Most toxic speeches
Mr. Speaker, in 15 years I have dealt with all manner of Indian affairs ministers, but the member for MarkhamStouffville was one who got things done. I worked with her on the health and suicide crisis in the north. She committed to the relocation of Kashechewan and we battled to instill Jordan's principle as a legal right.To see the Liberal caucus publicly trash the member's reputation with words like traitor and repugnant and joined at the hip with her colleague is just not acceptable. She deserves better than this.Does the Prime Minister not understand that?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has shown a profound disrespect toward indigenous peoples. He mocks protestors when they are seeking justice for Grassy Narrows, turns his back on indigenous peoples saying no to his pipeline, and now fires one of the most prominent indigenous women in Canada for speaking truth to power.Indigenous peoples have had enough of this disrespect. Colonialism is alive and well in this country. Many still live in third world living conditions, so why will this Prime Minister not listen to what they are saying and why does he continuously show such disrespect to indigenous peoples?
Mr. Speaker, we know that the former attorney general was telling the truth. She was being inappropriately pressured by the Prime Minister. The tape proves it, and the Prime Minister should have finally admitted that she was right, but that is not what happened. Instead, he kicked her out of caucus and then he sent out his Liberal MPs to smear and insult her. We even saw the Liberal member for BrossardSaint-Lambert accuse the former attorney general of treason. Will the Prime Minister stand up now and have the integrity to denounce these outrageous and insulting comments?
Mr. Speaker, that is an absolutely cowardly response from the Prime Minister. By not denouncing those comments, the Prime Minister is endorsing the smear campaign levelled against the former attorney general and the former president of the Treasury Board. These women are being punished for the crime of telling the truth and having the proof to back it up. They stood up to the Prime Minister and they refused to be silent.Why did the Prime Minister punish these strong women for doing what was right, for telling the truth and for standing up to his good old boys club?
Mr. Speaker, he is continuing to remove everyone who has stood up to his abuse of power and his cover-up of this scandal.Pressuring an attorney general to interfere in a criminal proceeding is wrong. Kicking out two members of Parliament who stood up to his abuse of power is unconscionable.Again, why does telling the truth get members kicked out of the Liberal Party?
Mr. Speaker, so far everything to date that the former attorney general has said about this corruption scandal has been proven to be true. Everything the Prime Minister has said, from claiming that he never put pressure on her to she never came forward with her concerns, has been proven to be false.Why does telling the truth get a member kicked out of the Liberal Party?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister sent a very clear message yesterday to all Canadians: Liberal members of Parliament are here to do what the Prime Minister says, or else.The devastating cost for anyone who stands on principle and tells the truth is to be fired, humiliated and discarded.The Prime Minister holds the highest office in the land. He must serve Canada and defend our democracy, the rule of law and the truth. When will he start living up to the obligations of his office?
Mr. Speaker, first of all, standing up for the independence of our rule of law is important to every single Canadian. The Prime Minister need not worry. We can talk about the falsehoods that he says about his record later.Today we are talking about the things he has said about this scandal that just are not true. We have all heard the tape. We know now that the Prime Minister sent in his top officials to pressure the former attorney general, and we have seen him kick out those individuals who stood up to him.Again, why is the Liberal Party safe for those who spread falsehoods, but not safe for truth-tellers?
Mr. Speaker, indigenous people across the country want their inherent rights to be recognized. The case of mercury poisoning in Grassy Narrows is no laughing matter. Indigenous people want to live with dignity and have a good quality of life. The Prime Minister said his comments lacked respect. What he did not say was that he lacks the will to seriously listen to indigenous people.Enough empty words from the Prime Minister. Will he commit to visit the people of Grassy Narrows and give them the respect and attention they deserve?
Mr. Speaker, the good old boys club is gone, because we have a gender-balanced cabinet in which strong women stand up every day for their constituents and for people right across the country. The Conservatives can pick and choose who they want to support and which individuals they want to listen to. We listen to all voices. We respect all voices. They are crassly exploiting a political situation for their own advantage and not thinking about the consequences for Canadians when we do not stand up for jobs, do not invest in opportunities for youth or do not support women's organizations like
Mr. Speaker, Canadians watched with disgust when the Liberals stood and applauded as the Prime Minister kicked two MPs out of the Liberal Party for having the audacity to stand up to him and speak truth to power.The Liberals may have decided there is no greater principle than covering up corruption, but Canadians know better. Throughout this entire affair, the Prime Minister has refused to tell the truth about his involvement in a concerted campaign to interfere in an ongoing criminal investigation.Why does he not do the honourable thing for once: apologize and resign?
Mr. Speaker, I would be careful about throwing stones about falsehoods when I am sitting in the official opposition's chair.The fact of the matter is that we are going to continue to focus on the things that matter to Canadians. Yes, the integrity of our institutions and the rule of law matter deeply to Canadians, like they matter to us. That is why we will continue to respect our institutions and the rule of law, even as we fight for jobs and we stand up for workers across this country. We continue to do the things Canadians expect us to do after 10 years of failure by the Conservatives.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are watching. What they saw yesterday was two women ministers being shown the door for speaking truth to power, and now the Prime Minister is not willing to answer any questions about the matter.The only reason the Prime Minister would continue with these non-answers is that the truth is even worse. Canadians deserve to know the truth before they go to the polls in October.Will the Prime Minister do what is right and call a public inquiry now?
