We now know that is false.Is the Prime Minister aware that if he said that in a court case at this point that he would be guilty of perjury?
Mr. Speaker, the RCMP works diligently to meet its responsibilities under the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act and to be transparent with Canadians. We respect its independence, and as always, I will not discuss security-related matters.
Mr. Speaker, the RCMP works diligently to meet its responsibilities under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act and to be transparent with Canadians.We respect this independence and, as always, will not be discussing security-related matters.
Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we respect the independence of the RCMP and we will not discuss security-related matters.
Mr. Speaker, the RCMP works diligently to meet its responsibilities under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act and be transparent with Canadians. We respect the independence of the RCMP, and as always, we will not be discussing security-related matters.
Not to my knowledge, no, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, in the discussions on misleading Canadians that happened back and forth, it appears that I may have used an unparliamentary word. For that, I apologize and withdraw it.
Mr. Speaker, I believe that, if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: that this House condemn the comments made on April 5 by the mayor of Hampstead, William Steinberg, who described Bill 21 on secularism, passed at the National Assembly of Quebec, as ethnic cleansing.
Mr. Speaker, many will recall the sad day when the Liberal government and the Prime Minister cancelled the public transit tax credit, claiming that it favoured only wealthy Canadians. Not only is that stupid, but let us talk about some really wealthy folks.Loblaws is a company that made over $3 billion in profits last year. Yesterday the government announced that it is giving Loblaws $12 million to purchase refrigerators. Wow. That means $3 billion in gross profits and $12 million in subsidies. Only the Liberals could possibly see the logic in that.Why is the Prime Minister taking money out of the pockets of Canadian workers and giving it to people who really do not need it?
Mr. Speaker, Conservatives continue to mislead Canadians, and Canadians deserve better.On Monday, the Conservative leader refused to denounce white supremacists in this House. On Tuesday, a Conservative senator said, I would find it disturbing to believe that there is a politician in this country that believes that white supremacy is a threat to our way of life in Canada. When will the Conservative leader finally denounce white supremacists by name, and will he denounce comments from a member of his own caucus?
Mr. Speaker, today Global News reported that the Prime Minister's vacation to billionaire island was planned at least nine months ahead. Staff in the PMO had this information well in advance, yet the Prime Minister was found guilty of violating the ethics law four times.In nine months of careful planning for his island vacation, how did no one in the PMO ever suggest to the Prime Minister that his trip was going to break the law, or did the Prime Minister just ignore the best advice from those around him because he was in one of his moods?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister wants to talk about politicians who have led Canadians in error. The Prime Minister said, when the allegations were first printed in The Globe and Mail, that they were completely false. We now know that is not true.Is the Prime Minister aware that if he says something that he knows not to be true in a court proceeding that he will be guilty of perjury?
Mr. Speaker, ensuring the safety of Canadians is the responsibility of any government.I can assure the House that Transport Canada takes its responsibilities very seriously. We will always ensure that Canadians are safe on board these ships. We will continue to do that. I will follow up on the question asked by my hon. colleague.
Mr. Speaker, we learned from an access to information request that the government has been sitting on for years that senior officials and the RCMP were planning the Prime Minister's billionaire island vacation at least nine months before his flagrant violation of the Conflict of Interest Act. Two of his top advisers have since resigned under the cloud of the current scandal. The PM may consider his job to be only ceremonial, but not once did these advisers point out that he was about to break the law. There is a pattern here.Why do the PM and his acolytes believe he is above the law?
Mr. Speaker, it is kind of dismaying to see the NDP, which had such a tradition of standing up for workers, put all that aside to try to score a few points now that some international organization has actually noticed that they exist.The fact of the matter is we are going to stay focused on the things that matter to Canadians. We are going to continue to fight for jobs, for workers across this country, for canola farmers across this country and for forestry workers across this country. We are going to stay focused on Canadians while everyone else tries to play politics.
Mr. Speaker, section 121 of the Criminal Code makes it an offence for any government employee to accept a benefit from someone who has business with the government, which is why it was so strange that several years after the Prime Minister accepted over $200,000 in gifts from someone seeking a government grant in the form of his famous island vacation, there still have been no charges laid. Now we know that the Prime Minister implicated the RCMP in planning that very offence. How many times has he discussed that with the police force since he went on that vacation?
Mr. Speaker, we have seen the Conservatives time and time again mislead Canadians, and they are smarting that we actually called them out on it. We put them on notice because, indeed, they continue, particularly in this election year, to spread falsehoods to Canadians. Just recently, the Conservatives actually sent a householder to Canadians that was not telling them about our climate action incentive, which returns hundreds of dollars to Canadians that they have to claim through their taxes. They have no plan on the environment. All they do is mislead Canadians about our plan to
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister now wants to talk about falsehoods. The Prime Minister said, in response to The Globe and Mail story breaking the SNC-Lavalin corruption scandal, that no one, neither himself nor anyone in his office, put pressure on the former attorney general to interfere in this case. We now know that is completely false.Once again, is the Prime Minister aware that if he says something that he knows not to be true in a court case that he will be guilty of perjury?
Mr. Speaker, to fight climate change, the Liberals are giving $12 million of our money to a billion-dollar corporation led by the second richest person in the country, while our local markets and independent grocers struggle to survive. Our local businesses are greener, yet they are not getting any help from the government.The Liberals would rather help billionaires than make life more affordable for families and fight climate change for future generations.What is the Liberals' priority?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's interference scandal is capturing attention from the international community, but not the kind that Canadians are proud of.The Liberals have shut down debate in two committees with their majority. The Ethics Commissioner has a very limited role. Now the world is watching and Canadians want the truth. Canadians have questions that the Prime Minister needs to answer.If the Prime Minister is serious about the truth, then the answer is simple: an independent public inquiry. Will he launch one, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, all Canadians remember the Prime Minister's controversial trip at taxpayers' expense. We know that he began planning his trip nine months before going on vacation to the Aga Khan's island.While he was planning his dream trip, no one seems to have pointed out that he would be breaking the law. We would usually say that this was a one-off, but this Prime Minister has made a habit of breaking the law since 2015.Why does the Prime Minister seem to be above the law?
Mr. Speaker, this is the problem with the NDP. Those members like to climb up on their high horses and make big speeches about protecting the environment, when this government actually moves forward on doing that. That means partnerships with the provinces. It means investing in Canadians and in renewable technologies. Yes, it means partnering with the private sector so we are moving forward on more efficient technologies and indeed fighting climate change.We understand that everyone needs to do his or her part to fight against climate change. That is something neither the Conservatives nor, apparently, the NDP understand.
Mr. Speaker, we are faced with a Prime Minister who has been flatly denying the truth from the beginning, ever since the Globe and Mail broke the story on the interference scandal involving him and his entourage. He was unsuccessful at silencing all the Liberals, so now he is bringing out a new Liberal tactic. He is threatening our leader with legal action, purely in the hope of silencing the members on this side of the House. Does this Prime Minister have the guts to follow through on his notice?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are silencing committees with Harper-like efficiency. They just shut down the ethics committee again, and the justice committee is under a cone of silence. Yesterday, the OECD's anti-bribery unit wrote the NDP and said that it would welcome our input on this matter. It is saying that in the next meeting in June, it is going to put Canada's actions on corporate corruption on the table. With no comprehensive investigation on its way and our reputation at stake, why will the Prime Minister not launch a public inquiry?
Mr. Speaker, Loblaws made hundreds of millions of dollars selling groceries to Canadians. Its owner is worth over $10 billion. I am pretty sure Loblaws can afford to buy a few energy-efficient fridges.The Liberals are so focused on pleasing big corporations that they have handed over a $12-million cheque to a massively profitable company. Why did they not ask Loblaws to buy its own fridges and instead spend that $12 million on small businesses and Canadians who actually need the help?
Mr. Speaker, I am rising on a point of order. During question period today, in referencing potential amendments to the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act, the Prime Minister said that the previous government had not improved the situation at all. We had three different provinces that opened it up, Nova Scotia, Manitoba as well as British Columbia. Therefore, I would like to ask for unanimous consent, to table the comments made by the Prime Minister in his speech on May 29, 2012. He said, The Liberal Party and I are pleased...to support this bill, which will encourage our Canadian wine producers and Canadians in particular to be proud of our products from across the country.I would like to table this so the Prime Minister can remind himself of his support for that bill.
Mr. Speaker, indeed, we have noticed, and Canadians have noticed, that the Leader of the Opposition continues to double down on his misleading statements.We know that Canadians deserve politicians on all sides who speak the truth, who do not mislead Canadians, and who end up talking about the things that matter and not hiding from Canadians. What we have right here is a political party that does not want to talk about the economy, that does not want to talk about the budget, that does not want to talk about climate change and that just wants to play politics and attack us.We are going to stay focused on Canadians, because Canadians deserve a better path forward than what those members are offering.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister seems to be missing an important fact here. It is that I am not withdrawing my remarks. In fact, I am standing by them and I repeated them outside of the House of Commons. Once again, if the Prime Minister is so sure of his case, will he commence court proceedings so that Canadians can finally hear the truth about this scandal?
Mr. Speaker, in a moment I will be asking the House for unanimous consent on a motion.Legislative delays in the Senate have meant that time is running out on important bills that have been passed by the elected members of the House of Commons. That includes the watershed bill to enshrine the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples into Canadian law; as well as a desperately needed bill to require better training for judges in the country to deal with sexual assault cases.The time is now to get these bills passed. Therefore, I hope that if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: That, in the opinion of the House, Bill C-262, An Act to ensure that the laws of Canada are in harmony with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as well as Bill C-337, An Act to amend the Judges Act and the Criminal Code (sexual assault), are both critical pieces of legislation that have been duly passed by the House of Commons, and have been in possession of the honourable Senators for many months; that both bills should be passed into law at the earliest opportunity; and that a message be sent to the Senate to acquaint that House accordingly.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for BrossardSaint-Lambert for her question and for her hard work.We responded quickly to the humanitarian crisis caused by Cyclone Idai and sent more assistance in light of the magnitude of the crisis. Canada's total contribution is up to $10 million. Last week we launched the Cyclone Idai matching fund. The government will match every dollar raised. We will continue to monitor the situation. We are prepared to offer the assistance required, as are all Canadians, and we encourage them to donate generously.
