2016-04-13

Mr. Speaker, I find it very ironic that just yesterday all members of Parliament stood together at an important event and I stood up and said that all members of the House who are sitting and standing there support the military. To hear this in the House is actually quite insulting, to be honest. I personally met with the member, so I do not think we need to get down to this level of question. I would be happy to meet with the member personally and explain in detail. I have opened up the department for briefings and have met personally with them. I would just like to stop this whole thing. Every member in the House supports our military. Let us not play this ridiculous game.

Mr. Speaker, let me try this again. That particular member made up a series of fake allegations and used his parliamentary immunity to make a whole series of allegations that he does not have the guts to go 25 metres out and say in front of a television camera.He wrote a letter to the independent Ethics Commissioner with all these fake allegations, and she wrote back to him and said that at all times the minister followed the act and her responsibilities under the code.He should be ashamed to keep asking those ridiculous questions.

Mr. Speaker, Canadians I speak to are proud of our military history, a proud tradition of standing by our friends when called to do so. The Liberal budget is a deceitful betrayal to every Canadian who served, past, present, or future, who share our military history. The Liberal defence review is a shameful attempt at covering up the disdain the Liberals have for the military.Why are the Liberals turning their backs on our friends and on the women and men who protect us by serving in Canada's Armed Forces?

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals love to make promises to Canadians, only to turn around and change their minds.Instead of encouraging jobs and hiring, the Liberals have increased payroll taxes and EI premiums for small businesses. This does not affect just small business owners but also the millions of Canadians who work for them.When will the Liberals stop killing jobs with higher taxes?

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, in committee, we saw that the Liberals would rather write the defence policy behind closed doors without being disturbed.That is dangerous because we are aware of the Liberals' intense hatred for the Canadian Armed Forces. The Liberals gave us submarines that take on water and helicopters that do not take off.Can the minister confirm that Canada's defence policy is not cast in stone and that all interested parties will be heard by the Standing Committee on National Defence?

Mr. Speaker, when it is time to spend money or take part in fundraising activities, the government is always quick on the draw, but when it comes to putting an end to pimping out young girls, forget it.Yesterday we learned that the Minister of Justice is considering rewriting Bill C-452 on human trafficking, even though that bill has the support of all political parties, the Senate, and the Prime Minister himself. Why does the Minister of Justice refuse to protect young victims now, and why is she hiding behind the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms?

Mr. Speaker, I think what Canadians are wondering is when that member will tone down the feigned indignation, especially given the fact that he got a three-page, precise answer in writing from the Ethics Commissioner, which concluded that the fake complaint he made had no merit.The members opposite love to table documents in the House. They should stay tuned. Maybe after question period I will ask for consent to table the letter the Ethics Commissioner sent to that member.

Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the situation described by my colleague from Saint Boniface is unfair and unacceptable. Indeed, this must change. On Monday, I announced historic investments of $444.4 million. As I intend to explain to the finance committee, these tools will help improve detection, investigations, and audits and will also make it possible to prosecute those who engage in tax evasion and organizations that create such schemes. The net is tightening.

Mr. Speaker, I do not understand. What is the point of the risk assessment process for arms exports if it is a done deal before the process even takes place? On the issue of the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister told Canadians repeatedly that there was nothing they could do, that their hands were tied. Now we learn that the minister authorized the sale himself last Friday.Why did he deliberately mislead Canadians?Why did he lead Canadians down the garden path?

Mr. Speaker, one thing is very clear: Liberals think borrowed money will somehow magically create jobs. Small businesses understand that jobs come from hard work and responsible spending. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business president Dan Kelly said, “Small business owners know that today’s deficits are tomorrow’s taxes”. Why are the Liberals taxing job creators to pay for their reckless spending?

Mr. Speaker, the only person who is hiding appears to be the member who just asked that question. He knows very well that this is a series of fabricated allegations that his colleague sent to the Ethics Commissioner. Today the Ethics Commissioner confirmed that those allegations have no merit and no basis. Why can the member not be satisfied with the independent opinion of the Ethics Commissioner that this House asked to look into these kinds of matters? I have more faith in her judgment than in his.

Mr. Speaker, when I ran for the leadership of the Liberal Party, I was open and transparent about my holdings and my personal finances. I have been from the start. I have always been open and transparent, and I will continue to be.People expect the level of transparency and openness that we are giving them, especially after a government that thumbed its nose at ethics and transparency for years. This is what Canadians expect from us.

Mr. Speaker, if my colleague from Lévis had taken the time to read the Elections Act, he would be aware that the names of all attendees will be disclosed proactively in accordance with the law. There is no secret here. It was not a secret fundraiser. The member may be thinking of former colleagues of his who are now in prison for inappropriate financial activities.

Mr. Speaker, let us just get to the bottom of this. The minister keeps evading questions about the pay-to-play Liberal fundraiser. She apparently cannot speak on this issue or will not. Simply put, who planned this fundraiser?There have been a number of ethical issues with this minister ever since she took over the position. Did she plan these unfortunate events, or is she being set up by those closest to her?

Mr. Speaker, since taking office, the Liberals have completely failed to support Canada's energy sector. While the U.S. has ramped up its oil exports, while at the same time blocking Canada's oil exports, the Prime Minister has done nothing about it. His principal secretary has said that oil and gas development is as bad as “hooking kids on cigarettes”. His environment minister has said that we need to move in the direction of ceasing all development in the industry. In his ideological quest to make Canada free of fossil fuels, is the Prime Minister willing to take responsibility for the hundreds of thousands of jobs that will be lost?

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite should be ashamed to raise an issue—

Mr. Speaker, we know that the vast majority of middle-class Canadians pay their fair share of taxes, but that some wealthy individuals hide their money in offshore tax havens to avoid paying taxes. On Monday, the government committed to doing more to fight tax evasion.Can the Minister of National Revenue tell the House what is being done to actually change things?

It is hard to keep a straight face, Mr. Speaker.Last week we learned that the Minister of Justice attended a high-priced pay-to-play fundraiser in Toronto with Bay Street lawyers. Now it seems she has outdone herself. She is headlining a $1,000-per-head fundraiser later this month. Copying the Wynne Liberals, the current government is creating a whole new scheme of paying for access to cabinet ministers. Can the Minister of Justice tell us how many lawyers and lobbyists will be attending her latest pay-to-play Liberal fundraiser?

Mr. Speaker, it is hard for Canadians to trust the justice minister to do her job with all of her dodgy fundraising activities. It has been six months, but she has not introduced a single piece of legislation. Her husband has registered to lobby her own department, and miraculously, in the budget the organization he lobbied for got $20 million. She has been caught giving access to high-priced lawyers and lobbyists. Can the Prime Minister stop hiding behind his House leader and tell Canadians if this is the standard that he set for his own cabinet ministers?

Mr. Speaker, far too many first nations and Métis children are growing up in this country without any hope for their future. Far too many families, including my own, have been affected by suicide. Just this past weekend there were more suicide attempts in La Loche. This is a crisis that demands actions—not visits, not photo ops, but action—yet the budget contained no new funding for mental health services.When will we see a concrete plan from the government on mental health?

Mr. Speaker, I certainly would not agree with the Prime Minister. Unlike the Liberals, who promised a $10-billion deficit and then presented a $30-billion deficit, we made massive investments while balancing the budget. It is unfortunate, but we now know that the Liberal's job plan was just an illusion. The number of jobs to be created by their reckless spending was greatly exaggerated in their budget. Canadians are right not to trust this government.Why did the Prime Minister inflate the number of jobs that the Liberals' spending would supposedly create in Canada's economy?

Mr. Speaker, without question, our government takes human trafficking and the exploitation of women and girls incredibly seriously. We are committed to strengthening the efforts to combat this problem.With respect to Bill C-452, I have had discussions and there are concerns with respect to that particular piece of legislation in terms of the charter. We are working with our colleagues in the province of Quebec to ensure that we continue to address this issue in a substantive way. This is a very serious issue that we are dealing with.

Again, Mr. Speaker, I find it mildly humourous that the opposition is taking us to task for being unable to do in five months what it was unable to do in ten years.The fact is that the initiatives taken by the previous government did not help the Alberta oil industry, did not help Albertans, and did not help the workers who are now out of work. We need a government that actually restores public confidence and gets our resources to market in responsible, sustainable ways. That is why Canadians elected us. That is what we are going to work very hard to do.

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have turned a blind eye to the unique needs and changing demographics of Canadian seniors. They have a minister of youth and a Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, but not a minister for seniors. To make matters worse, at committee the Minister of Families admitted that the Liberals will not appoint a minister for seniors because that is only good for photo ops.Why is the Prime Minister not taking the needs of seniors seriously?

Mr. Speaker, permit me to begin my comments by reflecting on last evening, when there was a very lovely and civil tone in this House when we discussed a matter that was both sobering and inspiring and talked about the fact that in this country, this wonderful, affluent, resourceful country, young people are deciding that life is not worth living and that we have not been able to find solutions to give them hope for the future.I will continue to work with my colleague and all colleagues in this House to make sure that the mental health resources are there for young people and all Canadians when they need them.

Mr. Speaker, unlike the Prime Minister, the Conservatives do not see SMEs as schemers. We see SMEs as creators of jobs and wealth.This morning, Le Journal de Québec and Le Journal de Montréal reported that the Prime Minister personally owned four companies to save on taxes. That is unbecoming of a prime minister. He should rise and apologize immediately.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Justice, in attending the pay-to-play fundraiser with select lawyers and lobbyists, has compromised her independence, brought the office that she holds into disrepute, and breached ethical standards by which the minister is bound. Will the minister stop the excuses and return the pay-to-play cash?

Mr. Speaker, on April 24, 2013, more than 11,000 textile workers, most of them women, lost their lives in the worst industrial disaster in the history of Bangladesh.Three years later, there is still much to be done to protect workers. Kalpona Akter, a courageous activist, is here in Ottawa to ask Canada to do its part.What will the Minister of International Development and La Francophonie do to ensure that Bangladeshi businesses that are exempt from duties respect workers' rights?

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank all my colleagues who participated in the debate last night. This may be a transformative moment, but the youth need action now.First, there is a need for a family doctor in Attawapiskat. It is a simple request. Help us with that. Second, there is no new mental health funding for the communities. We need that. Third, I would like to ask the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs to commit today to funding to empower indigenous youth, so they can start to look at how we can change programs, because after 140 years of failure and negligence and trauma, it is time we said that the youth will lead the way for the future.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for his question.Once again, I would invite him to read the budget. He would then understand that we are working for Canadians. The opposition has been trying to create a diversion.We presented Canadians with a budget that works for families, the middle class, and small businesses. The governor confirmed that this morning. We are going to continue down that path and we are going to continue working for Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, Canadians know that every step of the way I have been open and transparent about my own personal finances and about my own holdings. Indeed, I raised the bar on transparency and openness in a way that members opposite simply never did. I stand by my disclosures, my openness, and continue to challenge members on the opposite side of the House to reach the level of openness and transparency that on this side of the House we have always demonstrated.

Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to say how thrilled we all are to see the Clerk back at her desk. Audrey O'Brien has had an exceptional career. She has served this Parliament, she has served her country, and she has served all of us. On behalf of everyone here, I would like to pay tribute to a remarkable woman, and I thank her.Canadians understand that pipelines are the safest way to move our oil and gas to market. While our government approved the northern gateway pipeline, immediately after the election the Liberals killed it by slapping a transportation ban off the west coast. If the Prime Minister is willing to kill a pipeline project after it is already approved, how can we have confidence he will not do the same thing to the Trans Mountain and the energy east pipelines?

Mr. Speaker, in September the Prime Minister really spoke his mind about small businesses.He said, “We have to know that a large percentage of small businesses are actually just ways for wealthier Canadians to save on their taxes”.I do not know who was in front of him when he said that, but he might have been looking in the mirror, because that is exactly what he did, use small businesses to save on taxes.Will the Prime Minister do the honourable thing and stand up and apologize to Canadians?

Mr. Speaker, the Pacific Northwest LNG project has gone through an extensive approval process to date. What was first expected to take a year has now taken more than 750 days. Despite diligent community consultations and support from most first nations, the Liberals have added more barriers and costs at the worst time. Canada deserves this opportunity. Why will the Liberals not support private sector job creation and responsible resource development, so Canada does not miss out?

Mr. Speaker, the evidence is that there are hundreds of thousands of jobs lost right now and hanging in the balance. The Pacific Northwest LNG project would be the biggest private sector investment in British Columbia history. Billions in investment and thousands of well-paying jobs are hanging in the balance, yet the only thing the Minister of Environment will approve is a decision to delay the decision. How can we expect the Liberals to be impartial when the Prime Minister's own principal secretary said he wants to shut down oil and gas development?

Mr. Speaker, Canada can provide a secure and sustainable supply of LNG to the world. The Liberals' three-month delay for B.C.'s Pacific Northwest LNG project sets Canada back, while our global competitors gain ground on long-term contracts with Asian markets. Thousands of jobs are on the line. Billions of dollars in investment, royalties, and taxes are at stake. The Prime Minister should fight for Canada. Is he really going to sit back and let this opportunity slip away?

Mr. Speaker, Catherine and I want to welcome our friend, Audrey O'Brien, Clerk Emerita of the House of Commons.It turns out there is a slight problem in the paperwork for the Saudi arms deal, and maybe the government could help us figure it out. For months the government has been telling us that it was a done deal under the Conservatives, but now it turns out that what to the untrained eye looks like the signature of the minister of global affairs approved it actually on April 8, just a few days ago. Maybe the government could explain that one to Canadians. Why has the government mislead Canadians about the Saudi arms deal?

Mr. Speaker, in budget 2016, the Liberals allocated $6 million to protect the waters of Newfoundland from a shipwreck, and yet there is nothing regarding the Kathryn Spirit, which has been languishing in Lac Saint-Louis, at Beauharnois, since 2011. For five years now, the people have been waiting for the federal government to do something to protect their drinking water reservoir. According to the working group, it will cost somewhere between $10 million and $15 million to dismantle it.Will the government commit today to immediately release the funds needed to dismantle the Kathryn Spirit and finally reassure the people of Beauharnois, as it did for Newfoundland?

Mr. Speaker, residents and small businesses in my riding are struggling right now due to low energy prices. Liberals have an opportunity to support our economy, and that opportunity is B.C. LNG. The fact is that residents have now formed community action groups, like Fort St. John for LNG, and are working tirelessly to ensure the voices of yes are being heard.I will ask it again of the minister. When will the Liberals stop ignoring our communities and come to a final decision on projects like Pacific Northwest LNG?

Mr. Speaker, again, the hon. member may want to ask her colleague from St. Albert.The second-last paragraph on page 3 of the letter that the Ethics Commissioner sent him makes it clear that it is entirely appropriate for all members, including parliamentary secretaries and ministers, to solicit funds.She knows there is no scandal here. She is trying to fabricate something, and we look forward perhaps to the next fake allegation that will follow in the next question.

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals said they were going to be different, but now they are becoming just exactly what they opposed.The Minister of Foreign Affairs claimed that he had no choice when it came to the Conservative-backed arms deal with Saudi Arabia. He told us it was a done deal, but that was not the case. He approved the deal himself last Friday. This is about human rights. Why are Canadians being misled on such an important issue?

Mr. Speaker, the failure of the Liberals to support Canada's energy sector is damaging the country, and it has real consequences. Thousand of jobs are being lost, families are losing their homes, and the communities are devastated. All these families and communities need to hear is a clear message from the Prime Minister that he actually supports new pipelines. Will the Prime Minister finally assure all of us that if the National Energy Board approves Trans Mountain and energy east, he will also approve them?

Mr. Speaker, what I have said in the House before is that saying it does not make it true. Let us look at the facts. We are working with small-business Canadians. We are working with the Small Business Matters Coalition. We are working with stakeholders. There are 3.2 million Canadians whom we are representing on this side of the House. We are working with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and Dan Kelly himself. I have met with him and will continue to work with him.We will continue to represent small businesses, and I encourage the member opposite to take some time to meet with me as well.

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada is very concerned about the well-being of the Azer children. We are engaged in this file. I have repeatedly met with Ms. Azer and our law enforcement agency and our consular affairs are providing services to the family. We will continue to be engaged on this file. We will do everything we can to bring the Azer family back home to their mother.

Mr. Speaker, during and after the election campaign, and especially with the tabling of our budget, which invests in growth for the middle class, we have shown that we know how to grow the economy. We are investing in our communities and putting more money in the pockets of the middle-class, and the people working hard to join the middle class, to stimulate growth, which Canadians did not see for 10 years under the Conservatives.It is time to kick-start economic growth and to create jobs in our economy. That is exactly what we did with this budget.

Mr. Speaker, if the NDP's position is that we should have reneged on the Government of Canada's signature on a contract, I hope its members are prepared to say so in English in London. I hope our colleague from London—Fanshawe will also say so in London, because that was not their position during the election campaign.Now, as for the export permits, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will grant them or deny them based on how the equipment is used. As long as the equipment is not used in any human rights abuses, as long as it is used in accordance with Canada's interests, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will honour the export permits. Otherwise, I will reverse my decision.

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has already set a course that will weaken our armed forces.He promised Canadians that he would replace our combat capabilities with peacekeeping operations. He promised to delay purchases of important equipment until after the next election. He promised that he would not purchase F-35s. Finally, he promised to implement the recommendations of the Report on Transformation 2011.In light of all of this, how can the government claim that it wants to hold consultations on defence policy when the Prime Minister has already written that policy?

Mr. Speaker, I have long pointed out that one of the fundamental responsibilities of any Canadian prime minister is to get our resources to market. In the 21st century, getting our resources to market means doing it sustainably, responsibly, and with community buy-in and indigenous support. The fact is that the previous government did not understand that. It was unable to build the public trust necessary to help Alberta's industry, and indeed the jobs that needed to be created through it, and therefore failed the province it worked so hard to try to represent.

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister. In light of a series of very controversial order-in-council appointments in the dying days of the previous government, would the Prime Minister join with political scientists such as Carl Baar and Peter Russell and accept as a constitutional convention that it is illegitimate for a government to make order-in-council appointments that would not take effect until after an election? Would he agree that this travesty is an overreach?

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister can talk about the past all he wants, but this week the government announced a $70-billion cut in investments in oil development. He can talk about the past at length, but these people are living in insecurity today. Many questions were raised after the budget was brought down. The parliamentary budget officer found that the Liberal budget was based on unrealistic assumptions when it comes to growth and that the Minister of Finance omitted crucial data for evaluating Canada's long-term economic growth. The Liberals still keep talking about transparency.What is going on?

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to making sure that our men and women have the capabilities for the missions of the future. The defence review is a wonderful process to allow all Canadians to have a voice in where the military needs to go. We are committed to replacing our fighters. We are committed to supporting our navy and many other procurement projects. We are re-profiling the money so that we can have it at a time when the military needs to be able to write the cheques for the procurement projects.

Mr. Speaker, the Azer children who are my constituents were abducted eight months ago. These four Canadian children were taken to Kurdistan in the middle of a war zone and they now may be in Iran. These children did not choose this. We need urgent action. The Prime Minister has said that the safe return of these children is a priority of the government. Has the Prime Minister made contact with Kurdish President Barzani or members of the Iranian government to help bring these children home?

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague.Instead of fooling around, perhaps he should read the budget. If he had, he would know that we have lowered taxes for the middle class.The small business tax has dropped and, just today, the governor of the Bank of Canada said that the measures set out in the budget would create economic growth in Canada, as the hon. Prime Minister was saying.This budget is for families and the middle class. It is the right budget for Canada and we are going to continue doing exactly what we are doing.

Mr. Speaker, I hope members will forgive me if I seem nervous, but I have some little eyes watching me today.I would like to assure the member that I have appointed a working group which has met. The Coast Guard has presented options to the group. The group will be meeting again to come up with some options to best deal with the situation once and for all.

Mr. Speaker, I will say today what I have been saying every time anyone asks me about this, including during the election campaign. We will honour the contracts signed by Canada in February 2014. The fact is that there are jobs in London relying on this. Commitments have been made to the world that we will honour our good name when we sign our contracts. Even the member for Outremont understands that we cannot cancel a contract retroactively. He said, “You don't cancel a commercial accord retroactively. ... It's just not done.” On that we agree with the member for Outremont.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the hon. member, as I did my critic some time ago, that the only cuts to the budget happened during the Conservative government, some $3 billion. We have actually increased the planned spending with $360 million for the operational budget, plus $200 million for military infrastructure as well. The defence review is our way of actually committing to supporting our troops who serve us.

Mr. Speaker, as I said previously, we are committed to making sure that the environment and the economy go together, but that needs to be done in a responsible way. We will make decisions based on facts and evidence. We are working very closely with the proponent and with the Government of British Columbia. I quote Rich Coleman, minister of B.C. natural gas development, who said: ...we are confident that working together with the federal government and the company, any remaining questions can be fully resolved expeditiously.

Mr. Speaker, the government recently announced plans to invest heavily in arts and culture. That includes keeping its promise to double funding for the Canada Council for the Arts by 2020.Can the minister explain how this investment in the Canada Council for the Arts will benefit not just artists but all Canadians?