Mr. Speaker, we have a justice committee that has been tasked with looking into this matter. We have an Ethics Commissioner who, for those people watching today, has the role to make determinations about what is going on in the House.In this House, members opposite are free to make all sorts of accusations, allegations and sling mud as they will, but we have an Ethics and Conflict of Interest Commissioner who is tasked with digging to the bottom of things to understand what is political dross and what is reality. That is the work that we support. That is what we will continue
Mr. Speaker, both my office and the clerk himself have confirmed that I did not get a debrief on that particular conversation.What we see once again are members opposite trying to talk about anything other than the economy, the budget, the canola challenge that our western farmers are facing right now. These are the kinds of things that matter to Canadians. It has been 339 days since the member opposite promised Canadians he would soon release his climate change plan, and we are still waiting. No wonder he does not want to talk about it.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to know what the Prime Minister thinks of one of his female ministers, the Minister of International Development, who thumbed her nose at Canadians when she said that if the Liberals did politics the old-fashioned way, those two would have been booted from caucus two months ago. She says that is what it means to do politics differently.The Prime Minister expelled two women from his caucus because they took a stand and defended their principles.Since when has doing politics differently meant firing the attorney general for protecting our justice system?
Mr. Speaker, the question was whether he would go there or not. He does not seem to answer.Many women are on the Hill today to encourage women to get into politics. The Prime Minister has sent them a clear message: anyone who dares to criticize him, who dares to stand up for principles like judicial independence, will be shown the door.How does the Prime Minister plan to encourage women with a message like that?
Mr. Speaker, we have a plan to let women speak.Yesterday, the Prime Minister ousted two of his former ministers from his caucus for reasons that are unclear and to try to save his image. When the Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie was asked about the Prime Minister's fragile standing in the wake of that decision, she simply said that people are either loyal or they are not.Since when is telling the truth considered to be disloyal?
Mr. Speaker, today hundreds of determined young women are in the House from Daughters of the Vote. I spoke with them about the importance of getting involved and running for office, but what have they seen this week? They have seen women speak truth to power and then get shown the door. What message is the Prime Minister sending to Canadians, particularly to young women, when he kicks out former cabinet ministers just for doing the right thing?
Mr. Speaker, now the Prime Minister has effectively admitted that when he looked 37 million Canadians in the eye on February 15 and told them that the former attorney general had never spoken a word about her concerns, he was stating a patent falsehood. There is a word for that kind of falsehood that I cannot utter on the floor of the House of Commons.Will the Prime Minister, having now caught himself in his own trap of contradiction and deception, apologize to the Canadian people for stating that falsehood on February 15?
Mr. Speaker, in 2002, three women appeared on the cover of Time magazine as persons of the year. They were whistle-blowers. They took risks to reveal illegal or unethical practices in their own organizations. These women inspired me when I was a young lawyer in 2002. Today we have two more women who are probably very inspiring for women across this country. These women also took risks to speak their truth, and they were thrown out the door of the Liberal Party.Why has the Prime Minister decided that whistle-blowers need to be punished and not appreciated?
Mr. Speaker, we will keep working to make life better for Canadians as we continue to respect our institutions and the rule of law, protect jobs, invest in our communities, work toward reconciliation and act on our concrete plan to fight climate change.Those are all things the Conservatives cannot talk about and do not want to talk about. They have no plan for the environment, no plan for the economy, no plan for gender equality, and no plan for what matters most to Canadians. Petty politics is all they know how to do.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is sending that same message to countless young people who were hoping that politics would be done differently. The Prime Minister has no time for those who have the courage to put Canadians' interests ahead of their party's interests.Why attack women who stand up for principles that are greater than any political party?
Mr. Speaker, today in this chamber dozens of the Daughters of the Vote turned their backs to the Prime Minister. Why? It is because they support strong, independent women speaking truth to power and because they know that integrity is the cornerstone of a person's character.By kicking the first indigenous attorney general of Canada out of caucus for upholding the law, the Prime Minister has made it clear that principled women who dare to stand up to him are not welcome in the Liberal Party.Is this what a self-proclaimed feminist looks like in 2019?
Mr. Speaker, right now we see a Conservative Party trying to stretch out an issue that has dominated headlines for the past weeks because it wants to keep talking about anything other than the issues that matter to Canadians, whether it be a real plan to fight climate change, or a budget that helps Canadians get the training they need to be able to continue in the workforce, that makes education more affordable or that helps homebuyers buy their first homes.
Mr. Speaker, my question was simple. La Presse has requested access to all of Michael Wernick's documents from November 1 to December 15.How did the government respond? It said the documents would be available in 240 days, in other words, four weeks after the election. What a coincidence.If the Prime Minister has nothing to hide, will he stand here today, before this House and before Canadians, and promise to make those documents available, as requested by La Presse?
Mr. Speaker, the only trust that has been broken is between the Prime Minister and Canadians, who have seen his abuse of power.He is trying to chalk this all up as some kind of internal Liberal civil was, like in the Martin-Chrétien days. However, this is different. This is not about factions within a caucus. This is about two strong individuals who saw something that was wrong and decided to stand up to it.Why does speaking truth to power disqualify members from sitting as a Liberal?