Mr. Speaker, what Canadians want is a government with an economic plan and a plan to fight climate change, and that is exactly what we are doing.The Conservatives are continuing to mislead Canadians about our economic plan and our plan to fight climate change.I know that all Quebeckers and all Canadians are concerned about the fact that the Conservatives do not have a plan to fight climate change. The Leader of the Opposition promised to present a plan 346 days ago, but he has still not done so.When will he tackle climate change?
Mr. Speaker, I believe that, if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent of the House to table the document on Loblaws' financial statements. On pages 36, 37 and 56, it shows that the company that made more than $3 billion in gross profits just received a $12-million subsidy from Canadian workers without their consent.
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Several thousands of my constituents have been impacted by an event that threatens their families, their livelihoods and their business. The House has the obligation to address that issue. Therefore, I ask for the unanimous consent of the House to hold an emergency debate on the canola issue that affects so many western Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister seeks to be judge, jury and executioner in this matter when, quite frankly, he is using a notice of libel as a tool of intimidation, much like he has done for this entire case.He states that it is a fact that the Leader of the Opposition is indeed spreading mistruths. Our fact is that is not the case. Guess who gets to decide that? A real court.When will the Prime Minister bring this to the right place to debate, a court of law in the province of Ontario? When will he start the claim?
Mr. Speaker, I can understand the member opposite's frustration. His economic plan is in shambles after 10 years of the lowest growth rate, since the Great Depression, under Stephen Harper.We turned that around with an approach that invests in Canadians. Canadians have created over 900,000 new jobs over the past three years. We have seen the lowest unemployment in 40 years.Our plan is working. We will always fight for jobs and we will never apologize for fighting for them.
Mr. Speaker, Liberals still discriminate against hundreds of thousands of first nations women across Canada. First nations women and their children still do not have the same right to Indian status or the right to transfer their status as first nations men have. This is a violation of their human rights and it denies first nations women's dignity. Liberals know that they could stop this injustice at their next cabinet meeting. Will the Liberals commit now to end the discrimination against first nations women, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, I look forward to Canadians having a choice between a party that consistently lies to Canadians, as the Conservatives do, and a party that stays focused on what matters to them.We have, over the coming months, an opportunity to put our best feet forward for Canadians and show them our plans to grow the economy, to fight climate change and to continue to increase Canadians' prosperity and safety in the world. We have laid that out. We have acted on it over the past four years. The Conservatives have nothing to show but simple political attacks, partisanship and their misleading of Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, there is no place for discrimination against citizens in a free society, especially not on the basis of their religion. This is what I believe and what this government believes. We will always believe, unequivocally, that we must defend the rights of all Canadians at all times.
Mr. Speaker, I am glad the member opposite is giving me a chance to talk about our investments in public transit. We have made historic investments worth over $28 billion in public transit systems across Canada. This gives Canadians more time to spend with their families. More than 7,000 new buses have been purchased or upgraded. Nearly 15,000 bus stops or shelters have been built or updated. We are working with our partners, including the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. We will continue to invest in our communities because that creates economic growth and opportunities for Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, I can understand why the Prime Minister did not want to answer that question, because this is really about the Prime Minister's motives. It is not just that. It is the illegal, taxpayer-funded vacation that he took while he was raising taxes on people who cannot think about affording their own vacation right now. It is the fact that he punished two strong women for doing the right thing while he moved hell and high water to protect his buddies at SNC-Lavalin from facing a day in court. Why does everything the Prime Minister does benefit him and hurt the people that we are supposed to serve?
Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the House understand that the fight against climate change requires action on many fronts. The government has a lot to do. The Conservatives and Canadians need to do their part, and the private sector needs to contribute, too.We have programs aimed at supporting the fight against climate change. These programs are open to private-sector businesses across Canada. We are going to keep making sure that we are all working together to fight climate change, not just paying lip service.
Mr. Speaker, politics aside, the Prime Minister has left something very much open, and it is the response that he has to the notice of libel that he sent to the Leader of the Opposition.Now, he may not be aware of this, but a notice of libel is for the benefit of the defendant to be able to mitigate his damages by apologizing, if he sees fit. In this case, the Leader of the Opposition has indicated that he has nothing to apologize for. It is now in the hands of the Prime Minister. When will the Prime Minister start the statement of claim?
Mr. Speaker, once again, in his very first words in that last intervention, the Leader of the Opposition emphasized that the first thing he would do if he gained power was to make pollution free again. We know, and Canadians know, that climate change is real, and yet it has been 346 days since the Leader of the Opposition promised a climate plan and has not shown anything. He has no plan for the environment, no plan for the economy. All he does is mislead Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, again, we are unequivocal about standing up for jobs. Indeed, shortly after the head of SNC-Lavalin made those comments, the company came out and corrected the comments he had made.We have been consistent in standing up for jobs. We will continue to defend workers right across the country, whether it is our steel and aluminum workers, or forestry workers or whether it is in manufacturing. We know that investing in Canadians and investing in their communities is way better than the cuts and austerity proposed by the Conservatives.
Mr. Speaker, over the past weeks, I have heard from constituents concerned about the outbreaks of measles in several regions of our country, including in the greater Toronto area. While Canada made great strides in the fight against measles and eliminated it over two decades ago, outbreaks do occur when the virus is picked up abroad.Can the Prime Minister inform this House and all Canadians how they can protect themselves and their families against measles?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Mississauga EastCooksville for his hard work.The problem is complex, but the solution is simple. Canadians can protect themselves and their families against measles by getting vaccinated. Vaccines are our best weapon to fight disease and the reason that measles was practically eliminated in Canada. We are investing $25 million over five years to get more Canadians vaccinated, to develop new vaccines and, importantly, to keep the public better informed. Vaccines are safe and effective and save lives.
Mr. Speaker, the world is watching. In response to our letter, the OECD anti-bribery unit reiterated its call to follow what is happening in Canada closely, and it will pay even more attention now that the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights has finished its study.The Prime Minister must do the right thing. Will he reassure the OECD and, most importantly, Canadians and launch a public inquiry?
Mr. Speaker, I am rising on a point of order. I guess imitation is the greatest form of flattery. I would like to have unanimous consent to table this document from question period, which was given first reading two years ago tomorrow. It is my private member's bill, Bill C-351, which the Liberals, and I thank them very much, copied almost word for word, to free the beer. We tabled it and it was given first reading two years ago. I would like unanimous consent to table the document.
Mr. Speaker, speaking of misleading Canadians, the very first thing we did was lower taxes on the middle class and raise taxes on the wealthiest 1%. We then delivered a Canada child benefit that lifted 300,000 kids out of poverty. The Conservatives voted against both of those measures.How is our economy doing? It has among the best in growth in the G7 and the lowest unemployment rate in 40 years, and Canadians have created over 900,000 new jobs. No wonder the Conservatives can only sling mud instead of talking about any plan for growing the economy. It is because they have none.
Mr. Speaker, we seem to have hit a nerve in the way the Conservatives are misleading Canadians on intolerance. Let us try them on climate. Today, we learned the Conservatives are hiding, from their own constituents, tax benefits that would give Canadians hundreds of dollars. Conservatives want to take hundreds of dollars away from families in New Brunswick, in Ontario, in Manitoba, in Saskatchewan. Indeed, their only plan seems to be to mislead Canadians about our plan to fight climate change. That is even more unacceptable. They continue to mislead Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, I am happy to explain for the member opposite that parliamentary committees are masters of their own decisions. That is a principle in this Parliament that all parties should take very seriously. We thank the justice committee for its work, for the 10 hours of testimony it heard. Indeed, we were pleased to give an unprecedented waiver to allow individuals to fully share their perspectives on the matter at hand.As for the work the Ethics Commissioner does, on this side of the House we have full confidence in our officers of Parliament.
Mr. Speaker, no relationship is more important than that between this government and indigenous peoples, and that is why we have made historic strides forward on reconciliation with indigenous peoples. It involves tangible things like ending boil water advisories and creating more housing and schools on reserves, but also moving forward on rights recognition frameworks and self-government agreements. However, all of these are done in partnership and with respect for indigenous peoples. We are not the ones determining the path forward for them. We are working with them to determine that path forward. We will always do it in respect of their views, not impose ours.
Mr. Speaker, for more than a year, the government has been saying that Canada is meeting the UN's request for assistance in Mali with a smart pledge ending August 1.Now we have learned that the UN has actually requested that Canada extend its excellent and important medevac mission to September 15. This would avoid a reduction in UN stabilization operations in Mali and the potential loss of lives resulting from the gap in medevac services before Romania takes over; otherwise, both the stability of Mali and people's lives will be at risk.Will the Prime Minister now agree to extend Canada's Mali mission, as requested by the UN?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is out of touch with the reality of Canadians. In order to turn the page on the scandal of interference favouring his rich friends, the Liberal government gave $12 million to another rich corporation. That is $12 million to a corporation that makes billions of dollars in profit and refuses to pay its workers a decent wage.Rather than giving money to the wealthy, why does the Prime Minister not give that $12 million to those who need it?
Mr. Speaker, it is important to get the truth on this matter, which is why we made an unprecedented move, waiving solicitor-client privilege and cabinet confidence and giving the former justice minister permission to speak openly about this matter in committee.We have confidence in the parliamentary committees, which make their own decisions and set their own procedures, and we have confidence in the Ethics Commissioner, who is conducting his investigation.
Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the House know that it takes more than just nice words in the House of Commons to fight climate change. It takes action. It takes partnerships. That is why we are working with the provinces. That is why we are working with consumers and citizens, to help them with these changes we are now making.That is why we are working with the private sector, which has a role to play in combatting climate change and helping Canada be more effective in its ongoing fight against this threat.