Is there a boat in Panama as well, Mr. Speaker?When the Prime Minister revealed details about his financial arrangements, it turns out he left a few things out of the picture. The Prime Minister failed to disclose all of the companies that he used to shelter his investments. Why did the Prime Minister not tell Canadians about all of these companies he was using to shelter his investments and avoid paying his full share of taxes?

Mr. Speaker, with all due respect, my colleague was confusing two different decisions.The first one is to honour the signature on a contract. This is a contract that was signed in 2014. Her party, our party, and the Conservative Party committed to that decision to honour the signature.The second one is about the export permits. I have the power to allow the export permits or to revoke them according to the behaviour of the county regarding human rights, on the use of the equipment. The equipment has not been misused since 1993. It is why, for now—

Mr. Speaker, allow me to also add my voice to the many voices in the House who honour Audrey O'Brien for her extraordinary service, not just to members in the House and to this august place, but to all of Canada through an extraordinary life of service. I want to thank her very much.In the five seconds remaining to me, this government understands that environment and economy go together, they must go together. This is something the previous government simply did not understand, which is why it was unable to build pipelines to tidewater through 10 years of trying to do nothing but.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Justice says that she went to the fundraising cocktail in Toronto to talk about issues facing her riding.Yesterday, the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons said that the minister spoke to the commissioner in her capacity as minister and as MP because the two roles cannot be dissociated. However, when she attends a fundraiser, she attends as an MP, not as a minister. That is a double standard. Can the minister make the list of attendees public so that we can see who in Toronto was interested in meeting the MP for Vancouver Granville?

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for the question, but I also thank him for his eloquence and passion last evening in discussing this, and his ongoing commitment. No one knows the children and the youth in that community better than the member opposite, and we will work with the member. We are heartened by what the mental health counsellors have decided to do: opening the centre and developing a youth council in that community, giving them ownership over the decisions that will be taken in their lives. I look forward to working with the member on these things.

Mr. Speaker, what Canadians deserve is an environmental assessment process they can trust. That is why we have committed to do it. This project is being reviewed. The proponent has brought significant new information. We received 34,000 comments, and we are going to do the proper job to make sure we are making decisions based on facts and evidence, because that is the only way we will get our resource to market in a sustainable way.

Mr. Speaker, the facts are clear. The previous government made a series of appointments that took effect after the last election. These non-transparent eleventh-hour appointments that were not scrutinized by Parliament were a clear abuse of the appointment process.We want to clean up the ethical mess left by the previous government. That is exactly what we are doing. We released a very important document called, “Open and Accountable Government”. Canadians voted for transparency, and we are proud to have raised the bar.

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, today and yesterday, the Governor of the Bank of Canada confirmed that in fact, the measures we are taking in our budget will have a positive impact on growth in Canada and on families. That is what we were asked to do during the election campaign.For 10 years, we had a government that refused to invest in Canadians. That is what we are doing. It was high time.

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the member who just asked the question should talk to his colleague for St. Albert—Edmonton, who, in fact, wrote a letter to the Ethics Commissioner with many of the same frivolous allegations. He received a three-page letter from the Ethics Commissioner, dated April 13, and the paragraph that I know everyone wants to hear reads as follows: Based on the information available in the case, the fundraising involved the Minister of Justice, section 16—

Mr. Speaker, when I worked as a professional speaker, I registered a company, as many Canadians do, and I paid all of the necessary taxes.However, I have always said that the government has a duty to encourage small businesses, which create jobs, and that is exactly what we are doing with budget 2016.

Mr. Speaker, once again, we have lowered taxes on small businesses; we have lowered taxes on middle-class Canadians. We are working with Canadians to ensure that we have a strong economy and that we create jobs. Budget 2016, which I encourage the member to read in its entirety, makes many investments, including $11.9 billion in infrastructure spending, which will help small businesses, and $500 million for broadband in rural and remote areas.I see the Speaker's hand is waving, so I will stop, but the list goes on. I am thankful for the opportunity to stand to say how we are working with small businesses.

Mr. Speaker, we will make a decision when we have the facts and the evidence necessary to do so.We have committed to an environmental assessment process that has the confidence of Canadians. We will make decisions based on facts and evidence. We are working with the proponent. We are working with the B.C. government to get the information we need to do just that.

Our good name includes standing to defend human rights around the world, Mr. Speaker.The situation in Saudi Arabia has only become worse, and the Prime Minister knows it.However, let us talk about paperwork. During the election campaign, the Prime Minister said that “a large percentage of small businesses are actually just ways for wealthier Canadians to save on their taxes”. He seems to have been talking about his own finances. He apparently used four companies to pay less tax.How much tax did he avoid paying by using four investment companies?

Mr. Speaker, I thank the individual from Bangladesh for being here and discussing this important issue with colleagues across the floor of the House to see what Canada can do to promote the human rights of people all across the world. I thank the member very much for this question.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague the member for Oakville North—Burlington for her advocacy on the issue of active transportation.Our government is proud to invest $10 billion to $20 billion over the next 10 years, which will include public transit as well as active transportation. Active transportation can also be funded through the gas tax.We will continue to work with our partners to discuss their priorities as we develop our long-term infrastructure plan.

Mr. Speaker, we know that the only way to get resources to market is to make sure we do it in a sustainable way. We have a regulatory process. The project that the member opposite is referring to is going through that regulatory process. The proponent brought significant new information that would have potential impact on salmon, so we need to do our due diligence and make sure we get this right before we can make a decision as to whether a project goes ahead or not.

Mr. Speaker, while the Minister of Justice attends pay-to-play fundraisers, the minister has been AWOL in fulfilling her responsibilities as minister. After nearly six months, the minister has yet to make a judicial appointment, creating a situation that the Chief Justice of Alberta has called “desperate”. When will the Minister of Justice stop attending pay-to-play fundraisers and start appointing desperately needed judges, or is the minister taking applications at the fundraisers?

So, Mr. Speaker, when the Prime Minister said that small businesses were just a way for rich people to avoid taxes, he knew of what he spoke.Perhaps the Prime Minister can give us an answer to the following question. Why did he choose to dismantle one of the investment companies he had used to avoid paying taxes the day after the election, on October 20?

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question.Like my fellow member, I recognize the importance of investing in the well-being of our senior citizens. The government's recent budget is proof of that. It contains significant investments that will change the lives of our seniors both now and in the future. We will help 900,000 seniors now with a significant increase to the guaranteed income supplement, and we will help them in the future by bringing the age of eligibility for federal pension benefits back down to 65.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for that important question.We are investing $550 million in the Canada Council for the Arts over five years. This is a historic investment. Creative industries are an important part of our economy and our society, and our government was elected to stimulate economic growth. It is our duty to create the conditions that will allow ideas to flourish and to create a system for innovation. Arts and culture are at the heart of this ecosystem. That is why we are so proud to support our creators.

Mr. Speaker, our government has made an important commitment to invest in transportation and infrastructure. Providing Canadians with transportation choices is critical to ensuring we are moving people and goods safely and quickly.As a strong advocate for active transportation like cycling and walking, I know that investments in active transportation infrastructure are good for our economy, the environment, and our health.Could the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities comment on how we are helping municipalities like Oakville and Burlington develop walking and cycling infrastructure?

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question and I invite him to read —

Mr. Speaker, while the Minister of Justice attends pay-to-play fundraisers, the minister has been AWOL in fulfilling her responsibilities as minister. After nearly six months, the minister has yet to make a judicial appointment, creating a situation that the Chief Justice of Alberta has called “desperate”. When will the Minister of Justice stop attending pay-to-play fundraisers and start appointing desperately needed judges, or is the minister taking applications at the fundraisers?

Mr. Speaker, without question, our government takes human trafficking and the exploitation of women and girls incredibly seriously. We are committed to strengthening the efforts to combat this problem.With respect to Bill C-452, I have had discussions and there are concerns with respect to that particular piece of legislation in terms of the charter. We are working with our colleagues in the province of Quebec to ensure that we continue to address this issue in a substantive way. This is a very serious issue that we are dealing with.

Mr. Speaker, I have long pointed out that one of the fundamental responsibilities of any Canadian prime minister is to get our resources to market. In the 21st century, getting our resources to market means doing it sustainably, responsibly, and with community buy-in and indigenous support. The fact is that the previous government did not understand that. It was unable to build the public trust necessary to help Alberta's industry, and indeed the jobs that needed to be created through it, and therefore failed the province it worked so hard to try to represent.

Mr. Speaker, let me try this again. That particular member made up a series of fake allegations and used his parliamentary immunity to make a whole series of allegations that he does not have the guts to go 25 metres out and say in front of a television camera.He wrote a letter to the independent Ethics Commissioner with all these fake allegations, and she wrote back to him and said that at all times the minister followed the act and her responsibilities under the code.He should be ashamed to keep asking those ridiculous questions.

Again, Mr. Speaker, I find it mildly humourous that the opposition is taking us to task for being unable to do in five months what it was unable to do in ten years.The fact is that the initiatives taken by the previous government did not help the Alberta oil industry, did not help Albertans, and did not help the workers who are now out of work. We need a government that actually restores public confidence and gets our resources to market in responsible, sustainable ways. That is why Canadians elected us. That is what we are going to work very hard to do.

Mr. Speaker, since taking office, the Liberals have completely failed to support Canada's energy sector. While the U.S. has ramped up its oil exports, while at the same time blocking Canada's oil exports, the Prime Minister has done nothing about it. His principal secretary has said that oil and gas development is as bad as “hooking kids on cigarettes”. His environment minister has said that we need to move in the direction of ceasing all development in the industry. In his ideological quest to make Canada free of fossil fuels, is the Prime Minister willing to take responsibility for the hundreds of thousands of jobs that will be lost?

Mr. Speaker, I certainly would not agree with the Prime Minister. Unlike the Liberals, who promised a $10-billion deficit and then presented a $30-billion deficit, we made massive investments while balancing the budget. It is unfortunate, but we now know that the Liberal's job plan was just an illusion. The number of jobs to be created by their reckless spending was greatly exaggerated in their budget. Canadians are right not to trust this government.Why did the Prime Minister inflate the number of jobs that the Liberals' spending would supposedly create in Canada's economy?

Mr. Speaker, I do not understand. What is the point of the risk assessment process for arms exports if it is a done deal before the process even takes place? On the issue of the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister told Canadians repeatedly that there was nothing they could do, that their hands were tied. Now we learn that the minister authorized the sale himself last Friday.Why did he deliberately mislead Canadians?Why did he lead Canadians down the garden path?

Is there a boat in Panama as well, Mr. Speaker?When the Prime Minister revealed details about his financial arrangements, it turns out he left a few things out of the picture. The Prime Minister failed to disclose all of the companies that he used to shelter his investments. Why did the Prime Minister not tell Canadians about all of these companies he was using to shelter his investments and avoid paying his full share of taxes?

Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the situation described by my colleague from Saint Boniface is unfair and unacceptable. Indeed, this must change. On Monday, I announced historic investments of $444.4 million. As I intend to explain to the finance committee, these tools will help improve detection, investigations, and audits and will also make it possible to prosecute those who engage in tax evasion and organizations that create such schemes. The net is tightening.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, in committee, we saw that the Liberals would rather write the defence policy behind closed doors without being disturbed.That is dangerous because we are aware of the Liberals' intense hatred for the Canadian Armed Forces. The Liberals gave us submarines that take on water and helicopters that do not take off.Can the minister confirm that Canada's defence policy is not cast in stone and that all interested parties will be heard by the Standing Committee on National Defence?

Mr. Speaker, the government recently announced plans to invest heavily in arts and culture. That includes keeping its promise to double funding for the Canada Council for the Arts by 2020.Can the minister explain how this investment in the Canada Council for the Arts will benefit not just artists but all Canadians?

Mr. Speaker, let us just get to the bottom of this. The minister keeps evading questions about the pay-to-play Liberal fundraiser. She apparently cannot speak on this issue or will not. Simply put, who planned this fundraiser?There have been a number of ethical issues with this minister ever since she took over the position. Did she plan these unfortunate events, or is she being set up by those closest to her?

Mr. Speaker, if the NDP's position is that we should have reneged on the Government of Canada's signature on a contract, I hope its members are prepared to say so in English in London. I hope our colleague from London—Fanshawe will also say so in London, because that was not their position during the election campaign.Now, as for the export permits, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will grant them or deny them based on how the equipment is used. As long as the equipment is not used in any human rights abuses, as long as it is used in accordance with Canada's interests, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will honour the export permits. Otherwise, I will reverse my decision.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank all my colleagues who participated in the debate last night. This may be a transformative moment, but the youth need action now.First, there is a need for a family doctor in Attawapiskat. It is a simple request. Help us with that. Second, there is no new mental health funding for the communities. We need that. Third, I would like to ask the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs to commit today to funding to empower indigenous youth, so they can start to look at how we can change programs, because after 140 years of failure and negligence and trauma, it is time we said that the youth will lead the way for the future.

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister can talk about the past all he wants, but this week the government announced a $70-billion cut in investments in oil development. He can talk about the past at length, but these people are living in insecurity today. Many questions were raised after the budget was brought down. The parliamentary budget officer found that the Liberal budget was based on unrealistic assumptions when it comes to growth and that the Minister of Finance omitted crucial data for evaluating Canada's long-term economic growth. The Liberals still keep talking about transparency.What is going on?

Mr. Speaker, what I have said in the House before is that saying it does not make it true. Let us look at the facts. We are working with small-business Canadians. We are working with the Small Business Matters Coalition. We are working with stakeholders. There are 3.2 million Canadians whom we are representing on this side of the House. We are working with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and Dan Kelly himself. I have met with him and will continue to work with him.We will continue to represent small businesses, and I encourage the member opposite to take some time to meet with me as well.

Mr. Speaker, with all due respect, my colleague was confusing two different decisions.The first one is to honour the signature on a contract. This is a contract that was signed in 2014. Her party, our party, and the Conservative Party committed to that decision to honour the signature.The second one is about the export permits. I have the power to allow the export permits or to revoke them according to the behaviour of the county regarding human rights, on the use of the equipment. The equipment has not been misused since 1993. It is why, for now—

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have turned a blind eye to the unique needs and changing demographics of Canadian seniors. They have a minister of youth and a Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, but not a minister for seniors. To make matters worse, at committee the Minister of Families admitted that the Liberals will not appoint a minister for seniors because that is only good for photo ops.Why is the Prime Minister not taking the needs of seniors seriously?

Mr. Speaker, in September the Prime Minister really spoke his mind about small businesses.He said, “We have to know that a large percentage of small businesses are actually just ways for wealthier Canadians to save on their taxes”.I do not know who was in front of him when he said that, but he might have been looking in the mirror, because that is exactly what he did, use small businesses to save on taxes.Will the Prime Minister do the honourable thing and stand up and apologize to Canadians?

Mr. Speaker, I think what Canadians are wondering is when that member will tone down the feigned indignation, especially given the fact that he got a three-page, precise answer in writing from the Ethics Commissioner, which concluded that the fake complaint he made had no merit.The members opposite love to table documents in the House. They should stay tuned. Maybe after question period I will ask for consent to table the letter the Ethics Commissioner sent to that member.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for his question.Once again, I would invite him to read the budget. He would then understand that we are working for Canadians. The opposition has been trying to create a diversion.We presented Canadians with a budget that works for families, the middle class, and small businesses. The governor confirmed that this morning. We are going to continue down that path and we are going to continue working for Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, when I ran for the leadership of the Liberal Party, I was open and transparent about my holdings and my personal finances. I have been from the start. I have always been open and transparent, and I will continue to be.People expect the level of transparency and openness that we are giving them, especially after a government that thumbed its nose at ethics and transparency for years. This is what Canadians expect from us.

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite should be ashamed to raise an issue—

Mr. Speaker, we will make a decision when we have the facts and the evidence necessary to do so.We have committed to an environmental assessment process that has the confidence of Canadians. We will make decisions based on facts and evidence. We are working with the proponent. We are working with the B.C. government to get the information we need to do just that.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question and I invite him to read —

Mr. Speaker, unlike the Prime Minister, the Conservatives do not see SMEs as schemers. We see SMEs as creators of jobs and wealth.This morning, Le Journal de Québec and Le Journal de Montréal reported that the Prime Minister personally owned four companies to save on taxes. That is unbecoming of a prime minister. He should rise and apologize immediately.

Mr. Speaker, in budget 2016, the Liberals allocated $6 million to protect the waters of Newfoundland from a shipwreck, and yet there is nothing regarding the Kathryn Spirit, which has been languishing in Lac Saint-Louis, at Beauharnois, since 2011. For five years now, the people have been waiting for the federal government to do something to protect their drinking water reservoir. According to the working group, it will cost somewhere between $10 million and $15 million to dismantle it.Will the government commit today to immediately release the funds needed to dismantle the Kathryn Spirit and finally reassure the people of Beauharnois, as it did for Newfoundland?

Mr. Speaker, residents and small businesses in my riding are struggling right now due to low energy prices. Liberals have an opportunity to support our economy, and that opportunity is B.C. LNG. The fact is that residents have now formed community action groups, like Fort St. John for LNG, and are working tirelessly to ensure the voices of yes are being heard.I will ask it again of the minister. When will the Liberals stop ignoring our communities and come to a final decision on projects like Pacific Northwest LNG?

Mr. Speaker, one thing is very clear: Liberals think borrowed money will somehow magically create jobs. Small businesses understand that jobs come from hard work and responsible spending. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business president Dan Kelly said, “Small business owners know that today’s deficits are tomorrow’s taxes”. Why are the Liberals taxing job creators to pay for their reckless spending?

Mr. Speaker, I find it very ironic that just yesterday all members of Parliament stood together at an important event and I stood up and said that all members of the House who are sitting and standing there support the military. To hear this in the House is actually quite insulting, to be honest. I personally met with the member, so I do not think we need to get down to this level of question. I would be happy to meet with the member personally and explain in detail. I have opened up the department for briefings and have met personally with them. I would just like to stop this whole thing. Every member in the House supports our military. Let us not play this ridiculous game.

Mr. Speaker, once again, we have lowered taxes on small businesses; we have lowered taxes on middle-class Canadians. We are working with Canadians to ensure that we have a strong economy and that we create jobs. Budget 2016, which I encourage the member to read in its entirety, makes many investments, including $11.9 billion in infrastructure spending, which will help small businesses, and $500 million for broadband in rural and remote areas.I see the Speaker's hand is waving, so I will stop, but the list goes on. I am thankful for the opportunity to stand to say how we are working with small businesses.

Mr. Speaker, the failure of the Liberals to support Canada's energy sector is damaging the country, and it has real consequences. Thousand of jobs are being lost, families are losing their homes, and the communities are devastated. All these families and communities need to hear is a clear message from the Prime Minister that he actually supports new pipelines. Will the Prime Minister finally assure all of us that if the National Energy Board approves Trans Mountain and energy east, he will also approve them?

Mr. Speaker, again, the hon. member may want to ask her colleague from St. Albert.The second-last paragraph on page 3 of the letter that the Ethics Commissioner sent him makes it clear that it is entirely appropriate for all members, including parliamentary secretaries and ministers, to solicit funds.She knows there is no scandal here. She is trying to fabricate something, and we look forward perhaps to the next fake allegation that will follow in the next question.

Mr. Speaker, when it is time to spend money or take part in fundraising activities, the government is always quick on the draw, but when it comes to putting an end to pimping out young girls, forget it.Yesterday we learned that the Minister of Justice is considering rewriting Bill C-452 on human trafficking, even though that bill has the support of all political parties, the Senate, and the Prime Minister himself. Why does the Minister of Justice refuse to protect young victims now, and why is she hiding behind the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms?

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the hon. member, as I did my critic some time ago, that the only cuts to the budget happened during the Conservative government, some $3 billion. We have actually increased the planned spending with $360 million for the operational budget, plus $200 million for military infrastructure as well. The defence review is our way of actually committing to supporting our troops who serve us.

Mr. Speaker, on April 24, 2013, more than 11,000 textile workers, most of them women, lost their lives in the worst industrial disaster in the history of Bangladesh.Three years later, there is still much to be done to protect workers. Kalpona Akter, a courageous activist, is here in Ottawa to ask Canada to do its part.What will the Minister of International Development and La Francophonie do to ensure that Bangladeshi businesses that are exempt from duties respect workers' rights?

So, Mr. Speaker, when the Prime Minister said that small businesses were just a way for rich people to avoid taxes, he knew of what he spoke.Perhaps the Prime Minister can give us an answer to the following question. Why did he choose to dismantle one of the investment companies he had used to avoid paying taxes the day after the election, on October 20?

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals love to make promises to Canadians, only to turn around and change their minds.Instead of encouraging jobs and hiring, the Liberals have increased payroll taxes and EI premiums for small businesses. This does not affect just small business owners but also the millions of Canadians who work for them.When will the Liberals stop killing jobs with higher taxes?

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Justice says that she went to the fundraising cocktail in Toronto to talk about issues facing her riding.Yesterday, the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons said that the minister spoke to the commissioner in her capacity as minister and as MP because the two roles cannot be dissociated. However, when she attends a fundraiser, she attends as an MP, not as a minister. That is a double standard. Can the minister make the list of attendees public so that we can see who in Toronto was interested in meeting the MP for Vancouver Granville?