Mr. Speaker, so far, everything the former attorney general has said about the Prime Minister's corruption scandal has been proven to be true, and everything the Prime Minister has said has been proven to be false.Why is the Prime Minister still saying things he knows to be false?
Mr. Speaker, we were elected on a promise to invest in the middle class and in our communities, and that is exactly what we did. We are seeing the creation of more than 900,000 jobs across the country and a drop in the unemployment rate to its lowest levels in 40 years. We are seeing one of the strongest growth rates in the G7. We continue to prove that the way to grow the economy is to invest in the middle class. We will continue to keep the promises we made to Canadians because that is what Canadians expect.
Mr. Speaker, what has been obvious for a number of weeks now is that the Conservatives will go to any ends to avoid talking about the budget, to avoid talking about climate change, to avoid talking about the things that matter deeply to Canadians. We are proud that in our last budget we invested significantly in women's organizations across the country. We have put a program forward so first-time homebuyers can actually get into their home ownership sooner. We have moved forward on significant measures to fight climate change.We will continue to focus on the things that matter to Canadians, even if the Conservatives stay focused on us.
Mr. Speaker, when the member for TimminsJames Bay and I visited Grassy Narrows, we were devastated by the impacts of mercury poisoning on young people and the community. Reconciliation is not just in words. It is in actions. When indigenous activists raised concerns about the mercury poisoning in Grassy Narrows, the Prime Minister responded by making a joke at their expense. That is not leadership. Will the Prime Minister commit today to going to Grassy Narrows, meeting with a community that is suffering with mercury poisoning, meeting with the leadership and committing to action?
Mr. Speaker, trust goes both ways, does it not? I think that is something the Prime Minister needs to remember.Women are quite often whistle-blowers, and I will explain why. For many years we were not part of boardrooms. We sat on the sidelines of what happens in the corporate boardroom and in legislatures. As a result, we are uniquely placed to see when ethical lapses are happening. We also do have the courage to step up and speak when we need to.The Prime Minister may believe that he has dealt with this by throwing two people out of the Liberal Party, but many more courageous women are here, and they are here today, and they are watching. What does the Prime Minister have to say to them?
Mr. Speaker, nobody would have to dig through anything if the Prime Minister did not abuse his power to interfere in a court proceeding. Nobody would have to dig through anything if the Prime Minister could just answer a simple question.Did he know about that phone call on December 19, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, about six months from now, Canadians will have an opportunity to go to the polls and choose what the future of the country will look like. I suspect, from conversations we have had with Canadians, they are going to be making choices around who has a better plan for the economy, who has a real plan to fight climate change, who has a plan for reconciliation with indigenous peoples and who is going to move forward in a way that responds to their real concerns.The Conservatives promised a plan to fight climate change 339 days ago and still refuse to talk about anything.
Mr. Speaker, at that September meeting, the former attorney general reports that she looked the Prime Minister in the eye and said, Are you politically interfering with my role...as the Attorney General? I would strongly advise against it.Does the Prime Minister remember her saying any such thing?
Mr. Speaker, I apologized and I apologize again for the comments I made. They lacked respect. They were unacceptable. We know that the situation in Grassy Narrows has been dire for a long time. That is why we have committed to moving forward on building the resources for it. We have continued to work in partnership with the province that holds a significant area of responsibility in this matter to ensure that we are supporting the people of Grassy Narrows. I am happy to say that the Minister of Indigenous Services just had a conversation with Chief Turtle. We will continue to work with the community of Grassy Narrows on concrete solutions.
Mr. Speaker, once she said that, I responded, No, I am not, and said it was her decision to make. She then committed to revisit and look into the decision once again. All these are elements in the testimony we have heard, which the justice committee examined exhaustively. Once again, we see that the member opposite is desperate to talk about anything other than our budget, anything other than the economic growth we are putting forward, and anything other than our concrete plan to fight climate change, because the Conservatives have no plan on any of that.
Mr. Speaker, the member for Carleton continues to try to find inconsistencies where there simply are none.We are going to continue to work together as a government on the things that matter to Canadians, as a strong, united team that is secure in the trust of this team. As we move forward, we are going to stay focused on the things that matter, while the members opposite try to clutch at straws and create political complications where there are none. We are going to stay focused on Canadians, while those members stay focused on us.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister just said that he was proud of having a gender-balanced cabinet. However, when two women had the courage to be transparent and honest and to tell the truth, the first thing he did was remove them from the Liberal caucus and send them to this side of the House.Meanwhile, the problem is still there. The Prime Minister interfered in the legal system on a case involving criminal charges.If the Prime Minister has nothing to hide, will he give La Presse access to the document from the former clerk of the Privy Council, Michael Wernick, so that we can have all of the information between November 1 and
Mr. Speaker, now the Prime Minister has caught himself in a trap of his own making. He came out on February 15 and said that no one had come forward to raise any concerns about his conduct. Now he admits on the floor of the House of Commons that way before, in September, his own attorney general asked him to his face if he was interfering. Why is the Prime Minister having so much difficulty remembering his story? Is it because it is simply not true?