Mr. Speaker, as we have said, we have tremendous confidence in the committees of Parliament to do their work. We are pleased that the justice committee heard over 10 hours of testimony, over many weeks. That was facilitated by the fact that we gave an unprecedented waiver to allow for testimony that put aside both attorney-client privilege and cabinet confidentiality, because it is important that Canadians see what went on here. That is exactly what they did.We continue to trust the Ethics Commissioner in the work that he does. We know that Canadians are concerned about this, but are also concerned about
Mr. Speaker, I had the honour of visiting our troops in Mali around Christmastime and I have to say we can all be incredibly proud of the work they are doing, not just in keeping their allies safe through medevacs but in actually leading the way on innovative approaches to medevac that is transforming not just the way peace operations are run around the world but the way allied militaries around the world look at medevacs and helping.That is something that Canada is leading on. There are always going to be gaps. There was a gap between Germany and us when taking over. There is going to be a gap before Romania, but we are working with our allies
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Mr. Speaker, I had the honour of visiting our troops in Mali around Christmastime and I have to say we can all be incredibly proud of the work they are doing, not just in keeping their allies safe through medevacs but in actually leading the way on innovative approaches to medevac that is transforming not just the way peace operations are run around the world but the way allied militaries around the world look at medevacs and helping.That is something that Canada is leading on. There are always going to be gaps. There was a gap between Germany and us when taking over. There is going to be a gap before Romania, but we are working with our allies
Mr. Speaker, as we have said, we have tremendous confidence in the committees of Parliament to do their work. We are pleased that the justice committee heard over 10 hours of testimony, over many weeks. That was facilitated by the fact that we gave an unprecedented waiver to allow for testimony that put aside both attorney-client privilege and cabinet confidentiality, because it is important that Canadians see what went on here. That is exactly what they did.We continue to trust the Ethics Commissioner in the work that he does. We know that Canadians are concerned about this, but are also concerned about
Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the House know that it takes more than just nice words in the House of Commons to fight climate change. It takes action. It takes partnerships. That is why we are working with the provinces. That is why we are working with consumers and citizens, to help them with these changes we are now making.That is why we are working with the private sector, which has a role to play in combatting climate change and helping Canada be more effective in its ongoing fight against this threat.
Mr. Speaker, it is important to get the truth on this matter, which is why we made an unprecedented move, waiving solicitor-client privilege and cabinet confidence and giving the former justice minister permission to speak openly about this matter in committee.We have confidence in the parliamentary committees, which make their own decisions and set their own procedures, and we have confidence in the Ethics Commissioner, who is conducting his investigation.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is out of touch with the reality of Canadians. In order to turn the page on the scandal of interference favouring his rich friends, the Liberal government gave $12 million to another rich corporation. That is $12 million to a corporation that makes billions of dollars in profit and refuses to pay its workers a decent wage.Rather than giving money to the wealthy, why does the Prime Minister not give that $12 million to those who need it?
Mr. Speaker, for more than a year, the government has been saying that Canada is meeting the UN's request for assistance in Mali with a smart pledge ending August 1.Now we have learned that the UN has actually requested that Canada extend its excellent and important medevac mission to September 15. This would avoid a reduction in UN stabilization operations in Mali and the potential loss of lives resulting from the gap in medevac services before Romania takes over; otherwise, both the stability of Mali and people's lives will be at risk.Will the Prime Minister now agree to extend Canada's Mali mission, as requested by the UN?
Mr. Speaker, no relationship is more important than that between this government and indigenous peoples, and that is why we have made historic strides forward on reconciliation with indigenous peoples. It involves tangible things like ending boil water advisories and creating more housing and schools on reserves, but also moving forward on rights recognition frameworks and self-government agreements. However, all of these are done in partnership and with respect for indigenous peoples. We are not the ones determining the path forward for them. We are working with them to determine that path forward. We will always do it in respect of their views, not impose ours.
Mr. Speaker, I am happy to explain for the member opposite that parliamentary committees are masters of their own decisions. That is a principle in this Parliament that all parties should take very seriously. We thank the justice committee for its work, for the 10 hours of testimony it heard. Indeed, we were pleased to give an unprecedented waiver to allow individuals to fully share their perspectives on the matter at hand.As for the work the Ethics Commissioner does, on this side of the House we have full confidence in our officers of Parliament.
Mr. Speaker, we seem to have hit a nerve in the way the Conservatives are misleading Canadians on intolerance. Let us try them on climate. Today, we learned the Conservatives are hiding, from their own constituents, tax benefits that would give Canadians hundreds of dollars. Conservatives want to take hundreds of dollars away from families in New Brunswick, in Ontario, in Manitoba, in Saskatchewan. Indeed, their only plan seems to be to mislead Canadians about our plan to fight climate change. That is even more unacceptable. They continue to mislead Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, speaking of misleading Canadians, the very first thing we did was lower taxes on the middle class and raise taxes on the wealthiest 1%. We then delivered a Canada child benefit that lifted 300,000 kids out of poverty. The Conservatives voted against both of those measures.How is our economy doing? It has among the best in growth in the G7 and the lowest unemployment rate in 40 years, and Canadians have created over 900,000 new jobs. No wonder the Conservatives can only sling mud instead of talking about any plan for growing the economy. It is because they have none.
Mr. Speaker, I am rising on a point of order. I guess imitation is the greatest form of flattery. I would like to have unanimous consent to table this document from question period, which was given first reading two years ago tomorrow. It is my private member's bill, Bill C-351, which the Liberals, and I thank them very much, copied almost word for word, to free the beer. We tabled it and it was given first reading two years ago. I would like unanimous consent to table the document.
Mr. Speaker, the world is watching. In response to our letter, the OECD anti-bribery unit reiterated its call to follow what is happening in Canada closely, and it will pay even more attention now that the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights has finished its study.The Prime Minister must do the right thing. Will he reassure the OECD and, most importantly, Canadians and launch a public inquiry?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Mississauga EastCooksville for his hard work.The problem is complex, but the solution is simple. Canadians can protect themselves and their families against measles by getting vaccinated. Vaccines are our best weapon to fight disease and the reason that measles was practically eliminated in Canada. We are investing $25 million over five years to get more Canadians vaccinated, to develop new vaccines and, importantly, to keep the public better informed. Vaccines are safe and effective and save lives.
Mr. Speaker, over the past weeks, I have heard from constituents concerned about the outbreaks of measles in several regions of our country, including in the greater Toronto area. While Canada made great strides in the fight against measles and eliminated it over two decades ago, outbreaks do occur when the virus is picked up abroad.Can the Prime Minister inform this House and all Canadians how they can protect themselves and their families against measles?
Mr. Speaker, again, we are unequivocal about standing up for jobs. Indeed, shortly after the head of SNC-Lavalin made those comments, the company came out and corrected the comments he had made.We have been consistent in standing up for jobs. We will continue to defend workers right across the country, whether it is our steel and aluminum workers, or forestry workers or whether it is in manufacturing. We know that investing in Canadians and investing in their communities is way better than the cuts and austerity proposed by the Conservatives.
Mr. Speaker, once again, in his very first words in that last intervention, the Leader of the Opposition emphasized that the first thing he would do if he gained power was to make pollution free again. We know, and Canadians know, that climate change is real, and yet it has been 346 days since the Leader of the Opposition promised a climate plan and has not shown anything. He has no plan for the environment, no plan for the economy. All he does is mislead Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, politics aside, the Prime Minister has left something very much open, and it is the response that he has to the notice of libel that he sent to the Leader of the Opposition.Now, he may not be aware of this, but a notice of libel is for the benefit of the defendant to be able to mitigate his damages by apologizing, if he sees fit. In this case, the Leader of the Opposition has indicated that he has nothing to apologize for. It is now in the hands of the Prime Minister. When will the Prime Minister start the statement of claim?
Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the House understand that the fight against climate change requires action on many fronts. The government has a lot to do. The Conservatives and Canadians need to do their part, and the private sector needs to contribute, too.We have programs aimed at supporting the fight against climate change. These programs are open to private-sector businesses across Canada. We are going to keep making sure that we are all working together to fight climate change, not just paying lip service.
Mr. Speaker, I can understand why the Prime Minister did not want to answer that question, because this is really about the Prime Minister's motives. It is not just that. It is the illegal, taxpayer-funded vacation that he took while he was raising taxes on people who cannot think about affording their own vacation right now. It is the fact that he punished two strong women for doing the right thing while he moved hell and high water to protect his buddies at SNC-Lavalin from facing a day in court. Why does everything the Prime Minister does benefit him and hurt the people that we are supposed to serve?
Mr. Speaker, I am glad the member opposite is giving me a chance to talk about our investments in public transit. We have made historic investments worth over $28 billion in public transit systems across Canada. This gives Canadians more time to spend with their families. More than 7,000 new buses have been purchased or upgraded. Nearly 15,000 bus stops or shelters have been built or updated. We are working with our partners, including the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. We will continue to invest in our communities because that creates economic growth and opportunities for Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, I look forward to Canadians having a choice between a party that consistently lies to Canadians, as the Conservatives do, and a party that stays focused on what matters to them.We have, over the coming months, an opportunity to put our best feet forward for Canadians and show them our plans to grow the economy, to fight climate change and to continue to increase Canadians' prosperity and safety in the world. We have laid that out. We have acted on it over the past four years. The Conservatives have nothing to show but simple political attacks, partisanship and their misleading of Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, there is no place for discrimination against citizens in a free society, especially not on the basis of their religion. This is what I believe and what this government believes. We will always believe, unequivocally, that we must defend the rights of all Canadians at all times.
Mr. Speaker, Liberals still discriminate against hundreds of thousands of first nations women across Canada. First nations women and their children still do not have the same right to Indian status or the right to transfer their status as first nations men have. This is a violation of their human rights and it denies first nations women's dignity. Liberals know that they could stop this injustice at their next cabinet meeting. Will the Liberals commit now to end the discrimination against first nations women, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, I can understand the member opposite's frustration. His economic plan is in shambles after 10 years of the lowest growth rate, since the Great Depression, under Stephen Harper.We turned that around with an approach that invests in Canadians. Canadians have created over 900,000 new jobs over the past three years. We have seen the lowest unemployment in 40 years.Our plan is working. We will always fight for jobs and we will never apologize for fighting for them.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister seeks to be judge, jury and executioner in this matter when, quite frankly, he is using a notice of libel as a tool of intimidation, much like he has done for this entire case.He states that it is a fact that the Leader of the Opposition is indeed spreading mistruths. Our fact is that is not the case. Guess who gets to decide that? A real court.When will the Prime Minister bring this to the right place to debate, a court of law in the province of Ontario? When will he start the claim?
Mr. Speaker, I believe that, if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent of the House to table the document on Loblaws' financial statements. On pages 36, 37 and 56, it shows that the company that made more than $3 billion in gross profits just received a $12-million subsidy from Canadian workers without their consent.