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague the member for Oakville North—Burlington for her advocacy on the issue of active transportation.Our government is proud to invest $10 billion to $20 billion over the next 10 years, which will include public transit as well as active transportation. Active transportation can also be funded through the gas tax.We will continue to work with our partners to discuss their priorities as we develop our long-term infrastructure plan.

Mr. Speaker, it is hard for Canadians to trust the justice minister to do her job with all of her dodgy fundraising activities. It has been six months, but she has not introduced a single piece of legislation. Her husband has registered to lobby her own department, and miraculously, in the budget the organization he lobbied for got $20 million. She has been caught giving access to high-priced lawyers and lobbyists. Can the Prime Minister stop hiding behind his House leader and tell Canadians if this is the standard that he set for his own cabinet ministers?

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague.Instead of fooling around, perhaps he should read the budget. If he had, he would know that we have lowered taxes for the middle class.The small business tax has dropped and, just today, the governor of the Bank of Canada said that the measures set out in the budget would create economic growth in Canada, as the hon. Prime Minister was saying.This budget is for families and the middle class. It is the right budget for Canada and we are going to continue doing exactly what we are doing.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question.Like my fellow member, I recognize the importance of investing in the well-being of our senior citizens. The government's recent budget is proof of that. It contains significant investments that will change the lives of our seniors both now and in the future. We will help 900,000 seniors now with a significant increase to the guaranteed income supplement, and we will help them in the future by bringing the age of eligibility for federal pension benefits back down to 65.

Our good name includes standing to defend human rights around the world, Mr. Speaker.The situation in Saudi Arabia has only become worse, and the Prime Minister knows it.However, let us talk about paperwork. During the election campaign, the Prime Minister said that “a large percentage of small businesses are actually just ways for wealthier Canadians to save on their taxes”. He seems to have been talking about his own finances. He apparently used four companies to pay less tax.How much tax did he avoid paying by using four investment companies?

Mr. Speaker, Catherine and I want to welcome our friend, Audrey O'Brien, Clerk Emerita of the House of Commons.It turns out there is a slight problem in the paperwork for the Saudi arms deal, and maybe the government could help us figure it out. For months the government has been telling us that it was a done deal under the Conservatives, but now it turns out that what to the untrained eye looks like the signature of the minister of global affairs approved it actually on April 8, just a few days ago. Maybe the government could explain that one to Canadians. Why has the government mislead Canadians about the Saudi arms deal?

Mr. Speaker, during and after the election campaign, and especially with the tabling of our budget, which invests in growth for the middle class, we have shown that we know how to grow the economy. We are investing in our communities and putting more money in the pockets of the middle-class, and the people working hard to join the middle class, to stimulate growth, which Canadians did not see for 10 years under the Conservatives.It is time to kick-start economic growth and to create jobs in our economy. That is exactly what we did with this budget.

Mr. Speaker, allow me to also add my voice to the many voices in the House who honour Audrey O'Brien for her extraordinary service, not just to members in the House and to this august place, but to all of Canada through an extraordinary life of service. I want to thank her very much.In the five seconds remaining to me, this government understands that environment and economy go together, they must go together. This is something the previous government simply did not understand, which is why it was unable to build pipelines to tidewater through 10 years of trying to do nothing but.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for the question, but I also thank him for his eloquence and passion last evening in discussing this, and his ongoing commitment. No one knows the children and the youth in that community better than the member opposite, and we will work with the member. We are heartened by what the mental health counsellors have decided to do: opening the centre and developing a youth council in that community, giving them ownership over the decisions that will be taken in their lives. I look forward to working with the member on these things.

Mr. Speaker, Canada can provide a secure and sustainable supply of LNG to the world. The Liberals' three-month delay for B.C.'s Pacific Northwest LNG project sets Canada back, while our global competitors gain ground on long-term contracts with Asian markets. Thousands of jobs are on the line. Billions of dollars in investment, royalties, and taxes are at stake. The Prime Minister should fight for Canada. Is he really going to sit back and let this opportunity slip away?

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada is very concerned about the well-being of the Azer children. We are engaged in this file. I have repeatedly met with Ms. Azer and our law enforcement agency and our consular affairs are providing services to the family. We will continue to be engaged on this file. We will do everything we can to bring the Azer family back home to their mother.

Mr. Speaker, the Pacific Northwest LNG project has gone through an extensive approval process to date. What was first expected to take a year has now taken more than 750 days. Despite diligent community consultations and support from most first nations, the Liberals have added more barriers and costs at the worst time. Canada deserves this opportunity. Why will the Liberals not support private sector job creation and responsible resource development, so Canada does not miss out?

Mr. Speaker, when I worked as a professional speaker, I registered a company, as many Canadians do, and I paid all of the necessary taxes.However, I have always said that the government has a duty to encourage small businesses, which create jobs, and that is exactly what we are doing with budget 2016.

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals said they were going to be different, but now they are becoming just exactly what they opposed.The Minister of Foreign Affairs claimed that he had no choice when it came to the Conservative-backed arms deal with Saudi Arabia. He told us it was a done deal, but that was not the case. He approved the deal himself last Friday. This is about human rights. Why are Canadians being misled on such an important issue?

Mr. Speaker, if my colleague from Lévis had taken the time to read the Elections Act, he would be aware that the names of all attendees will be disclosed proactively in accordance with the law. There is no secret here. It was not a secret fundraiser. The member may be thinking of former colleagues of his who are now in prison for inappropriate financial activities.

Mr. Speaker, the evidence is that there are hundreds of thousands of jobs lost right now and hanging in the balance. The Pacific Northwest LNG project would be the biggest private sector investment in British Columbia history. Billions in investment and thousands of well-paying jobs are hanging in the balance, yet the only thing the Minister of Environment will approve is a decision to delay the decision. How can we expect the Liberals to be impartial when the Prime Minister's own principal secretary said he wants to shut down oil and gas development?

Mr. Speaker, the facts are clear. The previous government made a series of appointments that took effect after the last election. These non-transparent eleventh-hour appointments that were not scrutinized by Parliament were a clear abuse of the appointment process.We want to clean up the ethical mess left by the previous government. That is exactly what we are doing. We released a very important document called, “Open and Accountable Government”. Canadians voted for transparency, and we are proud to have raised the bar.

It is hard to keep a straight face, Mr. Speaker.Last week we learned that the Minister of Justice attended a high-priced pay-to-play fundraiser in Toronto with Bay Street lawyers. Now it seems she has outdone herself. She is headlining a $1,000-per-head fundraiser later this month. Copying the Wynne Liberals, the current government is creating a whole new scheme of paying for access to cabinet ministers. Can the Minister of Justice tell us how many lawyers and lobbyists will be attending her latest pay-to-play Liberal fundraiser?

Mr. Speaker, Canadians I speak to are proud of our military history, a proud tradition of standing by our friends when called to do so. The Liberal budget is a deceitful betrayal to every Canadian who served, past, present, or future, who share our military history. The Liberal defence review is a shameful attempt at covering up the disdain the Liberals have for the military.Why are the Liberals turning their backs on our friends and on the women and men who protect us by serving in Canada's Armed Forces?

Mr. Speaker, I thank the individual from Bangladesh for being here and discussing this important issue with colleagues across the floor of the House to see what Canada can do to promote the human rights of people all across the world. I thank the member very much for this question.

Mr. Speaker, far too many first nations and Métis children are growing up in this country without any hope for their future. Far too many families, including my own, have been affected by suicide. Just this past weekend there were more suicide attempts in La Loche. This is a crisis that demands actions—not visits, not photo ops, but action—yet the budget contained no new funding for mental health services.When will we see a concrete plan from the government on mental health?

Mr. Speaker, Canadians know that every step of the way I have been open and transparent about my own personal finances and about my own holdings. Indeed, I raised the bar on transparency and openness in a way that members opposite simply never did. I stand by my disclosures, my openness, and continue to challenge members on the opposite side of the House to reach the level of openness and transparency that on this side of the House we have always demonstrated.

Mr. Speaker, we know that the only way to get resources to market is to make sure we do it in a sustainable way. We have a regulatory process. The project that the member opposite is referring to is going through that regulatory process. The proponent brought significant new information that would have potential impact on salmon, so we need to do our due diligence and make sure we get this right before we can make a decision as to whether a project goes ahead or not.

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister. In light of a series of very controversial order-in-council appointments in the dying days of the previous government, would the Prime Minister join with political scientists such as Carl Baar and Peter Russell and accept as a constitutional convention that it is illegitimate for a government to make order-in-council appointments that would not take effect until after an election? Would he agree that this travesty is an overreach?

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Justice, in attending the pay-to-play fundraiser with select lawyers and lobbyists, has compromised her independence, brought the office that she holds into disrepute, and breached ethical standards by which the minister is bound. Will the minister stop the excuses and return the pay-to-play cash?

Mr. Speaker, the Azer children who are my constituents were abducted eight months ago. These four Canadian children were taken to Kurdistan in the middle of a war zone and they now may be in Iran. These children did not choose this. We need urgent action. The Prime Minister has said that the safe return of these children is a priority of the government. Has the Prime Minister made contact with Kurdish President Barzani or members of the Iranian government to help bring these children home?

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has already set a course that will weaken our armed forces.He promised Canadians that he would replace our combat capabilities with peacekeeping operations. He promised to delay purchases of important equipment until after the next election. He promised that he would not purchase F-35s. Finally, he promised to implement the recommendations of the Report on Transformation 2011.In light of all of this, how can the government claim that it wants to hold consultations on defence policy when the Prime Minister has already written that policy?

Mr. Speaker, what Canadians deserve is an environmental assessment process they can trust. That is why we have committed to do it. This project is being reviewed. The proponent has brought significant new information. We received 34,000 comments, and we are going to do the proper job to make sure we are making decisions based on facts and evidence, because that is the only way we will get our resource to market in a sustainable way.

Mr. Speaker, as I said previously, we are committed to making sure that the environment and the economy go together, but that needs to be done in a responsible way. We will make decisions based on facts and evidence. We are working very closely with the proponent and with the Government of British Columbia. I quote Rich Coleman, minister of B.C. natural gas development, who said: ...we are confident that working together with the federal government and the company, any remaining questions can be fully resolved expeditiously.

Mr. Speaker, the only person who is hiding appears to be the member who just asked that question. He knows very well that this is a series of fabricated allegations that his colleague sent to the Ethics Commissioner. Today the Ethics Commissioner confirmed that those allegations have no merit and no basis. Why can the member not be satisfied with the independent opinion of the Ethics Commissioner that this House asked to look into these kinds of matters? I have more faith in her judgment than in his.