Mr. Speaker, when one gains power, one has to actually respect the institutions, respect the voice for 338 ridings that was sent to Parliament, allow for real debate, and have ministers who are actually ministers of their department and not just spokespeople as approved by the PMO.Who said those words? It was the current Prime Minister, speaking to Maclean's in 2014. How things have changed.Yesterday, the Prime Minister ordered the expulsion of two former ministers, two women who dared to stand up to him.Is that how the Prime Minister sees power, as a means to banish anyone who disobeys his orders?
Mr. Speaker, he cannot answer a simple yes or no question. There are only two options: Either he knew about it or he did not know about it. Once again, did the Prime Minister know anything about that phone call on December 19 between the former attorney general and the Clerk of the Privy Council? There is only one answer. Is it yes or is it no?
Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we on this side of the House listen to and respect all voices. However, the member opposite does not seem to have any respect for the voices in our caucus and cabinet talking about the work the government will keep doing to deliver on its commitments for Canadians and to invest in the middle class and in our communities.We are going to keep working together as a united team with a strong bond of trust. Unfortunately, in the case of the two former members of our caucus, that trust was broken.
Mr. Speaker, once again the member opposite is twisting himself into rhetorical knots to try to make a point that is simply not there.We have been crystal clear throughout this process. We have allowed the testimonies to be heard through the justice committee, because of an unprecedented waiver we put forward suspending both cabinet confidentiality and solicitor-client privilege. We very much continue to stand up for our institutions and the rule of law, while always standing up for Canadians and their jobs, right across the country.We will continue to do that.
Mr. Speaker, from the very beginning, the government has been focused on partnership with indigenous peoples. We have been focused on moving forward in ways that respect and uplift indigenous peoples in communities. We have been doing that with hundreds of new school projects, better access to health care, eliminating 82 long-term boil water advisories and being on track to eliminating 100% of them within the five years we committed to. We know there is tremendous work being done on new relationships, including new fiscal relationships and new governance relationships. We are walking forward on the path to reconciliation, but we admit there is much more
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Bay of Quinte for his hard work for his constituents. We recognize that one person living in homelessness is one too many. We announced Canada's first-ever national housing strategy and made record investments in housing.Reaching home, our homelessness partnering strategy, sets ambitious targets and doubles funding to fight homelessness, reducing it by 50% in the coming years. Reaching home makes more communities eligible to receive funding, helps us meet our ambitious targets, and mostly helps vulnerable people across our country.
Mr. Speaker, that was not the question. I did not ask if he got a debrief. I asked when the first time he spoke to the Clerk of Privy Council was after that phone call. I will try it a slightly different way. Did the Prime Minister know anything about that phone call between the Clerk of the Privy Council and the former attorney general on December 19, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, I will take no lessons from the Conservatives on the matter of strong leadership. We have 18 strong women members of cabinet who lead every day on the big issues that matter to Canadians, from our place in the world to investing in resources for women's organizations to bringing extraordinary young women to Ottawa on a day like this from every corner of the country.We will continue to lead the way in a way that matters to Canadians and to this world.
Mr. Speaker, I was proud that for the first time in history we brought in a gender-balanced cabinet, bringing in strong women from across the country to be a full part of this government. I would very much like to hear from the member opposite if she can tell us that her party has made the commitment that if they should form government again, they will have a gender-balanced cabinet. That would be a wonderful thing to announce to the women in this room today, who very much want to see gender balance as the way forward in boardrooms, in courtrooms, in the house of Parliament and in government.
Mr. Speaker, I agree entirely with the member opposite when he points out that we have done really big things as a government on the path to reconciliation. A lot of it is due to the extraordinary leadership of our former indigenous services minister. However, he will also know that an approach on reconciliation requires a whole-of-government approach.I can highlight that every single cabinet minister in this government has been working very hard on reconciliation and is partially responsible for the tremendous advances we have made upon this path. There is much more to do, and we are going to continue.
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I believe you will find unanimous consent of the House to move the following motion: that this House acknowledge the 50th anniversary of the expropriation of land from Mirabel residents and that this House call on the government to formally and officially apologize to the people of Quebec from whom the federal government expropriated land in 1969 to build the Mirabel airport.
Mr. Speaker, today we had 338 Daughters of the Vote delegates take their seats in the House of Commons. They represented the strength and integrity that Canadians value.This morning, as we listened to their statements, I was inspired and acutely understood that they get it. They understand the power of their actions, the power of unity and the power of their voice.I want to encourage them to continue to speak their truth and to continue to stand up for justice. We stand with them.
What we have right now is the Conservative Party desperate to try to stretch out a matter that has
Mr. Speaker, there are two viewpoints. There is the Prime Minister's viewpoint and there is the truth. After all of that, there are still massive inconsistencies between what the Prime Minister has said and what testimony has shown. I have a very simple question for the Prime Minister. When was the first time the Prime Minister spoke to the Clerk of the Privy Council after the December 19 phone call with the former attorney general?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister told Canadians that if anyone thought he had done anything wrong on SNC, then it was their responsibility to come forward, but no one did. However, text messages, journal entries and audio recordings prove the former attorney general did come forward and complain to him and his top staff on September 16, 17 and 19, October 26, November 22, and December 5, 18 and 19. Does he really claim he knew absolutely nothing about the complaints she brought forward in more than half a dozen meetings?