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Several thousands of my constituents have been impacted by an event that threatens their families, their livelihoods and their business. The House has the obligation to address that issue. Therefore, I ask for the unanimous consent of the House to hold an emergency debate on the canola issue that affects so many western Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, what Canadians want is a government with an economic plan and a plan to fight climate change, and that is exactly what we are doing.The Conservatives are continuing to mislead Canadians about our economic plan and our plan to fight climate change.I know that all Quebeckers and all Canadians are concerned about the fact that the Conservatives do not have a plan to fight climate change. The Leader of the Opposition promised to present a plan 346 days ago, but he has still not done so.When will he tackle climate change?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for BrossardSaint-Lambert for her question and for her hard work.We responded quickly to the humanitarian crisis caused by Cyclone Idai and sent more assistance in light of the magnitude of the crisis. Canada's total contribution is up to $10 million. Last week we launched the Cyclone Idai matching fund. The government will match every dollar raised. We will continue to monitor the situation. We are prepared to offer the assistance required, as are all Canadians, and we encourage them to donate generously.
Mr. Speaker, in a moment I will be asking the House for unanimous consent on a motion.Legislative delays in the Senate have meant that time is running out on important bills that have been passed by the elected members of the House of Commons. That includes the watershed bill to enshrine the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples into Canadian law; as well as a desperately needed bill to require better training for judges in the country to deal with sexual assault cases.The time is now to get these bills passed. Therefore, I hope that if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: That, in the opinion of the House, Bill C-262, An Act to ensure that the laws of Canada are in harmony with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as well as Bill C-337, An Act to amend the Judges Act and the Criminal Code (sexual assault), are both critical pieces of legislation that have been duly passed by the House of Commons, and have been in possession of the honourable Senators for many months; that both bills should be passed into law at the earliest opportunity; and that a message be sent to the Senate to acquaint that House accordingly.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister seems to be missing an important fact here. It is that I am not withdrawing my remarks. In fact, I am standing by them and I repeated them outside of the House of Commons. Once again, if the Prime Minister is so sure of his case, will he commence court proceedings so that Canadians can finally hear the truth about this scandal?
Mr. Speaker, indeed, we have noticed, and Canadians have noticed, that the Leader of the Opposition continues to double down on his misleading statements.We know that Canadians deserve politicians on all sides who speak the truth, who do not mislead Canadians, and who end up talking about the things that matter and not hiding from Canadians. What we have right here is a political party that does not want to talk about the economy, that does not want to talk about the budget, that does not want to talk about climate change and that just wants to play politics and attack us.We are going to stay focused on Canadians, because Canadians deserve a better path forward than what those members are offering.
Mr. Speaker, Loblaws made hundreds of millions of dollars selling groceries to Canadians. Its owner is worth over $10 billion. I am pretty sure Loblaws can afford to buy a few energy-efficient fridges.The Liberals are so focused on pleasing big corporations that they have handed over a $12-million cheque to a massively profitable company. Why did they not ask Loblaws to buy its own fridges and instead spend that $12 million on small businesses and Canadians who actually need the help?
Mr. Speaker, I am rising on a point of order. During question period today, in referencing potential amendments to the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act, the Prime Minister said that the previous government had not improved the situation at all. We had three different provinces that opened it up, Nova Scotia, Manitoba as well as British Columbia. Therefore, I would like to ask for unanimous consent, to table the comments made by the Prime Minister in his speech on May 29, 2012. He said, The Liberal Party and I are pleased...to support this bill, which will encourage our Canadian wine producers and Canadians in particular to be proud of our products from across the country.I would like to table this so the Prime Minister can remind himself of his support for that bill.
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are silencing committees with Harper-like efficiency. They just shut down the ethics committee again, and the justice committee is under a cone of silence. Yesterday, the OECD's anti-bribery unit wrote the NDP and said that it would welcome our input on this matter. It is saying that in the next meeting in June, it is going to put Canada's actions on corporate corruption on the table. With no comprehensive investigation on its way and our reputation at stake, why will the Prime Minister not launch a public inquiry?
Mr. Speaker, we are faced with a Prime Minister who has been flatly denying the truth from the beginning, ever since the Globe and Mail broke the story on the interference scandal involving him and his entourage. He was unsuccessful at silencing all the Liberals, so now he is bringing out a new Liberal tactic. He is threatening our leader with legal action, purely in the hope of silencing the members on this side of the House. Does this Prime Minister have the guts to follow through on his notice?
Mr. Speaker, this is the problem with the NDP. Those members like to climb up on their high horses and make big speeches about protecting the environment, when this government actually moves forward on doing that. That means partnerships with the provinces. It means investing in Canadians and in renewable technologies. Yes, it means partnering with the private sector so we are moving forward on more efficient technologies and indeed fighting climate change.We understand that everyone needs to do his or her part to fight against climate change. That is something neither the Conservatives nor, apparently, the NDP understand.
Mr. Speaker, all Canadians remember the Prime Minister's controversial trip at taxpayers' expense. We know that he began planning his trip nine months before going on vacation to the Aga Khan's island.While he was planning his dream trip, no one seems to have pointed out that he would be breaking the law. We would usually say that this was a one-off, but this Prime Minister has made a habit of breaking the law since 2015.Why does the Prime Minister seem to be above the law?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's interference scandal is capturing attention from the international community, but not the kind that Canadians are proud of.The Liberals have shut down debate in two committees with their majority. The Ethics Commissioner has a very limited role. Now the world is watching and Canadians want the truth. Canadians have questions that the Prime Minister needs to answer.If the Prime Minister is serious about the truth, then the answer is simple: an independent public inquiry. Will he launch one, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, to fight climate change, the Liberals are giving $12 million of our money to a billion-dollar corporation led by the second richest person in the country, while our local markets and independent grocers struggle to survive. Our local businesses are greener, yet they are not getting any help from the government.The Liberals would rather help billionaires than make life more affordable for families and fight climate change for future generations.What is the Liberals' priority?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister now wants to talk about falsehoods. The Prime Minister said, in response to The Globe and Mail story breaking the SNC-Lavalin corruption scandal, that no one, neither himself nor anyone in his office, put pressure on the former attorney general to interfere in this case. We now know that is completely false.Once again, is the Prime Minister aware that if he says something that he knows not to be true in a court case that he will be guilty of perjury?
Mr. Speaker, we have seen the Conservatives time and time again mislead Canadians, and they are smarting that we actually called them out on it. We put them on notice because, indeed, they continue, particularly in this election year, to spread falsehoods to Canadians. Just recently, the Conservatives actually sent a householder to Canadians that was not telling them about our climate action incentive, which returns hundreds of dollars to Canadians that they have to claim through their taxes. They have no plan on the environment. All they do is mislead Canadians about our plan to
Mr. Speaker, it is kind of dismaying to see the NDP, which had such a tradition of standing up for workers, put all that aside to try to score a few points now that some international organization has actually noticed that they exist.The fact of the matter is we are going to stay focused on the things that matter to Canadians. We are going to continue to fight for jobs, for workers across this country, for canola farmers across this country and for forestry workers across this country. We are going to stay focused on Canadians while everyone else tries to play politics.
Mr. Speaker, section 121 of the Criminal Code makes it an offence for any government employee to accept a benefit from someone who has business with the government, which is why it was so strange that several years after the Prime Minister accepted over $200,000 in gifts from someone seeking a government grant in the form of his famous island vacation, there still have been no charges laid. Now we know that the Prime Minister implicated the RCMP in planning that very offence. How many times has he discussed that with the police force since he went on that vacation?
Mr. Speaker, we learned from an access to information request that the government has been sitting on for years that senior officials and the RCMP were planning the Prime Minister's billionaire island vacation at least nine months before his flagrant violation of the Conflict of Interest Act. Two of his top advisers have since resigned under the cloud of the current scandal. The PM may consider his job to be only ceremonial, but not once did these advisers point out that he was about to break the law. There is a pattern here.Why do the PM and his acolytes believe he is above the law?
Mr. Speaker, ensuring the safety of Canadians is the responsibility of any government.I can assure the House that Transport Canada takes its responsibilities very seriously. We will always ensure that Canadians are safe on board these ships. We will continue to do that. I will follow up on the question asked by my hon. colleague.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister wants to talk about politicians who have led Canadians in error. The Prime Minister said, when the allegations were first printed in The Globe and Mail, that they were completely false. We now know that is not true.Is the Prime Minister aware that if he says something that he knows not to be true in a court proceeding that he will be guilty of perjury?
Mr. Speaker, today Global News reported that the Prime Minister's vacation to billionaire island was planned at least nine months ahead. Staff in the PMO had this information well in advance, yet the Prime Minister was found guilty of violating the ethics law four times.In nine months of careful planning for his island vacation, how did no one in the PMO ever suggest to the Prime Minister that his trip was going to break the law, or did the Prime Minister just ignore the best advice from those around him because he was in one of his moods?
Mr. Speaker, Conservatives continue to mislead Canadians, and Canadians deserve better.On Monday, the Conservative leader refused to denounce white supremacists in this House. On Tuesday, a Conservative senator said, I would find it disturbing to believe that there is a politician in this country that believes that white supremacy is a threat to our way of life in Canada. When will the Conservative leader finally denounce white supremacists by name, and will he denounce comments from a member of his own caucus?
Mr. Speaker, many will recall the sad day when the Liberal government and the Prime Minister cancelled the public transit tax credit, claiming that it favoured only wealthy Canadians. Not only is that stupid, but let us talk about some really wealthy folks.Loblaws is a company that made over $3 billion in profits last year. Yesterday the government announced that it is giving Loblaws $12 million to purchase refrigerators. Wow. That means $3 billion in gross profits and $12 million in subsidies. Only the Liberals could possibly see the logic in that.Why is the Prime Minister taking money out of the pockets of Canadian workers and giving it to people who really do not need it?
Mr. Speaker, the only thing a Conservative government will take away from Canadians is their obligation to pay his carbon tax, and that will come to an end this October.Canadians finally want to see the Prime Minister testify under oath. They finally want to see documents presented to court in an environment that his members of Parliament cannot control. Once again, I have stood by everything I have said. When will the Prime Minister finally start the lawsuit?
Mr. Speaker, I would just remind the Prime Minister that it was his idea to bring these allegations to court. I am just waiting for him to tell me on what day I should show up, because I will be there.Now, if he wants to talk about falsehoods, he told Canadians, looked them in the eyes and said that the former attorney general or anyone else never came to him to raise concerns about being pressured to interfere in this case. We now know that is false.Is the Prime Minister aware that if he said that in a court case at this point that he would be guilty of perjury?
Mr. Speaker, the RCMP works diligently to meet its responsibilities under the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act and to be transparent with Canadians. We respect its independence, and as always, I will not discuss security-related matters.
Mr. Speaker, the RCMP works diligently to meet its responsibilities under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act and to be transparent with Canadians.We respect this independence and, as always, will not be discussing security-related matters.
Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we respect the independence of the RCMP and we will not discuss security-related matters.
Mr. Speaker, the RCMP works diligently to meet its responsibilities under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act and be transparent with Canadians. We respect the independence of the RCMP, and as always, we will not be discussing security-related matters.
Not to my knowledge, no, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, in the discussions on misleading Canadians that happened back and forth, it appears that I may have used an unparliamentary word. For that, I apologize and withdraw it.
Mr. Speaker, I believe that, if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: that this House condemn the comments made on April 5 by the mayor of Hampstead, William Steinberg, who described Bill 21 on secularism, passed at the National Assembly of Quebec, as ethnic cleansing.
Mr. Speaker, from the beginning, the Prime Minister has been repeating that there was no political interference. Today, everyone knows that is untrue. He said that the former attorney general never shared her concerns with him, but we now know that is not true either.If the Prime Minister has nothing to hide, then he should follow through on his notice. We, on this side of the House, are not afraid of the truth. In fact, the truth is all we are asking for. Canadians all want to know the truth. The Prime Minister should show a little courage and follow through on his notice.
Mr. Speaker, many Canadians have been frustrated by the restrictions on the transportation of Canadian beer, wine and spirits between provinces and territories. In St. Catharines and across the Niagara region there are many small and medium-sized businesses that because of barriers to trade within Canada cannot sell their product to other provinces.Could the Prime Minister please update the House on what our government is doing to eliminate the federal barriers to the trade of alcohol within Canada in order to make it easier for businesses to grow and succeed?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister asked his lawyers to send me a letter threatening me with a lawsuit if I did not retract the statement I made on March 29. Not only will I not retract it, but I stand by every single word of that statement. I repeated it outside the chamber.When will I see him in court to discuss his corruption scandal?
Mr. Speaker, once again the opposition leader is doubling down on his false and misleading statements. We put him on notice because he has a history, and his party has a history, of misleading Canadians. That is exactly what they did when he had to withdraw and retract misleading statements he made about the Minister of Innovation just a few months ago. We know that the Conservatives' way is to try to mislead Canadians as much as they possibly can. We need to call them out on that because falsehoods have no place in an election campaign.
Mr. Speaker, we will continue to stay focused on what matters to Canadians. We will always stand up for women's rights. We will always stand up, unequivocally, for women's reproductive rights, unlike the member opposite and her party. We will always be there to defend Canadians. We will always be there to push for gender equality. We will always be there to invest in the middle class and those working hard to join it.The members opposite can only sling mud, because the they have no plan for Canadians on the economy and no plan for Canadians on climate change. All they can do is continue to mislead Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister says that he has put me on notice, hoping that I will withdraw my statements. I will not. I repeated them again outside. Therefore, I am putting him on notice that I am looking forward to the day that he sets for this court case to proceed.When it comes to falsehoods, the Prime Minister has stated that his excuse for interfering in this court case was jobs. We now know that is not true either.Once again, is the Prime Minister aware of the criminal penalties for committing perjury in a court case?
Mr. Speaker, the justice committee did not get the job done because the Liberals shut it down. What is the Prime Minister hiding that he does not want Canadians to know?The OECD has referred the PMO's interference scandal to its working group on bribery. The Prime Minister does not seem to understand that Canada's reputation is on the line. The Liberals have blocked any way forward to get to the bottom of what happened. Canadians deserve to know if there was any political interference in the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin.What is the Prime Minister afraid of? Why does he not do the right thing and call a public inquiry now?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister just said another false statement. A spokesperson for SNC-Lavalin said as late as last week that there was no intention to move the headquarters from Canada.However, I guess the Prime Minister is worried about actually taking this to court. Everything he has said outside the House in front of Canadians if he were to say it again in a court of law, he would be guilty of perjury. I guess the famous just watch me has turned into just watch me run away.Will the Prime Minister have the backbone to stand by his threats and show up in court to fight this case?
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Quebec, a majority government, finally has the opportunity to address the issue of secularism. If all goes as planned, the bill should be passed by the summer. Unfortunately, it appears that this Liberal government might well be the biggest obstacle opposing the will of Quebeckers. Could the Prime Minister, the member for Papineau, in Quebec, commit to respecting the will of Quebeckers and promise not to challenge Bill 21 on secularism in the courts or support any legal challenges?
Mr. Speaker, using tax dollars to fund his illegal private island vacation, groping a female reporter, strong-arming his former attorney general into interfering in a criminal prosecution with his friend's company, firing the former AG when she refused to do his bidding for himCanadians might think I am describing a Communist dictator, but in fact I am describing the Liberal leader. When the Prime Minister does not like the law, he breaks it. There is one set of rules for him and one set of rules for everyone else. Why?
Mr. Speaker, Cyclone Idai devastated Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. It destroyed homes and families, affecting more than 1.8 million people. Canada has not ignored the tragic plight of the thousands of people who fled their towns and villages. Our thoughts are with all those who are picking up the pieces after Cyclone Idai.Could the Prime Minister tell the House about the support Canada has offered the people and communities affected by Cyclone Idai?
Mr. Speaker, I am not asking about a security-related matter; I am asking about a potential offence under section 121 of the Criminal Code.If a junior procurement officer had accepted a small vacation from someone seeking a government contract, he would have been fired the same day and probably would have been charged within a week, yet the Prime Minister takes over $200,000 of illegal gifts from an individual seeking a government grant and there are no criminal consequences.Has the Prime Minister discussed this case with the RCMP since he took that vacation, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, Groundhog Day is February 2. We are a long way past that, yet the Conservatives seem to be desperate to reach back into any old thing they can to avoid talking about the fact that they have no plan for the economy, no plan to fight climate change and no plan to continue to grow an economy that works for Canadians in a way that is inclusive and positive.These are the things that we have been working on over the past four years, and they are working for Canadians. All they can do is try to sling mud and bring up old issues that quite frankly are not what Canadians care about.
Mr. Speaker, I think what Canadians are remarking upon is the fact that the Conservatives do not want to talk about anything that actually matters to Canadians in their day-to-day lives. Canadians are worried about the threat of climate change and the impact on their kids. The Conservatives have no plan, are misleading people about our plan, do not want to talk about it and try to change the subject. What is worse is that the Conservatives have no plan for the economy. They continue to want to lower taxes on the wealthiest Canadians, when what we know is to invest in the middle class is to grow the economy. They have no plan on the economy and no plan on the environment.
Mr. Speaker, for months the ferry crossing between Matane and the North Shore has been a nightmare for users and the economy of the Lower St. Lawrence, Gaspé, and the North Shore. Worse yet, it seems that the ferry was not safe for Quebeckers. Following a recent accident involving the Apollo ferry, the inspector from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, the TSB, deemed a Transport Canada certified ship to be unsafe.Can the Prime Minister explain how Transport Canada could certify a ferry that the TSB deemed unseaworthy?
Mr. Speaker, our position remains unchanged.We support the two-state solution, which should be achieved through negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Unilateral actions, such as settlements, are illegitimate and do not help resolve the situation in the Middle East.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister wants to talk about false statements. The Prime Minister said that his motivation for interfering in this criminal court case was that he was afraid that SNC-Lavalin would move its headquarters out of the country. The head of SNC-Lavalin has said that this is completely false.Once again, is the Prime Minister aware of the criminal penalties that he would face if he said that falsehood under oath in a court of law?
Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition continues to mislead Canadians.This shows that the Conservatives are still following Stephen Harper's playbook. We put him on notice because he and his party have a history of making false and defamatory statements. That is what he did, and he will have to withdraw his statements because that is what happened in December, when he was forced to swallow his false words and retract his statements against the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development.We will not stand by while he continues to mislead Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition continues to mislead Canadians. This shows that the Conservatives are still following Stephen Harper's playbook.We put him on notice because he and his party have a history of making false and defamatory statements. That is what he did in December against the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. He was forced to swallow his false words and retract his statements. We will not stand by while he continues to mislead Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is still threatening to sue me over a statement that I made on March 29. I stand by every single word of that statement. In fact, I just repeated it moments ago outside the chamber. He claims I will face consequences for exposing his potentially illegal interference in a criminal trial. However, the only consequence seems to be that the Prime Minister will be forced to finally tell the truth. When will I see him in court?
Mr. Speaker, what we have is a Conservative Party flailing and floundering, trying to change the subject away from what matters to Canadians. It has no plan to fight climate change, no plan on the economy and, quite frankly, have continued to demonstrate this.Despite the rejection the Conservatives had from Canadians in 2015, they still do not understand that the economy and the environment need to go to together. To build a stronger economy, we have to take action on fighting climate change. They fail to understand that and, therefore, they are are looking for anything else to talk about.
Mr. Speaker, those are typical Liberal smear tactics. They know that I have always 100% denounced white supremacy and racism and anyone who promotes those hateful ideologies. The Prime Minister also knows that the senator withdrew and clarified his remarks and that I continue to denounce those types of messages. This is what is disgusting about this. The Liberals are using the very real threat of hatred and racism in this country to cover up their corruption scandal.
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are doubling down on misleading Canadians. It shows that they are still following Stephen Harper's playbook. We put the member on notice because he and his party have a history of making false and defamatory statements. That is what he did in December against the Minister of Innovation. He was forced to swallow his false words and retract his statements. We will not stand by while he continues to mislead Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for St. Catharines for his hard work. I highlight that for 10 years, Stephen Harper was unable to do what we just did in budget 2019. We removed the only remaining federal barrier to trade of Canadian wine, beer and spirits within Canada. It is now up to provinces to change their regulations to allow for direct-to-consumer alcohol sales across Canada. We did what Stephen Harper and the Conservatives could not. We freed the beer.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for St. Catharines for his hard work
Mr. Speaker, evidence confirms the Prime Minister undertook a coordinated, sustained and inappropriate campaign to interfere with the independence of the judicial system. The Criminal Code says that everyone who wilfully attempts in any manner to obstruct, pervert or defeat the course of justice is guilty of an offence.Has the RCMP contacted the Prime Minister or any of his staff or former staff about the SNC-Lavalin scandal?
Mr. Speaker, Benjamin Netanyahu hung on to power in Israel's election yesterday.In a last-minute campaign promise, he vowed to annex Israeli settlements in the West Bank. If the Israeli government keeps that promise, there could be serious consequences for stability in the region. Canada's position is clear: the settlements are illegal. The United Nations Security Council agrees. Will the Prime Minister confirm that Canada would view the annexation of those territories as illegal and act accordingly?