Mr. Speaker, our government has made an important commitment to invest in transportation and infrastructure. Providing Canadians with transportation choices is critical to ensuring we are moving people and goods safely and quickly.As a strong advocate for active transportation like cycling and walking, I know that investments in active transportation infrastructure are good for our economy, the environment, and our health.Could the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities comment on how we are helping municipalities like Oakville and Burlington develop walking and cycling infrastructure?

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, today and yesterday, the Governor of the Bank of Canada confirmed that in fact, the measures we are taking in our budget will have a positive impact on growth in Canada and on families. That is what we were asked to do during the election campaign.For 10 years, we had a government that refused to invest in Canadians. That is what we are doing. It was high time.

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to making sure that our men and women have the capabilities for the missions of the future. The defence review is a wonderful process to allow all Canadians to have a voice in where the military needs to go. We are committed to replacing our fighters. We are committed to supporting our navy and many other procurement projects. We are re-profiling the money so that we can have it at a time when the military needs to be able to write the cheques for the procurement projects.

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the member who just asked the question should talk to his colleague for St. Albert—Edmonton, who, in fact, wrote a letter to the Ethics Commissioner with many of the same frivolous allegations. He received a three-page letter from the Ethics Commissioner, dated April 13, and the paragraph that I know everyone wants to hear reads as follows: Based on the information available in the case, the fundraising involved the Minister of Justice, section 16—

Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to say how thrilled we all are to see the Clerk back at her desk. Audrey O'Brien has had an exceptional career. She has served this Parliament, she has served her country, and she has served all of us. On behalf of everyone here, I would like to pay tribute to a remarkable woman, and I thank her.Canadians understand that pipelines are the safest way to move our oil and gas to market. While our government approved the northern gateway pipeline, immediately after the election the Liberals killed it by slapping a transportation ban off the west coast. If the Prime Minister is willing to kill a pipeline project after it is already approved, how can we have confidence he will not do the same thing to the Trans Mountain and the energy east pipelines?

Mr. Speaker, we know that the vast majority of middle-class Canadians pay their fair share of taxes, but that some wealthy individuals hide their money in offshore tax havens to avoid paying taxes. On Monday, the government committed to doing more to fight tax evasion.Can the Minister of National Revenue tell the House what is being done to actually change things?

Mr. Speaker, I will say today what I have been saying every time anyone asks me about this, including during the election campaign. We will honour the contracts signed by Canada in February 2014. The fact is that there are jobs in London relying on this. Commitments have been made to the world that we will honour our good name when we sign our contracts. Even the member for Outremont understands that we cannot cancel a contract retroactively. He said, “You don't cancel a commercial accord retroactively. ... It's just not done.” On that we agree with the member for Outremont.

Mr. Speaker, permit me to begin my comments by reflecting on last evening, when there was a very lovely and civil tone in this House when we discussed a matter that was both sobering and inspiring and talked about the fact that in this country, this wonderful, affluent, resourceful country, young people are deciding that life is not worth living and that we have not been able to find solutions to give them hope for the future.I will continue to work with my colleague and all colleagues in this House to make sure that the mental health resources are there for young people and all Canadians when they need them.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for that important question.We are investing $550 million in the Canada Council for the Arts over five years. This is a historic investment. Creative industries are an important part of our economy and our society, and our government was elected to stimulate economic growth. It is our duty to create the conditions that will allow ideas to flourish and to create a system for innovation. Arts and culture are at the heart of this ecosystem. That is why we are so proud to support our creators.

Mr. Speaker, I hope members will forgive me if I seem nervous, but I have some little eyes watching me today.I would like to assure the member that I have appointed a working group which has met. The Coast Guard has presented options to the group. The group will be meeting again to come up with some options to best deal with the situation once and for all.

Mr. Speaker, I hope members will forgive me if I seem nervous, but I have some little eyes watching me today.I would like to assure the member that I have appointed a working group which has met. The Coast Guard has presented options to the group. The group will be meeting again to come up with some options to best deal with the situation once and for all.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for that important question.We are investing $550 million in the Canada Council for the Arts over five years. This is a historic investment. Creative industries are an important part of our economy and our society, and our government was elected to stimulate economic growth. It is our duty to create the conditions that will allow ideas to flourish and to create a system for innovation. Arts and culture are at the heart of this ecosystem. That is why we are so proud to support our creators.

Mr. Speaker, permit me to begin my comments by reflecting on last evening, when there was a very lovely and civil tone in this House when we discussed a matter that was both sobering and inspiring and talked about the fact that in this country, this wonderful, affluent, resourceful country, young people are deciding that life is not worth living and that we have not been able to find solutions to give them hope for the future.I will continue to work with my colleague and all colleagues in this House to make sure that the mental health resources are there for young people and all Canadians when they need them.

Mr. Speaker, I will say today what I have been saying every time anyone asks me about this, including during the election campaign. We will honour the contracts signed by Canada in February 2014. The fact is that there are jobs in London relying on this. Commitments have been made to the world that we will honour our good name when we sign our contracts. Even the member for Outremont understands that we cannot cancel a contract retroactively. He said, “You don't cancel a commercial accord retroactively. ... It's just not done.” On that we agree with the member for Outremont.

Mr. Speaker, we know that the vast majority of middle-class Canadians pay their fair share of taxes, but that some wealthy individuals hide their money in offshore tax havens to avoid paying taxes. On Monday, the government committed to doing more to fight tax evasion.Can the Minister of National Revenue tell the House what is being done to actually change things?

Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to say how thrilled we all are to see the Clerk back at her desk. Audrey O'Brien has had an exceptional career. She has served this Parliament, she has served her country, and she has served all of us. On behalf of everyone here, I would like to pay tribute to a remarkable woman, and I thank her.Canadians understand that pipelines are the safest way to move our oil and gas to market. While our government approved the northern gateway pipeline, immediately after the election the Liberals killed it by slapping a transportation ban off the west coast. If the Prime Minister is willing to kill a pipeline project after it is already approved, how can we have confidence he will not do the same thing to the Trans Mountain and the energy east pipelines?

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the member who just asked the question should talk to his colleague for St. Albert—Edmonton, who, in fact, wrote a letter to the Ethics Commissioner with many of the same frivolous allegations. He received a three-page letter from the Ethics Commissioner, dated April 13, and the paragraph that I know everyone wants to hear reads as follows: Based on the information available in the case, the fundraising involved the Minister of Justice, section 16—

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to making sure that our men and women have the capabilities for the missions of the future. The defence review is a wonderful process to allow all Canadians to have a voice in where the military needs to go. We are committed to replacing our fighters. We are committed to supporting our navy and many other procurement projects. We are re-profiling the money so that we can have it at a time when the military needs to be able to write the cheques for the procurement projects.

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, today and yesterday, the Governor of the Bank of Canada confirmed that in fact, the measures we are taking in our budget will have a positive impact on growth in Canada and on families. That is what we were asked to do during the election campaign.For 10 years, we had a government that refused to invest in Canadians. That is what we are doing. It was high time.

Mr. Speaker, our government has made an important commitment to invest in transportation and infrastructure. Providing Canadians with transportation choices is critical to ensuring we are moving people and goods safely and quickly.As a strong advocate for active transportation like cycling and walking, I know that investments in active transportation infrastructure are good for our economy, the environment, and our health.Could the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities comment on how we are helping municipalities like Oakville and Burlington develop walking and cycling infrastructure?

Mr. Speaker, the only person who is hiding appears to be the member who just asked that question. He knows very well that this is a series of fabricated allegations that his colleague sent to the Ethics Commissioner. Today the Ethics Commissioner confirmed that those allegations have no merit and no basis. Why can the member not be satisfied with the independent opinion of the Ethics Commissioner that this House asked to look into these kinds of matters? I have more faith in her judgment than in his.

Mr. Speaker, as I said previously, we are committed to making sure that the environment and the economy go together, but that needs to be done in a responsible way. We will make decisions based on facts and evidence. We are working very closely with the proponent and with the Government of British Columbia. I quote Rich Coleman, minister of B.C. natural gas development, who said: ...we are confident that working together with the federal government and the company, any remaining questions can be fully resolved expeditiously.

Mr. Speaker, what Canadians deserve is an environmental assessment process they can trust. That is why we have committed to do it. This project is being reviewed. The proponent has brought significant new information. We received 34,000 comments, and we are going to do the proper job to make sure we are making decisions based on facts and evidence, because that is the only way we will get our resource to market in a sustainable way.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Justice, in attending the pay-to-play fundraiser with select lawyers and lobbyists, has compromised her independence, brought the office that she holds into disrepute, and breached ethical standards by which the minister is bound. Will the minister stop the excuses and return the pay-to-play cash?

Mr. Speaker, the Azer children who are my constituents were abducted eight months ago. These four Canadian children were taken to Kurdistan in the middle of a war zone and they now may be in Iran. These children did not choose this. We need urgent action. The Prime Minister has said that the safe return of these children is a priority of the government. Has the Prime Minister made contact with Kurdish President Barzani or members of the Iranian government to help bring these children home?

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has already set a course that will weaken our armed forces.He promised Canadians that he would replace our combat capabilities with peacekeeping operations. He promised to delay purchases of important equipment until after the next election. He promised that he would not purchase F-35s. Finally, he promised to implement the recommendations of the Report on Transformation 2011.In light of all of this, how can the government claim that it wants to hold consultations on defence policy when the Prime Minister has already written that policy?

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister. In light of a series of very controversial order-in-council appointments in the dying days of the previous government, would the Prime Minister join with political scientists such as Carl Baar and Peter Russell and accept as a constitutional convention that it is illegitimate for a government to make order-in-council appointments that would not take effect until after an election? Would he agree that this travesty is an overreach?

Mr. Speaker, we know that the only way to get resources to market is to make sure we do it in a sustainable way. We have a regulatory process. The project that the member opposite is referring to is going through that regulatory process. The proponent brought significant new information that would have potential impact on salmon, so we need to do our due diligence and make sure we get this right before we can make a decision as to whether a project goes ahead or not.

Mr. Speaker, Canadians know that every step of the way I have been open and transparent about my own personal finances and about my own holdings. Indeed, I raised the bar on transparency and openness in a way that members opposite simply never did. I stand by my disclosures, my openness, and continue to challenge members on the opposite side of the House to reach the level of openness and transparency that on this side of the House we have always demonstrated.

Mr. Speaker, far too many first nations and Métis children are growing up in this country without any hope for their future. Far too many families, including my own, have been affected by suicide. Just this past weekend there were more suicide attempts in La Loche. This is a crisis that demands actions—not visits, not photo ops, but action—yet the budget contained no new funding for mental health services.When will we see a concrete plan from the government on mental health?

Mr. Speaker, I thank the individual from Bangladesh for being here and discussing this important issue with colleagues across the floor of the House to see what Canada can do to promote the human rights of people all across the world. I thank the member very much for this question.