Mr. Speaker, during the last election campaign, the Liberal Party promised a lot of things, such as enacting electoral reform, ending subsidies for oil companies, increasing international aid, ensuring respect for first nations and reducing tax evasion. Nothing has been done. We were also told they would do politics differently, that they would reduce the role of the Prime Minister's Office. Today we find out that Liberal ministers and MPs have to do the PMO's bidding.Does the Prime Minister realize that he has lost all credibility and that no one trusts him any more?
Mr. Speaker, everyone on this side of the House understands that a range of perspectives and opinions is essential in representing Canadians from coast to coast to coast in their hopes and aspirations, in standing up for our institutions and in standing up for their jobs. We are going to continue to do what matters to Canadians in investing in their jobs and their future, while defending our institutions. We will continue to do that as a strong, united team because that is what Canadians expect.
Mr. Speaker, we have committed to forging a new relationship with indigenous peoples based on trust, respect and the true spirit of co-operation, not just empty words like the member opposite accuses us of. We have made historic investments since 2015, including advancing reconciliation in concrete ways, securing a better quality of life and improving access to safe, clean drinking water. Investments have increased by 50% and there is still more work to do.In budget 2019 we eliminated barriers to quality health care and culturally relevant social supports. We are funding post-secondary
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Whitby for her strong words and her unflagging compassion and passion for bringing Canada forward.Bringing more women into the political process and our democratic institutions is fundamental if we are to achieve gender equality. That is why the work of Equal Voice and Daughters of the Vote is so timely and crucial. That is why we were proud to invest $3.8 million in Daughters of the Vote.I thank Equal Voice and the Daughters of the Vote program for their important work, and I wish great success to all the daughters who are here in Ottawa this week.
Mr. Speaker, unlike the members opposite, we have always embraced a range of viewpoints and perspectives within our party. That actually strengthens the Liberal Party and allows us to do a better job of listening to Canadians from coast to coast to coast and governing in a way that is inclusive rather than divisive. That is what we will continue to do, but ultimately diversity only works if there is also trust, and when that relationship of trust was broken within our caucus I had to take a difficult decision, and I did.
Mr. Speaker, what the member opposite said is untrue. We did not take action immediately. We took several weeks to try to bring together our caucus and work with the individuals in question. We wanted a united team so that we could continue to work on Canadians' top priorities.We have taken this new approach to leadership, which focuses on bringing people together and listening to different perspectives, very seriously. However, when we realized that there was no longer trust in our team, we had to do something.
Mr. Speaker, this week I was pleased to see that Hastings County will be receiving more than $1.4 million to help fight homelessness. This funding is part of Canada's first-ever national housing strategy, in which our government committed to reducing chronic homelessness by at least 50% over the next decade.Could the Prime Minister tell the House how the national housing strategy and reaching home, the government's redesigned homelessness partnering strategy, are helping Canada's most at-risk people find safe, affordable, accessible places to call home?
Mr. Speaker, there have been hours and hours of testimony at the justice committee by a broad range of actors in this, including by the former attorney general herself, who was given an unprecedented waiver that allowed her to speak fully on matters regarding SNC-Lavalin and her time as Attorney General. I can understand that the members opposite want to stay on this and do not want to talk about the fact that they have no plan to fight climate change, that they have no plan for the economy, that they have no plan for ensuring the jobs of the future. They continue to need to play politics.
Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, my message to the young women here today and across the country is that they should get into politics. We need their perspectives. We need the wide range of opinions and perspectives they will bring and add to the House of Commons. We must listen to them. Everyone will not always agree on everything. This chamber exists so that members can engage in debate with people who have different perspectives. This happens by listening to one another, understanding one another and working together based on our values. That is what we will always do and that is what we have done.
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. In a moment, I will be seeking unanimous consent for a motion. As we all know in the House, our canola producers are going through a lot of hardship right now. I hope, because the House has not yet had a chance to voice its opinion on this matter, that all members in the House will join me in giving support to the following motion: That, in the opinion of the House, the government recognize the importance and value of canola as an agricultural crop and do everything in its power to resolve the current trade dispute with China, including (a) ensuring all agricultural business-risk management programs are reviewed and made adaptable to the needs of producers who are suffering because of loss-of-market access; (b) using all diplomatic channels available with the Government of China to press for a speedy resolution; (c) reviewing Canada's current trade deficit with China to ensure we are safeguarding current and future jobs by using all fiscal, legal and other trade options available at Canada's disposal; and (d) diversifying our canola export market.
Mr. Speaker, we thank the member for Long Range Mountains and the Minister of Indigenous Services for their incredible work on securing a strong future for Newfoundland and Labrador.We were pleased to conclude the renewal of the Atlantic Accord with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. We have reached a new resource sharing agreement that will create and protect good middle-class jobs. We are going to develop natural resources in the right way. We will set the stage for sustained economic growth for years to come.This agreement supports a better, more secure future for generations of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, and I want to thank everyone involved for their tremendous work.
Mr. Speaker, apparently unlike the member opposite, we have confidence in the work of our House committees. We respect the work that the justice committee did in hearing hours upon hours of testimony, including testimony that was allowed for by the fact that we emitted an unprecedented waiver of both solicitor-client privilege and cabinet confidentiality to allow the former attorney general and others to speak fully to the matter under investigation by the justice committee.That is the kind of openness and transparency that Canadians expect, and that is what we will always stand for.