Mr. Speaker, I had the honour of visiting our troops in Mali around Christmastime and I have to say we can all be incredibly proud of the work they are doing, not just in keeping their allies safe through medevacs but in actually leading the way on innovative approaches to medevac that is transforming not just the way peace operations are run around the world but the way allied militaries around the world look at medevacs and helping.That is something that Canada is leading on. There are always going to be gaps. There was a gap between Germany and us when taking over. There is going to be a gap before Romania, but we are working with our allies
Mr. Speaker, as we have said, we have tremendous confidence in the committees of Parliament to do their work. We are pleased that the justice committee heard over 10 hours of testimony, over many weeks. That was facilitated by the fact that we gave an unprecedented waiver to allow for testimony that put aside both attorney-client privilege and cabinet confidentiality, because it is important that Canadians see what went on here. That is exactly what they did.We continue to trust the Ethics Commissioner in the work that he does. We know that Canadians are concerned about this, but are also concerned about
Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the House know that it takes more than just nice words in the House of Commons to fight climate change. It takes action. It takes partnerships. That is why we are working with the provinces. That is why we are working with consumers and citizens, to help them with these changes we are now making.That is why we are working with the private sector, which has a role to play in combatting climate change and helping Canada be more effective in its ongoing fight against this threat.
Mr. Speaker, it is important to get the truth on this matter, which is why we made an unprecedented move, waiving solicitor-client privilege and cabinet confidence and giving the former justice minister permission to speak openly about this matter in committee.We have confidence in the parliamentary committees, which make their own decisions and set their own procedures, and we have confidence in the Ethics Commissioner, who is conducting his investigation.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is out of touch with the reality of Canadians. In order to turn the page on the scandal of interference favouring his rich friends, the Liberal government gave $12 million to another rich corporation. That is $12 million to a corporation that makes billions of dollars in profit and refuses to pay its workers a decent wage.Rather than giving money to the wealthy, why does the Prime Minister not give that $12 million to those who need it?
Mr. Speaker, for more than a year, the government has been saying that Canada is meeting the UN's request for assistance in Mali with a smart pledge ending August 1.Now we have learned that the UN has actually requested that Canada extend its excellent and important medevac mission to September 15. This would avoid a reduction in UN stabilization operations in Mali and the potential loss of lives resulting from the gap in medevac services before Romania takes over; otherwise, both the stability of Mali and people's lives will be at risk.Will the Prime Minister now agree to extend Canada's Mali mission, as requested by the UN?
Mr. Speaker, no relationship is more important than that between this government and indigenous peoples, and that is why we have made historic strides forward on reconciliation with indigenous peoples. It involves tangible things like ending boil water advisories and creating more housing and schools on reserves, but also moving forward on rights recognition frameworks and self-government agreements. However, all of these are done in partnership and with respect for indigenous peoples. We are not the ones determining the path forward for them. We are working with them to determine that path forward. We will always do it in respect of their views, not impose ours.
Mr. Speaker, I am happy to explain for the member opposite that parliamentary committees are masters of their own decisions. That is a principle in this Parliament that all parties should take very seriously. We thank the justice committee for its work, for the 10 hours of testimony it heard. Indeed, we were pleased to give an unprecedented waiver to allow individuals to fully share their perspectives on the matter at hand.As for the work the Ethics Commissioner does, on this side of the House we have full confidence in our officers of Parliament.
Mr. Speaker, we seem to have hit a nerve in the way the Conservatives are misleading Canadians on intolerance. Let us try them on climate. Today, we learned the Conservatives are hiding, from their own constituents, tax benefits that would give Canadians hundreds of dollars. Conservatives want to take hundreds of dollars away from families in New Brunswick, in Ontario, in Manitoba, in Saskatchewan. Indeed, their only plan seems to be to mislead Canadians about our plan to fight climate change. That is even more unacceptable. They continue to mislead Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, speaking of misleading Canadians, the very first thing we did was lower taxes on the middle class and raise taxes on the wealthiest 1%. We then delivered a Canada child benefit that lifted 300,000 kids out of poverty. The Conservatives voted against both of those measures.How is our economy doing? It has among the best in growth in the G7 and the lowest unemployment rate in 40 years, and Canadians have created over 900,000 new jobs. No wonder the Conservatives can only sling mud instead of talking about any plan for growing the economy. It is because they have none.
Mr. Speaker, I am rising on a point of order. I guess imitation is the greatest form of flattery. I would like to have unanimous consent to table this document from question period, which was given first reading two years ago tomorrow. It is my private member's bill, Bill C-351, which the Liberals, and I thank them very much, copied almost word for word, to free the beer. We tabled it and it was given first reading two years ago. I would like unanimous consent to table the document.
Mr. Speaker, the world is watching. In response to our letter, the OECD anti-bribery unit reiterated its call to follow what is happening in Canada closely, and it will pay even more attention now that the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights has finished its study.The Prime Minister must do the right thing. Will he reassure the OECD and, most importantly, Canadians and launch a public inquiry?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Mississauga EastCooksville for his hard work.The problem is complex, but the solution is simple. Canadians can protect themselves and their families against measles by getting vaccinated. Vaccines are our best weapon to fight disease and the reason that measles was practically eliminated in Canada. We are investing $25 million over five years to get more Canadians vaccinated, to develop new vaccines and, importantly, to keep the public better informed. Vaccines are safe and effective and save lives.
Mr. Speaker, over the past weeks, I have heard from constituents concerned about the outbreaks of measles in several regions of our country, including in the greater Toronto area. While Canada made great strides in the fight against measles and eliminated it over two decades ago, outbreaks do occur when the virus is picked up abroad.Can the Prime Minister inform this House and all Canadians how they can protect themselves and their families against measles?
Mr. Speaker, again, we are unequivocal about standing up for jobs. Indeed, shortly after the head of SNC-Lavalin made those comments, the company came out and corrected the comments he had made.We have been consistent in standing up for jobs. We will continue to defend workers right across the country, whether it is our steel and aluminum workers, or forestry workers or whether it is in manufacturing. We know that investing in Canadians and investing in their communities is way better than the cuts and austerity proposed by the Conservatives.
Mr. Speaker, once again, in his very first words in that last intervention, the Leader of the Opposition emphasized that the first thing he would do if he gained power was to make pollution free again. We know, and Canadians know, that climate change is real, and yet it has been 346 days since the Leader of the Opposition promised a climate plan and has not shown anything. He has no plan for the environment, no plan for the economy. All he does is mislead Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, politics aside, the Prime Minister has left something very much open, and it is the response that he has to the notice of libel that he sent to the Leader of the Opposition.Now, he may not be aware of this, but a notice of libel is for the benefit of the defendant to be able to mitigate his damages by apologizing, if he sees fit. In this case, the Leader of the Opposition has indicated that he has nothing to apologize for. It is now in the hands of the Prime Minister. When will the Prime Minister start the statement of claim?
Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the House understand that the fight against climate change requires action on many fronts. The government has a lot to do. The Conservatives and Canadians need to do their part, and the private sector needs to contribute, too.We have programs aimed at supporting the fight against climate change. These programs are open to private-sector businesses across Canada. We are going to keep making sure that we are all working together to fight climate change, not just paying lip service.
Mr. Speaker, I can understand why the Prime Minister did not want to answer that question, because this is really about the Prime Minister's motives. It is not just that. It is the illegal, taxpayer-funded vacation that he took while he was raising taxes on people who cannot think about affording their own vacation right now. It is the fact that he punished two strong women for doing the right thing while he moved hell and high water to protect his buddies at SNC-Lavalin from facing a day in court. Why does everything the Prime Minister does benefit him and hurt the people that we are supposed to serve?
Mr. Speaker, I am glad the member opposite is giving me a chance to talk about our investments in public transit. We have made historic investments worth over $28 billion in public transit systems across Canada. This gives Canadians more time to spend with their families. More than 7,000 new buses have been purchased or upgraded. Nearly 15,000 bus stops or shelters have been built or updated. We are working with our partners, including the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. We will continue to invest in our communities because that creates economic growth and opportunities for Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, I look forward to Canadians having a choice between a party that consistently lies to Canadians, as the Conservatives do, and a party that stays focused on what matters to them.We have, over the coming months, an opportunity to put our best feet forward for Canadians and show them our plans to grow the economy, to fight climate change and to continue to increase Canadians' prosperity and safety in the world. We have laid that out. We have acted on it over the past four years. The Conservatives have nothing to show but simple political attacks, partisanship and their misleading of Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, there is no place for discrimination against citizens in a free society, especially not on the basis of their religion. This is what I believe and what this government believes. We will always believe, unequivocally, that we must defend the rights of all Canadians at all times.
Mr. Speaker, Liberals still discriminate against hundreds of thousands of first nations women across Canada. First nations women and their children still do not have the same right to Indian status or the right to transfer their status as first nations men have. This is a violation of their human rights and it denies first nations women's dignity. Liberals know that they could stop this injustice at their next cabinet meeting. Will the Liberals commit now to end the discrimination against first nations women, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, I can understand the member opposite's frustration. His economic plan is in shambles after 10 years of the lowest growth rate, since the Great Depression, under Stephen Harper.We turned that around with an approach that invests in Canadians. Canadians have created over 900,000 new jobs over the past three years. We have seen the lowest unemployment in 40 years.Our plan is working. We will always fight for jobs and we will never apologize for fighting for them.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister seeks to be judge, jury and executioner in this matter when, quite frankly, he is using a notice of libel as a tool of intimidation, much like he has done for this entire case.He states that it is a fact that the Leader of the Opposition is indeed spreading mistruths. Our fact is that is not the case. Guess who gets to decide that? A real court.When will the Prime Minister bring this to the right place to debate, a court of law in the province of Ontario? When will he start the claim?
Mr. Speaker, I believe that, if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent of the House to table the document on Loblaws' financial statements. On pages 36, 37 and 56, it shows that the company that made more than $3 billion in gross profits just received a $12-million subsidy from Canadian workers without their consent.