Mr. Speaker, Canadians I speak to are proud of our military history, a proud tradition of standing by our friends when called to do so. The Liberal budget is a deceitful betrayal to every Canadian who served, past, present, or future, who share our military history. The Liberal defence review is a shameful attempt at covering up the disdain the Liberals have for the military.Why are the Liberals turning their backs on our friends and on the women and men who protect us by serving in Canada's Armed Forces?

It is hard to keep a straight face, Mr. Speaker.Last week we learned that the Minister of Justice attended a high-priced pay-to-play fundraiser in Toronto with Bay Street lawyers. Now it seems she has outdone herself. She is headlining a $1,000-per-head fundraiser later this month. Copying the Wynne Liberals, the current government is creating a whole new scheme of paying for access to cabinet ministers. Can the Minister of Justice tell us how many lawyers and lobbyists will be attending her latest pay-to-play Liberal fundraiser?

Mr. Speaker, the facts are clear. The previous government made a series of appointments that took effect after the last election. These non-transparent eleventh-hour appointments that were not scrutinized by Parliament were a clear abuse of the appointment process.We want to clean up the ethical mess left by the previous government. That is exactly what we are doing. We released a very important document called, “Open and Accountable Government”. Canadians voted for transparency, and we are proud to have raised the bar.

Mr. Speaker, the evidence is that there are hundreds of thousands of jobs lost right now and hanging in the balance. The Pacific Northwest LNG project would be the biggest private sector investment in British Columbia history. Billions in investment and thousands of well-paying jobs are hanging in the balance, yet the only thing the Minister of Environment will approve is a decision to delay the decision. How can we expect the Liberals to be impartial when the Prime Minister's own principal secretary said he wants to shut down oil and gas development?

Mr. Speaker, if my colleague from Lévis had taken the time to read the Elections Act, he would be aware that the names of all attendees will be disclosed proactively in accordance with the law. There is no secret here. It was not a secret fundraiser. The member may be thinking of former colleagues of his who are now in prison for inappropriate financial activities.

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals said they were going to be different, but now they are becoming just exactly what they opposed.The Minister of Foreign Affairs claimed that he had no choice when it came to the Conservative-backed arms deal with Saudi Arabia. He told us it was a done deal, but that was not the case. He approved the deal himself last Friday. This is about human rights. Why are Canadians being misled on such an important issue?

Mr. Speaker, when I worked as a professional speaker, I registered a company, as many Canadians do, and I paid all of the necessary taxes.However, I have always said that the government has a duty to encourage small businesses, which create jobs, and that is exactly what we are doing with budget 2016.

Mr. Speaker, the Pacific Northwest LNG project has gone through an extensive approval process to date. What was first expected to take a year has now taken more than 750 days. Despite diligent community consultations and support from most first nations, the Liberals have added more barriers and costs at the worst time. Canada deserves this opportunity. Why will the Liberals not support private sector job creation and responsible resource development, so Canada does not miss out?

Mr. Speaker, allow me to also add my voice to the many voices in the House who honour Audrey O'Brien for her extraordinary service, not just to members in the House and to this august place, but to all of Canada through an extraordinary life of service. I want to thank her very much.In the five seconds remaining to me, this government understands that environment and economy go together, they must go together. This is something the previous government simply did not understand, which is why it was unable to build pipelines to tidewater through 10 years of trying to do nothing but.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for the question, but I also thank him for his eloquence and passion last evening in discussing this, and his ongoing commitment. No one knows the children and the youth in that community better than the member opposite, and we will work with the member. We are heartened by what the mental health counsellors have decided to do: opening the centre and developing a youth council in that community, giving them ownership over the decisions that will be taken in their lives. I look forward to working with the member on these things.

Mr. Speaker, Canada can provide a secure and sustainable supply of LNG to the world. The Liberals' three-month delay for B.C.'s Pacific Northwest LNG project sets Canada back, while our global competitors gain ground on long-term contracts with Asian markets. Thousands of jobs are on the line. Billions of dollars in investment, royalties, and taxes are at stake. The Prime Minister should fight for Canada. Is he really going to sit back and let this opportunity slip away?

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada is very concerned about the well-being of the Azer children. We are engaged in this file. I have repeatedly met with Ms. Azer and our law enforcement agency and our consular affairs are providing services to the family. We will continue to be engaged on this file. We will do everything we can to bring the Azer family back home to their mother.

Mr. Speaker, during and after the election campaign, and especially with the tabling of our budget, which invests in growth for the middle class, we have shown that we know how to grow the economy. We are investing in our communities and putting more money in the pockets of the middle-class, and the people working hard to join the middle class, to stimulate growth, which Canadians did not see for 10 years under the Conservatives.It is time to kick-start economic growth and to create jobs in our economy. That is exactly what we did with this budget.

Mr. Speaker, Catherine and I want to welcome our friend, Audrey O'Brien, Clerk Emerita of the House of Commons.It turns out there is a slight problem in the paperwork for the Saudi arms deal, and maybe the government could help us figure it out. For months the government has been telling us that it was a done deal under the Conservatives, but now it turns out that what to the untrained eye looks like the signature of the minister of global affairs approved it actually on April 8, just a few days ago. Maybe the government could explain that one to Canadians. Why has the government mislead Canadians about the Saudi arms deal?

Our good name includes standing to defend human rights around the world, Mr. Speaker.The situation in Saudi Arabia has only become worse, and the Prime Minister knows it.However, let us talk about paperwork. During the election campaign, the Prime Minister said that “a large percentage of small businesses are actually just ways for wealthier Canadians to save on their taxes”. He seems to have been talking about his own finances. He apparently used four companies to pay less tax.How much tax did he avoid paying by using four investment companies?

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question.Like my fellow member, I recognize the importance of investing in the well-being of our senior citizens. The government's recent budget is proof of that. It contains significant investments that will change the lives of our seniors both now and in the future. We will help 900,000 seniors now with a significant increase to the guaranteed income supplement, and we will help them in the future by bringing the age of eligibility for federal pension benefits back down to 65.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague.Instead of fooling around, perhaps he should read the budget. If he had, he would know that we have lowered taxes for the middle class.The small business tax has dropped and, just today, the governor of the Bank of Canada said that the measures set out in the budget would create economic growth in Canada, as the hon. Prime Minister was saying.This budget is for families and the middle class. It is the right budget for Canada and we are going to continue doing exactly what we are doing.

Mr. Speaker, it is hard for Canadians to trust the justice minister to do her job with all of her dodgy fundraising activities. It has been six months, but she has not introduced a single piece of legislation. Her husband has registered to lobby her own department, and miraculously, in the budget the organization he lobbied for got $20 million. She has been caught giving access to high-priced lawyers and lobbyists. Can the Prime Minister stop hiding behind his House leader and tell Canadians if this is the standard that he set for his own cabinet ministers?

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague the member for Oakville North—Burlington for her advocacy on the issue of active transportation.Our government is proud to invest $10 billion to $20 billion over the next 10 years, which will include public transit as well as active transportation. Active transportation can also be funded through the gas tax.We will continue to work with our partners to discuss their priorities as we develop our long-term infrastructure plan.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Justice says that she went to the fundraising cocktail in Toronto to talk about issues facing her riding.Yesterday, the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons said that the minister spoke to the commissioner in her capacity as minister and as MP because the two roles cannot be dissociated. However, when she attends a fundraiser, she attends as an MP, not as a minister. That is a double standard. Can the minister make the list of attendees public so that we can see who in Toronto was interested in meeting the MP for Vancouver Granville?

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals love to make promises to Canadians, only to turn around and change their minds.Instead of encouraging jobs and hiring, the Liberals have increased payroll taxes and EI premiums for small businesses. This does not affect just small business owners but also the millions of Canadians who work for them.When will the Liberals stop killing jobs with higher taxes?

So, Mr. Speaker, when the Prime Minister said that small businesses were just a way for rich people to avoid taxes, he knew of what he spoke.Perhaps the Prime Minister can give us an answer to the following question. Why did he choose to dismantle one of the investment companies he had used to avoid paying taxes the day after the election, on October 20?

Mr. Speaker, on April 24, 2013, more than 11,000 textile workers, most of them women, lost their lives in the worst industrial disaster in the history of Bangladesh.Three years later, there is still much to be done to protect workers. Kalpona Akter, a courageous activist, is here in Ottawa to ask Canada to do its part.What will the Minister of International Development and La Francophonie do to ensure that Bangladeshi businesses that are exempt from duties respect workers' rights?

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the hon. member, as I did my critic some time ago, that the only cuts to the budget happened during the Conservative government, some $3 billion. We have actually increased the planned spending with $360 million for the operational budget, plus $200 million for military infrastructure as well. The defence review is our way of actually committing to supporting our troops who serve us.

Mr. Speaker, when it is time to spend money or take part in fundraising activities, the government is always quick on the draw, but when it comes to putting an end to pimping out young girls, forget it.Yesterday we learned that the Minister of Justice is considering rewriting Bill C-452 on human trafficking, even though that bill has the support of all political parties, the Senate, and the Prime Minister himself. Why does the Minister of Justice refuse to protect young victims now, and why is she hiding behind the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms?

Mr. Speaker, again, the hon. member may want to ask her colleague from St. Albert.The second-last paragraph on page 3 of the letter that the Ethics Commissioner sent him makes it clear that it is entirely appropriate for all members, including parliamentary secretaries and ministers, to solicit funds.She knows there is no scandal here. She is trying to fabricate something, and we look forward perhaps to the next fake allegation that will follow in the next question.

Mr. Speaker, the failure of the Liberals to support Canada's energy sector is damaging the country, and it has real consequences. Thousand of jobs are being lost, families are losing their homes, and the communities are devastated. All these families and communities need to hear is a clear message from the Prime Minister that he actually supports new pipelines. Will the Prime Minister finally assure all of us that if the National Energy Board approves Trans Mountain and energy east, he will also approve them?

Mr. Speaker, once again, we have lowered taxes on small businesses; we have lowered taxes on middle-class Canadians. We are working with Canadians to ensure that we have a strong economy and that we create jobs. Budget 2016, which I encourage the member to read in its entirety, makes many investments, including $11.9 billion in infrastructure spending, which will help small businesses, and $500 million for broadband in rural and remote areas.I see the Speaker's hand is waving, so I will stop, but the list goes on. I am thankful for the opportunity to stand to say how we are working with small businesses.

Mr. Speaker, I find it very ironic that just yesterday all members of Parliament stood together at an important event and I stood up and said that all members of the House who are sitting and standing there support the military. To hear this in the House is actually quite insulting, to be honest. I personally met with the member, so I do not think we need to get down to this level of question. I would be happy to meet with the member personally and explain in detail. I have opened up the department for briefings and have met personally with them. I would just like to stop this whole thing. Every member in the House supports our military. Let us not play this ridiculous game.