Mr. Speaker, as we have said repeatedly and as we have heard repeatedly, I was not debriefed on that conversation between the clerk and the minister. I should have spoken directly with the minister. There was not an opportunity to do that.I continue to say that we know we need to work better. We need to improve our systems so that the lines of communication are better open. This has been a situation that has led to concrete changes in how we move forward.Again, we are continuing to move forward on the things that matter to Canadians, which include
Mr. Speaker, let us talk for a moment about how we can continue to improve the lives of our middle-class Canadians right across the country.We have already invested in incredible infrastructure projects in my riding of Outremont, such as the metro's blue line, the REM, the new University of Montreal campus and others.Can the Prime Minister tell us about the investments in the budget that will continue to meet our municipalities' needs?
Mr. Speaker, everyone in this place knows that being a member of a caucus comes with both rights and responsibilities and part of that responsibility is around trust.I had extensive conversations with members of our caucus, who informed me that they felt trust was broken. I reflected on it. We worked with the two individuals in question and made the determination that maintaining trust so we could continue to work on the big things that matter to Canadians, whether it is reconciliation, protecting our environment or growing the economy for the middle class, meant that we would move forward together.
Mr. Speaker, I could not agree more that the interests of Canadians outweigh the interests of political parties. That is why we are focusing on reconciliation, economic growth, gender equality, strong investments in communities across the country, a plan for pharmacare, and a plan for investing in municipal infrastructure. We are working for Canadians instead of playing politics.
Mr. Speaker, it was our government that strengthened the access to information system. We are currently reviewing that request and will respond appropriately at the earliest opportunity. We believe strongly in the importance of access to information and transparency, and in the extraordinary work done by journalists across the country to protect our democracy and keep Canadians informed.
Mr. Speaker, as all members of Parliament know, being a member of a caucus comes with both rights and responsibilities. That is why I listened to what members of our caucus had to say.Maintaining trust within a caucus is essential if we are to keep fighting for important things such as achieving reconciliation, tackling climate change and growing the economy for everyone. That is why we made that difficult decision. We remain united as we work on the things that matter.
Mr. Speaker, I am certain that the member for Burnaby South did not mean to even inadvertently disparage the extraordinary women who remain in our government who continue to lead every day on issues that matter deeply to Canadians, whether it is foreign affairs, official languages, employment, status of women, or whether it is the very first Minister of Agriculture to happen to be a woman or the first woman government House leader. There is an extraordinary range of strong women in all seats in this House who are making a difference with what they deeply believe in. I know he did not mean to disparage any one of them.
Mr. Speaker, for weeks and weeks, we have worked with the two individuals in question to try to find a way to move forward, because we know that the two former members of our caucus agree with the values of reconciliation, economic growth for the middle class and environmental protection. We are still looking to move forward.However, when it became clear that the relationship of trust between these individuals and the caucus was broken, we could no longer continue to work together as a team. I think everyone can understand that.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member from Outremont for her hard work and her question.Budget 2019 invests $2.2 billion in our communities and in those who have shown that they are ready to move forward on projects. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities calls this a turning point for cities and communities across Canada. The Conservatives do not know what it means to work with municipalities, which they neglected for 10 years. We are working to build stronger and sustainable communities in Outremont and across the country.
Mr. Speaker, we spent weeks working with the former attorney general and others to try to find a path forward to rebuild the links of trust that must exist within a team at any point for it to function.We took the time to try to find a path forward, and amid many criticisms that we needed to act sooner, we did not. We wanted to demonstrate a different way and a different approach to politics that looks for common ground, that looks for paths forward. Only when it became very clear that there was a broken bond of trust that was not going to be able to be rebuilt did we take
Mr. Speaker, as a government we have moved forward in significant and meaningful ways on gender equality. I am proud of our development assistance policy, which is fundamentally feminist. I am proud that we have put forward budgets with a GBA-plus analysis. I am proud that we have moved forward on pay equity, that we have moved forward on funding for women's organizations across this country and that we have moved forward on a gender-balanced cabinet.I recognize there is much more to do and I am proud that there is now a contest among party leaders to see who can be the better feminist. I think that is a great thing for this country. I think that is a great thing for Parliament.
Mr. Speaker, I note that he just cannot seem to bring himself to answer a very simple question. Is it yes or no? There is a reason this is important. It is because from the beginning he has always claimed that he never put pressure on the former attorney general. In that phone call, the clerk said four times that the Prime Minister was firm. He also claims that he had no idea the phone call took place and that she never brought her concerns to his office. Once again, is the answer yes or no? Did he know anything about the call before or after? It is one of the two options: yes or no.
Mr. Speaker, in my direct encounter in a meeting with the former attorney general in September, I confirmed to her that the decision around a DPA was hers and hers alone. That is what has been clear throughout this entire process.There have been 13 hours of testimony, including four by the former attorney general, allowed for by the fact that we put forward an unprecedented waiver that suspended solicitor-client privilege in this matter, that suspended cabinet confidentiality so she could speak fully to this matter that was being looked at by the justice committee.