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Several thousands of my constituents have been impacted by an event that threatens their families, their livelihoods and their business. The House has the obligation to address that issue. Therefore, I ask for the unanimous consent of the House to hold an emergency debate on the canola issue that affects so many western Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, what Canadians want is a government with an economic plan and a plan to fight climate change, and that is exactly what we are doing.The Conservatives are continuing to mislead Canadians about our economic plan and our plan to fight climate change.I know that all Quebeckers and all Canadians are concerned about the fact that the Conservatives do not have a plan to fight climate change. The Leader of the Opposition promised to present a plan 346 days ago, but he has still not done so.When will he tackle climate change?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for BrossardSaint-Lambert for her question and for her hard work.We responded quickly to the humanitarian crisis caused by Cyclone Idai and sent more assistance in light of the magnitude of the crisis. Canada's total contribution is up to $10 million. Last week we launched the Cyclone Idai matching fund. The government will match every dollar raised. We will continue to monitor the situation. We are prepared to offer the assistance required, as are all Canadians, and we encourage them to donate generously.
Mr. Speaker, in a moment I will be asking the House for unanimous consent on a motion.Legislative delays in the Senate have meant that time is running out on important bills that have been passed by the elected members of the House of Commons. That includes the watershed bill to enshrine the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples into Canadian law; as well as a desperately needed bill to require better training for judges in the country to deal with sexual assault cases.The time is now to get these bills passed. Therefore, I hope that if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: That, in the opinion of the House, Bill C-262, An Act to ensure that the laws of Canada are in harmony with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as well as Bill C-337, An Act to amend the Judges Act and the Criminal Code (sexual assault), are both critical pieces of legislation that have been duly passed by the House of Commons, and have been in possession of the honourable Senators for many months; that both bills should be passed into law at the earliest opportunity; and that a message be sent to the Senate to acquaint that House accordingly.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister seems to be missing an important fact here. It is that I am not withdrawing my remarks. In fact, I am standing by them and I repeated them outside of the House of Commons. Once again, if the Prime Minister is so sure of his case, will he commence court proceedings so that Canadians can finally hear the truth about this scandal?
Mr. Speaker, indeed, we have noticed, and Canadians have noticed, that the Leader of the Opposition continues to double down on his misleading statements.We know that Canadians deserve politicians on all sides who speak the truth, who do not mislead Canadians, and who end up talking about the things that matter and not hiding from Canadians. What we have right here is a political party that does not want to talk about the economy, that does not want to talk about the budget, that does not want to talk about climate change and that just wants to play politics and attack us.We are going to stay focused on Canadians, because Canadians deserve a better path forward than what those members are offering.
Mr. Speaker, Loblaws made hundreds of millions of dollars selling groceries to Canadians. Its owner is worth over $10 billion. I am pretty sure Loblaws can afford to buy a few energy-efficient fridges.The Liberals are so focused on pleasing big corporations that they have handed over a $12-million cheque to a massively profitable company. Why did they not ask Loblaws to buy its own fridges and instead spend that $12 million on small businesses and Canadians who actually need the help?
Mr. Speaker, I am rising on a point of order. During question period today, in referencing potential amendments to the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act, the Prime Minister said that the previous government had not improved the situation at all. We had three different provinces that opened it up, Nova Scotia, Manitoba as well as British Columbia. Therefore, I would like to ask for unanimous consent, to table the comments made by the Prime Minister in his speech on May 29, 2012. He said, The Liberal Party and I are pleased...to support this bill, which will encourage our Canadian wine producers and Canadians in particular to be proud of our products from across the country.I would like to table this so the Prime Minister can remind himself of his support for that bill.
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are silencing committees with Harper-like efficiency. They just shut down the ethics committee again, and the justice committee is under a cone of silence. Yesterday, the OECD's anti-bribery unit wrote the NDP and said that it would welcome our input on this matter. It is saying that in the next meeting in June, it is going to put Canada's actions on corporate corruption on the table. With no comprehensive investigation on its way and our reputation at stake, why will the Prime Minister not launch a public inquiry?
Mr. Speaker, we are faced with a Prime Minister who has been flatly denying the truth from the beginning, ever since the Globe and Mail broke the story on the interference scandal involving him and his entourage. He was unsuccessful at silencing all the Liberals, so now he is bringing out a new Liberal tactic. He is threatening our leader with legal action, purely in the hope of silencing the members on this side of the House. Does this Prime Minister have the guts to follow through on his notice?
Mr. Speaker, this is the problem with the NDP. Those members like to climb up on their high horses and make big speeches about protecting the environment, when this government actually moves forward on doing that. That means partnerships with the provinces. It means investing in Canadians and in renewable technologies. Yes, it means partnering with the private sector so we are moving forward on more efficient technologies and indeed fighting climate change.We understand that everyone needs to do his or her part to fight against climate change. That is something neither the Conservatives nor, apparently, the NDP understand.
Mr. Speaker, all Canadians remember the Prime Minister's controversial trip at taxpayers' expense. We know that he began planning his trip nine months before going on vacation to the Aga Khan's island.While he was planning his dream trip, no one seems to have pointed out that he would be breaking the law. We would usually say that this was a one-off, but this Prime Minister has made a habit of breaking the law since 2015.Why does the Prime Minister seem to be above the law?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's interference scandal is capturing attention from the international community, but not the kind that Canadians are proud of.The Liberals have shut down debate in two committees with their majority. The Ethics Commissioner has a very limited role. Now the world is watching and Canadians want the truth. Canadians have questions that the Prime Minister needs to answer.If the Prime Minister is serious about the truth, then the answer is simple: an independent public inquiry. Will he launch one, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, to fight climate change, the Liberals are giving $12 million of our money to a billion-dollar corporation led by the second richest person in the country, while our local markets and independent grocers struggle to survive. Our local businesses are greener, yet they are not getting any help from the government.The Liberals would rather help billionaires than make life more affordable for families and fight climate change for future generations.What is the Liberals' priority?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister now wants to talk about falsehoods. The Prime Minister said, in response to The Globe and Mail story breaking the SNC-Lavalin corruption scandal, that no one, neither himself nor anyone in his office, put pressure on the former attorney general to interfere in this case. We now know that is completely false.Once again, is the Prime Minister aware that if he says something that he knows not to be true in a court case that he will be guilty of perjury?
Mr. Speaker, we have seen the Conservatives time and time again mislead Canadians, and they are smarting that we actually called them out on it. We put them on notice because, indeed, they continue, particularly in this election year, to spread falsehoods to Canadians. Just recently, the Conservatives actually sent a householder to Canadians that was not telling them about our climate action incentive, which returns hundreds of dollars to Canadians that they have to claim through their taxes. They have no plan on the environment. All they do is mislead Canadians about our plan to
Mr. Speaker, it is kind of dismaying to see the NDP, which had such a tradition of standing up for workers, put all that aside to try to score a few points now that some international organization has actually noticed that they exist.The fact of the matter is we are going to stay focused on the things that matter to Canadians. We are going to continue to fight for jobs, for workers across this country, for canola farmers across this country and for forestry workers across this country. We are going to stay focused on Canadians while everyone else tries to play politics.
Mr. Speaker, section 121 of the Criminal Code makes it an offence for any government employee to accept a benefit from someone who has business with the government, which is why it was so strange that several years after the Prime Minister accepted over $200,000 in gifts from someone seeking a government grant in the form of his famous island vacation, there still have been no charges laid. Now we know that the Prime Minister implicated the RCMP in planning that very offence. How many times has he discussed that with the police force since he went on that vacation?
Mr. Speaker, we learned from an access to information request that the government has been sitting on for years that senior officials and the RCMP were planning the Prime Minister's billionaire island vacation at least nine months before his flagrant violation of the Conflict of Interest Act. Two of his top advisers have since resigned under the cloud of the current scandal. The PM may consider his job to be only ceremonial, but not once did these advisers point out that he was about to break the law. There is a pattern here.Why do the PM and his acolytes believe he is above the law?
Mr. Speaker, ensuring the safety of Canadians is the responsibility of any government.I can assure the House that Transport Canada takes its responsibilities very seriously. We will always ensure that Canadians are safe on board these ships. We will continue to do that. I will follow up on the question asked by my hon. colleague.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister wants to talk about politicians who have led Canadians in error. The Prime Minister said, when the allegations were first printed in The Globe and Mail, that they were completely false. We now know that is not true.Is the Prime Minister aware that if he says something that he knows not to be true in a court proceeding that he will be guilty of perjury?
Mr. Speaker, today Global News reported that the Prime Minister's vacation to billionaire island was planned at least nine months ahead. Staff in the PMO had this information well in advance, yet the Prime Minister was found guilty of violating the ethics law four times.In nine months of careful planning for his island vacation, how did no one in the PMO ever suggest to the Prime Minister that his trip was going to break the law, or did the Prime Minister just ignore the best advice from those around him because he was in one of his moods?
Mr. Speaker, Conservatives continue to mislead Canadians, and Canadians deserve better.On Monday, the Conservative leader refused to denounce white supremacists in this House. On Tuesday, a Conservative senator said, I would find it disturbing to believe that there is a politician in this country that believes that white supremacy is a threat to our way of life in Canada. When will the Conservative leader finally denounce white supremacists by name, and will he denounce comments from a member of his own caucus?
Mr. Speaker, many will recall the sad day when the Liberal government and the Prime Minister cancelled the public transit tax credit, claiming that it favoured only wealthy Canadians. Not only is that stupid, but let us talk about some really wealthy folks.Loblaws is a company that made over $3 billion in profits last year. Yesterday the government announced that it is giving Loblaws $12 million to purchase refrigerators. Wow. That means $3 billion in gross profits and $12 million in subsidies. Only the Liberals could possibly see the logic in that.Why is the Prime Minister taking money out of the pockets of Canadian workers and giving it to people who really do not need it?
Mr. Speaker, the only thing a Conservative government will take away from Canadians is their obligation to pay his carbon tax, and that will come to an end this October.Canadians finally want to see the Prime Minister testify under oath. They finally want to see documents presented to court in an environment that his members of Parliament cannot control. Once again, I have stood by everything I have said. When will the Prime Minister finally start the lawsuit?
Mr. Speaker, I would just remind the Prime Minister that it was his idea to bring these allegations to court. I am just waiting for him to tell me on what day I should show up, because I will be there.Now, if he wants to talk about falsehoods, he told Canadians, looked them in the eyes and said that the former attorney general or anyone else never came to him to raise concerns about being pressured to interfere in this case. We now know that is false.Is the Prime Minister aware that if he said that in a court case at this point that he would be guilty of perjury?
Mr. Speaker, the RCMP works diligently to meet its responsibilities under the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act and to be transparent with Canadians. We respect its independence, and as always, I will not discuss security-related matters.
Mr. Speaker, the RCMP works diligently to meet its responsibilities under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act and to be transparent with Canadians.We respect this independence and, as always, will not be discussing security-related matters.
Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we respect the independence of the RCMP and we will not discuss security-related matters.
Mr. Speaker, the RCMP works diligently to meet its responsibilities under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act and be transparent with Canadians. We respect the independence of the RCMP, and as always, we will not be discussing security-related matters.
Not to my knowledge, no, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, in the discussions on misleading Canadians that happened back and forth, it appears that I may have used an unparliamentary word. For that, I apologize and withdraw it.
Mr. Speaker, I believe that, if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: that this House condemn the comments made on April 5 by the mayor of Hampstead, William Steinberg, who described Bill 21 on secularism, passed at the National Assembly of Quebec, as ethnic cleansing.
Mr. Speaker, from the beginning, the Prime Minister has been repeating that there was no political interference. Today, everyone knows that is untrue. He said that the former attorney general never shared her concerns with him, but we now know that is not true either.If the Prime Minister has nothing to hide, then he should follow through on his notice. We, on this side of the House, are not afraid of the truth. In fact, the truth is all we are asking for. Canadians all want to know the truth. The Prime Minister should show a little courage and follow through on his notice.
Mr. Speaker, many Canadians have been frustrated by the restrictions on the transportation of Canadian beer, wine and spirits between provinces and territories. In St. Catharines and across the Niagara region there are many small and medium-sized businesses that because of barriers to trade within Canada cannot sell their product to other provinces.Could the Prime Minister please update the House on what our government is doing to eliminate the federal barriers to the trade of alcohol within Canada in order to make it easier for businesses to grow and succeed?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister asked his lawyers to send me a letter threatening me with a lawsuit if I did not retract the statement I made on March 29. Not only will I not retract it, but I stand by every single word of that statement. I repeated it outside the chamber.When will I see him in court to discuss his corruption scandal?
Mr. Speaker, once again the opposition leader is doubling down on his false and misleading statements. We put him on notice because he has a history, and his party has a history, of misleading Canadians. That is exactly what they did when he had to withdraw and retract misleading statements he made about the Minister of Innovation just a few months ago. We know that the Conservatives' way is to try to mislead Canadians as much as they possibly can. We need to call them out on that because falsehoods have no place in an election campaign.
Mr. Speaker, we will continue to stay focused on what matters to Canadians. We will always stand up for women's rights. We will always stand up, unequivocally, for women's reproductive rights, unlike the member opposite and her party. We will always be there to defend Canadians. We will always be there to push for gender equality. We will always be there to invest in the middle class and those working hard to join it.The members opposite can only sling mud, because the they have no plan for Canadians on the economy and no plan for Canadians on climate change. All they can do is continue to mislead Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister says that he has put me on notice, hoping that I will withdraw my statements. I will not. I repeated them again outside. Therefore, I am putting him on notice that I am looking forward to the day that he sets for this court case to proceed.When it comes to falsehoods, the Prime Minister has stated that his excuse for interfering in this court case was jobs. We now know that is not true either.Once again, is the Prime Minister aware of the criminal penalties for committing perjury in a court case?
Mr. Speaker, the justice committee did not get the job done because the Liberals shut it down. What is the Prime Minister hiding that he does not want Canadians to know?The OECD has referred the PMO's interference scandal to its working group on bribery. The Prime Minister does not seem to understand that Canada's reputation is on the line. The Liberals have blocked any way forward to get to the bottom of what happened. Canadians deserve to know if there was any political interference in the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin.What is the Prime Minister afraid of? Why does he not do the right thing and call a public inquiry now?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister just said another false statement. A spokesperson for SNC-Lavalin said as late as last week that there was no intention to move the headquarters from Canada.However, I guess the Prime Minister is worried about actually taking this to court. Everything he has said outside the House in front of Canadians if he were to say it again in a court of law, he would be guilty of perjury. I guess the famous just watch me has turned into just watch me run away.Will the Prime Minister have the backbone to stand by his threats and show up in court to fight this case?
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Quebec, a majority government, finally has the opportunity to address the issue of secularism. If all goes as planned, the bill should be passed by the summer. Unfortunately, it appears that this Liberal government might well be the biggest obstacle opposing the will of Quebeckers. Could the Prime Minister, the member for Papineau, in Quebec, commit to respecting the will of Quebeckers and promise not to challenge Bill 21 on secularism in the courts or support any legal challenges?
Mr. Speaker, using tax dollars to fund his illegal private island vacation, groping a female reporter, strong-arming his former attorney general into interfering in a criminal prosecution with his friend's company, firing the former AG when she refused to do his bidding for himCanadians might think I am describing a Communist dictator, but in fact I am describing the Liberal leader. When the Prime Minister does not like the law, he breaks it. There is one set of rules for him and one set of rules for everyone else. Why?
Mr. Speaker, Cyclone Idai devastated Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. It destroyed homes and families, affecting more than 1.8 million people. Canada has not ignored the tragic plight of the thousands of people who fled their towns and villages. Our thoughts are with all those who are picking up the pieces after Cyclone Idai.Could the Prime Minister tell the House about the support Canada has offered the people and communities affected by Cyclone Idai?
Mr. Speaker, I am not asking about a security-related matter; I am asking about a potential offence under section 121 of the Criminal Code.If a junior procurement officer had accepted a small vacation from someone seeking a government contract, he would have been fired the same day and probably would have been charged within a week, yet the Prime Minister takes over $200,000 of illegal gifts from an individual seeking a government grant and there are no criminal consequences.Has the Prime Minister discussed this case with the RCMP since he took that vacation, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, Groundhog Day is February 2. We are a long way past that, yet the Conservatives seem to be desperate to reach back into any old thing they can to avoid talking about the fact that they have no plan for the economy, no plan to fight climate change and no plan to continue to grow an economy that works for Canadians in a way that is inclusive and positive.These are the things that we have been working on over the past four years, and they are working for Canadians. All they can do is try to sling mud and bring up old issues that quite frankly are not what Canadians care about.
Mr. Speaker, I think what Canadians are remarking upon is the fact that the Conservatives do not want to talk about anything that actually matters to Canadians in their day-to-day lives. Canadians are worried about the threat of climate change and the impact on their kids. The Conservatives have no plan, are misleading people about our plan, do not want to talk about it and try to change the subject. What is worse is that the Conservatives have no plan for the economy. They continue to want to lower taxes on the wealthiest Canadians, when what we know is to invest in the middle class is to grow the economy. They have no plan on the economy and no plan on the environment.
Mr. Speaker, for months the ferry crossing between Matane and the North Shore has been a nightmare for users and the economy of the Lower St. Lawrence, Gaspé, and the North Shore. Worse yet, it seems that the ferry was not safe for Quebeckers. Following a recent accident involving the Apollo ferry, the inspector from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, the TSB, deemed a Transport Canada certified ship to be unsafe.Can the Prime Minister explain how Transport Canada could certify a ferry that the TSB deemed unseaworthy?
Mr. Speaker, our position remains unchanged.We support the two-state solution, which should be achieved through negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Unilateral actions, such as settlements, are illegitimate and do not help resolve the situation in the Middle East.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister wants to talk about false statements. The Prime Minister said that his motivation for interfering in this criminal court case was that he was afraid that SNC-Lavalin would move its headquarters out of the country. The head of SNC-Lavalin has said that this is completely false.Once again, is the Prime Minister aware of the criminal penalties that he would face if he said that falsehood under oath in a court of law?
Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition continues to mislead Canadians.This shows that the Conservatives are still following Stephen Harper's playbook. We put him on notice because he and his party have a history of making false and defamatory statements. That is what he did, and he will have to withdraw his statements because that is what happened in December, when he was forced to swallow his false words and retract his statements against the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development.We will not stand by while he continues to mislead Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition continues to mislead Canadians. This shows that the Conservatives are still following Stephen Harper's playbook.We put him on notice because he and his party have a history of making false and defamatory statements. That is what he did in December against the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. He was forced to swallow his false words and retract his statements. We will not stand by while he continues to mislead Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is still threatening to sue me over a statement that I made on March 29. I stand by every single word of that statement. In fact, I just repeated it moments ago outside the chamber. He claims I will face consequences for exposing his potentially illegal interference in a criminal trial. However, the only consequence seems to be that the Prime Minister will be forced to finally tell the truth. When will I see him in court?
Mr. Speaker, what we have is a Conservative Party flailing and floundering, trying to change the subject away from what matters to Canadians. It has no plan to fight climate change, no plan on the economy and, quite frankly, have continued to demonstrate this.Despite the rejection the Conservatives had from Canadians in 2015, they still do not understand that the economy and the environment need to go to together. To build a stronger economy, we have to take action on fighting climate change. They fail to understand that and, therefore, they are are looking for anything else to talk about.
Mr. Speaker, those are typical Liberal smear tactics. They know that I have always 100% denounced white supremacy and racism and anyone who promotes those hateful ideologies. The Prime Minister also knows that the senator withdrew and clarified his remarks and that I continue to denounce those types of messages. This is what is disgusting about this. The Liberals are using the very real threat of hatred and racism in this country to cover up their corruption scandal.
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are doubling down on misleading Canadians. It shows that they are still following Stephen Harper's playbook. We put the member on notice because he and his party have a history of making false and defamatory statements. That is what he did in December against the Minister of Innovation. He was forced to swallow his false words and retract his statements. We will not stand by while he continues to mislead Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for St. Catharines for his hard work. I highlight that for 10 years, Stephen Harper was unable to do what we just did in budget 2019. We removed the only remaining federal barrier to trade of Canadian wine, beer and spirits within Canada. It is now up to provinces to change their regulations to allow for direct-to-consumer alcohol sales across Canada. We did what Stephen Harper and the Conservatives could not. We freed the beer.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for St. Catharines for his hard work
Mr. Speaker, evidence confirms the Prime Minister undertook a coordinated, sustained and inappropriate campaign to interfere with the independence of the judicial system. The Criminal Code says that everyone who wilfully attempts in any manner to obstruct, pervert or defeat the course of justice is guilty of an offence.Has the RCMP contacted the Prime Minister or any of his staff or former staff about the SNC-Lavalin scandal?
Mr. Speaker, Benjamin Netanyahu hung on to power in Israel's election yesterday.In a last-minute campaign promise, he vowed to annex Israeli settlements in the West Bank. If the Israeli government keeps that promise, there could be serious consequences for stability in the region. Canada's position is clear: the settlements are illegal. The United Nations Security Council agrees. Will the Prime Minister confirm that Canada would view the annexation of those territories as illegal and act accordingly?