Mr. Speaker, one thing is very clear: Liberals think borrowed money will somehow magically create jobs. Small businesses understand that jobs come from hard work and responsible spending. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business president Dan Kelly said, “Small business owners know that today’s deficits are tomorrow’s taxes”. Why are the Liberals taxing job creators to pay for their reckless spending?

Mr. Speaker, residents and small businesses in my riding are struggling right now due to low energy prices. Liberals have an opportunity to support our economy, and that opportunity is B.C. LNG. The fact is that residents have now formed community action groups, like Fort St. John for LNG, and are working tirelessly to ensure the voices of yes are being heard.I will ask it again of the minister. When will the Liberals stop ignoring our communities and come to a final decision on projects like Pacific Northwest LNG?

Mr. Speaker, when I ran for the leadership of the Liberal Party, I was open and transparent about my holdings and my personal finances. I have been from the start. I have always been open and transparent, and I will continue to be.People expect the level of transparency and openness that we are giving them, especially after a government that thumbed its nose at ethics and transparency for years. This is what Canadians expect from us.

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite should be ashamed to raise an issue—

Mr. Speaker, we will make a decision when we have the facts and the evidence necessary to do so.We have committed to an environmental assessment process that has the confidence of Canadians. We will make decisions based on facts and evidence. We are working with the proponent. We are working with the B.C. government to get the information we need to do just that.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question and I invite him to read —

Mr. Speaker, unlike the Prime Minister, the Conservatives do not see SMEs as schemers. We see SMEs as creators of jobs and wealth.This morning, Le Journal de Québec and Le Journal de Montréal reported that the Prime Minister personally owned four companies to save on taxes. That is unbecoming of a prime minister. He should rise and apologize immediately.

Mr. Speaker, in budget 2016, the Liberals allocated $6 million to protect the waters of Newfoundland from a shipwreck, and yet there is nothing regarding the Kathryn Spirit, which has been languishing in Lac Saint-Louis, at Beauharnois, since 2011. For five years now, the people have been waiting for the federal government to do something to protect their drinking water reservoir. According to the working group, it will cost somewhere between $10 million and $15 million to dismantle it.Will the government commit today to immediately release the funds needed to dismantle the Kathryn Spirit and finally reassure the people of Beauharnois, as it did for Newfoundland?

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for his question.Once again, I would invite him to read the budget. He would then understand that we are working for Canadians. The opposition has been trying to create a diversion.We presented Canadians with a budget that works for families, the middle class, and small businesses. The governor confirmed that this morning. We are going to continue down that path and we are going to continue working for Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, I think what Canadians are wondering is when that member will tone down the feigned indignation, especially given the fact that he got a three-page, precise answer in writing from the Ethics Commissioner, which concluded that the fake complaint he made had no merit.The members opposite love to table documents in the House. They should stay tuned. Maybe after question period I will ask for consent to table the letter the Ethics Commissioner sent to that member.

Mr. Speaker, in September the Prime Minister really spoke his mind about small businesses.He said, “We have to know that a large percentage of small businesses are actually just ways for wealthier Canadians to save on their taxes”.I do not know who was in front of him when he said that, but he might have been looking in the mirror, because that is exactly what he did, use small businesses to save on taxes.Will the Prime Minister do the honourable thing and stand up and apologize to Canadians?

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have turned a blind eye to the unique needs and changing demographics of Canadian seniors. They have a minister of youth and a Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, but not a minister for seniors. To make matters worse, at committee the Minister of Families admitted that the Liberals will not appoint a minister for seniors because that is only good for photo ops.Why is the Prime Minister not taking the needs of seniors seriously?

Mr. Speaker, with all due respect, my colleague was confusing two different decisions.The first one is to honour the signature on a contract. This is a contract that was signed in 2014. Her party, our party, and the Conservative Party committed to that decision to honour the signature.The second one is about the export permits. I have the power to allow the export permits or to revoke them according to the behaviour of the county regarding human rights, on the use of the equipment. The equipment has not been misused since 1993. It is why, for now—

Mr. Speaker, what I have said in the House before is that saying it does not make it true. Let us look at the facts. We are working with small-business Canadians. We are working with the Small Business Matters Coalition. We are working with stakeholders. There are 3.2 million Canadians whom we are representing on this side of the House. We are working with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and Dan Kelly himself. I have met with him and will continue to work with him.We will continue to represent small businesses, and I encourage the member opposite to take some time to meet with me as well.

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister can talk about the past all he wants, but this week the government announced a $70-billion cut in investments in oil development. He can talk about the past at length, but these people are living in insecurity today. Many questions were raised after the budget was brought down. The parliamentary budget officer found that the Liberal budget was based on unrealistic assumptions when it comes to growth and that the Minister of Finance omitted crucial data for evaluating Canada's long-term economic growth. The Liberals still keep talking about transparency.What is going on?

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank all my colleagues who participated in the debate last night. This may be a transformative moment, but the youth need action now.First, there is a need for a family doctor in Attawapiskat. It is a simple request. Help us with that. Second, there is no new mental health funding for the communities. We need that. Third, I would like to ask the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs to commit today to funding to empower indigenous youth, so they can start to look at how we can change programs, because after 140 years of failure and negligence and trauma, it is time we said that the youth will lead the way for the future.

Mr. Speaker, if the NDP's position is that we should have reneged on the Government of Canada's signature on a contract, I hope its members are prepared to say so in English in London. I hope our colleague from London—Fanshawe will also say so in London, because that was not their position during the election campaign.Now, as for the export permits, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will grant them or deny them based on how the equipment is used. As long as the equipment is not used in any human rights abuses, as long as it is used in accordance with Canada's interests, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will honour the export permits. Otherwise, I will reverse my decision.

Mr. Speaker, let us just get to the bottom of this. The minister keeps evading questions about the pay-to-play Liberal fundraiser. She apparently cannot speak on this issue or will not. Simply put, who planned this fundraiser?There have been a number of ethical issues with this minister ever since she took over the position. Did she plan these unfortunate events, or is she being set up by those closest to her?

Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the situation described by my colleague from Saint Boniface is unfair and unacceptable. Indeed, this must change. On Monday, I announced historic investments of $444.4 million. As I intend to explain to the finance committee, these tools will help improve detection, investigations, and audits and will also make it possible to prosecute those who engage in tax evasion and organizations that create such schemes. The net is tightening.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, in committee, we saw that the Liberals would rather write the defence policy behind closed doors without being disturbed.That is dangerous because we are aware of the Liberals' intense hatred for the Canadian Armed Forces. The Liberals gave us submarines that take on water and helicopters that do not take off.Can the minister confirm that Canada's defence policy is not cast in stone and that all interested parties will be heard by the Standing Committee on National Defence?

Mr. Speaker, the government recently announced plans to invest heavily in arts and culture. That includes keeping its promise to double funding for the Canada Council for the Arts by 2020.Can the minister explain how this investment in the Canada Council for the Arts will benefit not just artists but all Canadians?

Is there a boat in Panama as well, Mr. Speaker?When the Prime Minister revealed details about his financial arrangements, it turns out he left a few things out of the picture. The Prime Minister failed to disclose all of the companies that he used to shelter his investments. Why did the Prime Minister not tell Canadians about all of these companies he was using to shelter his investments and avoid paying his full share of taxes?

Mr. Speaker, I do not understand. What is the point of the risk assessment process for arms exports if it is a done deal before the process even takes place? On the issue of the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister told Canadians repeatedly that there was nothing they could do, that their hands were tied. Now we learn that the minister authorized the sale himself last Friday.Why did he deliberately mislead Canadians?Why did he lead Canadians down the garden path?

Mr. Speaker, I certainly would not agree with the Prime Minister. Unlike the Liberals, who promised a $10-billion deficit and then presented a $30-billion deficit, we made massive investments while balancing the budget. It is unfortunate, but we now know that the Liberal's job plan was just an illusion. The number of jobs to be created by their reckless spending was greatly exaggerated in their budget. Canadians are right not to trust this government.Why did the Prime Minister inflate the number of jobs that the Liberals' spending would supposedly create in Canada's economy?

Mr. Speaker, since taking office, the Liberals have completely failed to support Canada's energy sector. While the U.S. has ramped up its oil exports, while at the same time blocking Canada's oil exports, the Prime Minister has done nothing about it. His principal secretary has said that oil and gas development is as bad as “hooking kids on cigarettes”. His environment minister has said that we need to move in the direction of ceasing all development in the industry. In his ideological quest to make Canada free of fossil fuels, is the Prime Minister willing to take responsibility for the hundreds of thousands of jobs that will be lost?

Again, Mr. Speaker, I find it mildly humourous that the opposition is taking us to task for being unable to do in five months what it was unable to do in ten years.The fact is that the initiatives taken by the previous government did not help the Alberta oil industry, did not help Albertans, and did not help the workers who are now out of work. We need a government that actually restores public confidence and gets our resources to market in responsible, sustainable ways. That is why Canadians elected us. That is what we are going to work very hard to do.

Mr. Speaker, let me try this again. That particular member made up a series of fake allegations and used his parliamentary immunity to make a whole series of allegations that he does not have the guts to go 25 metres out and say in front of a television camera.He wrote a letter to the independent Ethics Commissioner with all these fake allegations, and she wrote back to him and said that at all times the minister followed the act and her responsibilities under the code.He should be ashamed to keep asking those ridiculous questions.

Mr. Speaker, I have long pointed out that one of the fundamental responsibilities of any Canadian prime minister is to get our resources to market. In the 21st century, getting our resources to market means doing it sustainably, responsibly, and with community buy-in and indigenous support. The fact is that the previous government did not understand that. It was unable to build the public trust necessary to help Alberta's industry, and indeed the jobs that needed to be created through it, and therefore failed the province it worked so hard to try to represent.

Mr. Speaker, without question, our government takes human trafficking and the exploitation of women and girls incredibly seriously. We are committed to strengthening the efforts to combat this problem.With respect to Bill C-452, I have had discussions and there are concerns with respect to that particular piece of legislation in terms of the charter. We are working with our colleagues in the province of Quebec to ensure that we continue to address this issue in a substantive way. This is a very serious issue that we are dealing with.

Mr. Speaker, while the Minister of Justice attends pay-to-play fundraisers, the minister has been AWOL in fulfilling her responsibilities as minister. After nearly six months, the minister has yet to make a judicial appointment, creating a situation that the Chief Justice of Alberta has called “desperate”. When will the Minister of Justice stop attending pay-to-play fundraisers and start appointing desperately needed judges, or is the minister taking applications at the fundraisers?