Mr. Speaker, this past Monday marked the 70th anniversary since my province of Newfoundland and Labrador joined Confederation.Since 1949, our province has made an invaluable contribution to the social and cultural fabric of our nation. We have seen some unprecedented economic growth and development.Can the Prime Minister please update this House on the details of the renewed Atlantic Accord with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and how this will benefit every single person in our province?
Mr. Speaker, there have been hours and hours of testimony by all the people involved, including the former attorney general, who spoke for four hours. We issued an unprecedented order in council waiving solicitor-client privilege and cabinet confidence, allowing her to speak fully on the matter. We know that it is important for all perspectives to be heard, and they have indeed been heard.
Mr. Speaker, in his February 15 press conference, the Prime Minister said that it was the Attorney General's responsibility to come forward. We know that she did. She told the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance, the Clerk of the Privy Council and several other people in his office to stop.How can he claim that she did not come forward?
Mr. Speaker, in 15 years I have dealt with all manner of Indian affairs ministers, but the member for MarkhamStouffville was one who got things done. I worked with her on the health and suicide crisis in the north. She committed to the relocation of Kashechewan and we battled to instill Jordan's principle as a legal right.To see the Liberal caucus publicly trash the member's reputation with words like traitor and repugnant and joined at the hip with her colleague is just not acceptable. She deserves better than this.Does the Prime Minister not understand that?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has shown a profound disrespect toward indigenous peoples. He mocks protestors when they are seeking justice for Grassy Narrows, turns his back on indigenous peoples saying no to his pipeline, and now fires one of the most prominent indigenous women in Canada for speaking truth to power.Indigenous peoples have had enough of this disrespect. Colonialism is alive and well in this country. Many still live in third world living conditions, so why will this Prime Minister not listen to what they are saying and why does he continuously show such disrespect to indigenous peoples?
Mr. Speaker, we know that the former attorney general was telling the truth. She was being inappropriately pressured by the Prime Minister. The tape proves it, and the Prime Minister should have finally admitted that she was right, but that is not what happened. Instead, he kicked her out of caucus and then he sent out his Liberal MPs to smear and insult her. We even saw the Liberal member for BrossardSaint-Lambert accuse the former attorney general of treason. Will the Prime Minister stand up now and have the integrity to denounce these outrageous and insulting comments?
Mr. Speaker, that is an absolutely cowardly response from the Prime Minister. By not denouncing those comments, the Prime Minister is endorsing the smear campaign levelled against the former attorney general and the former president of the Treasury Board. These women are being punished for the crime of telling the truth and having the proof to back it up. They stood up to the Prime Minister and they refused to be silent.Why did the Prime Minister punish these strong women for doing what was right, for telling the truth and for standing up to his good old boys club?
Mr. Speaker, he is continuing to remove everyone who has stood up to his abuse of power and his cover-up of this scandal.Pressuring an attorney general to interfere in a criminal proceeding is wrong. Kicking out two members of Parliament who stood up to his abuse of power is unconscionable.Again, why does telling the truth get members kicked out of the Liberal Party?
Mr. Speaker, so far everything to date that the former attorney general has said about this corruption scandal has been proven to be true. Everything the Prime Minister has said, from claiming that he never put pressure on her to she never came forward with her concerns, has been proven to be false.Why does telling the truth get a member kicked out of the Liberal Party?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister sent a very clear message yesterday to all Canadians: Liberal members of Parliament are here to do what the Prime Minister says, or else.The devastating cost for anyone who stands on principle and tells the truth is to be fired, humiliated and discarded.The Prime Minister holds the highest office in the land. He must serve Canada and defend our democracy, the rule of law and the truth. When will he start living up to the obligations of his office?
Mr. Speaker, first of all, standing up for the independence of our rule of law is important to every single Canadian. The Prime Minister need not worry. We can talk about the falsehoods that he says about his record later.Today we are talking about the things he has said about this scandal that just are not true. We have all heard the tape. We know now that the Prime Minister sent in his top officials to pressure the former attorney general, and we have seen him kick out those individuals who stood up to him.Again, why is the Liberal Party safe for those who spread falsehoods, but not safe for truth-tellers?
Mr. Speaker, indigenous people across the country want their inherent rights to be recognized. The case of mercury poisoning in Grassy Narrows is no laughing matter. Indigenous people want to live with dignity and have a good quality of life. The Prime Minister said his comments lacked respect. What he did not say was that he lacks the will to seriously listen to indigenous people.Enough empty words from the Prime Minister. Will he commit to visit the people of Grassy Narrows and give them the respect and attention they deserve?
Mr. Speaker, the good old boys club is gone, because we have a gender-balanced cabinet in which strong women stand up every day for their constituents and for people right across the country. The Conservatives can pick and choose who they want to support and which individuals they want to listen to. We listen to all voices. We respect all voices. They are crassly exploiting a political situation for their own advantage and not thinking about the consequences for Canadians when we do not stand up for jobs, do not invest in opportunities for youth or do not support women's organizations like
Mr. Speaker, Canadians watched with disgust when the Liberals stood and applauded as the Prime Minister kicked two MPs out of the Liberal Party for having the audacity to stand up to him and speak truth to power.The Liberals may have decided there is no greater principle than covering up corruption, but Canadians know better. Throughout this entire affair, the Prime Minister has refused to tell the truth about his involvement in a concerted campaign to interfere in an ongoing criminal investigation.Why does he not do the honourable thing for once: apologize and resign?
Mr. Speaker, I would be careful about throwing stones about falsehoods when I am sitting in the official opposition's chair.The fact of the matter is that we are going to continue to focus on the things that matter to Canadians. Yes, the integrity of our institutions and the rule of law matter deeply to Canadians, like they matter to us. That is why we will continue to respect our institutions and the rule of law, even as we fight for jobs and we stand up for workers across this country. We continue to do the things Canadians expect us to do after 10 years of failure by the Conservatives.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are watching. What they saw yesterday was two women ministers being shown the door for speaking truth to power, and now the Prime Minister is not willing to answer any questions about the matter.The only reason the Prime Minister would continue with these non-answers is that the truth is even worse. Canadians deserve to know the truth before they go to the polls in October.Will the Prime Minister do what is right and call a public inquiry now?
Mr. Speaker, we have a justice committee that has been tasked with looking into this matter. We have an Ethics Commissioner who, for those people watching today, has the role to make determinations about what is going on in the House.In this House, members opposite are free to make all sorts of accusations, allegations and sling mud as they will, but we have an Ethics and Conflict of Interest Commissioner who is tasked with digging to the bottom of things to understand what is political dross and what is reality. That is the work that we support. That is what we will continue
Mr. Speaker, both my office and the clerk himself have confirmed that I did not get a debrief on that particular conversation.What we see once again are members opposite trying to talk about anything other than the economy, the budget, the canola challenge that our western farmers are facing right now. These are the kinds of things that matter to Canadians. It has been 339 days since the member opposite promised Canadians he would soon release his climate change plan, and we are still waiting. No wonder he does not want to talk about it.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to know what the Prime Minister thinks of one of his female ministers, the Minister of International Development, who thumbed her nose at Canadians when she said that if the Liberals did politics the old-fashioned way, those two would have been booted from caucus two months ago. She says that is what it means to do politics differently.The Prime Minister expelled two women from his caucus because they took a stand and defended their principles.Since when has doing politics differently meant firing the attorney general for protecting our justice system?
Mr. Speaker, the question was whether he would go there or not. He does not seem to answer.Many women are on the Hill today to encourage women to get into politics. The Prime Minister has sent them a clear message: anyone who dares to criticize him, who dares to stand up for principles like judicial independence, will be shown the door.How does the Prime Minister plan to encourage women with a message like that?
Mr. Speaker, we have a plan to let women speak.Yesterday, the Prime Minister ousted two of his former ministers from his caucus for reasons that are unclear and to try to save his image. When the Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie was asked about the Prime Minister's fragile standing in the wake of that decision, she simply said that people are either loyal or they are not.Since when is telling the truth considered to be disloyal?
Mr. Speaker, today hundreds of determined young women are in the House from Daughters of the Vote. I spoke with them about the importance of getting involved and running for office, but what have they seen this week? They have seen women speak truth to power and then get shown the door. What message is the Prime Minister sending to Canadians, particularly to young women, when he kicks out former cabinet ministers just for doing the right thing?
Mr. Speaker, now the Prime Minister has effectively admitted that when he looked 37 million Canadians in the eye on February 15 and told them that the former attorney general had never spoken a word about her concerns, he was stating a patent falsehood. There is a word for that kind of falsehood that I cannot utter on the floor of the House of Commons.Will the Prime Minister, having now caught himself in his own trap of contradiction and deception, apologize to the Canadian people for stating that falsehood on February 15?
Mr. Speaker, in 2002, three women appeared on the cover of Time magazine as persons of the year. They were whistle-blowers. They took risks to reveal illegal or unethical practices in their own organizations. These women inspired me when I was a young lawyer in 2002. Today we have two more women who are probably very inspiring for women across this country. These women also took risks to speak their truth, and they were thrown out the door of the Liberal Party.Why has the Prime Minister decided that whistle-blowers need to be punished and not appreciated?
Mr. Speaker, we will keep working to make life better for Canadians as we continue to respect our institutions and the rule of law, protect jobs, invest in our communities, work toward reconciliation and act on our concrete plan to fight climate change.Those are all things the Conservatives cannot talk about and do not want to talk about. They have no plan for the environment, no plan for the economy, no plan for gender equality, and no plan for what matters most to Canadians. Petty politics is all they know how to do.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is sending that same message to countless young people who were hoping that politics would be done differently. The Prime Minister has no time for those who have the courage to put Canadians' interests ahead of their party's interests.Why attack women who stand up for principles that are greater than any political party?
Mr. Speaker, today in this chamber dozens of the Daughters of the Vote turned their backs to the Prime Minister. Why? It is because they support strong, independent women speaking truth to power and because they know that integrity is the cornerstone of a person's character.By kicking the first indigenous attorney general of Canada out of caucus for upholding the law, the Prime Minister has made it clear that principled women who dare to stand up to him are not welcome in the Liberal Party.Is this what a self-proclaimed feminist looks like in 2019?
Mr. Speaker, right now we see a Conservative Party trying to stretch out an issue that has dominated headlines for the past weeks because it wants to keep talking about anything other than the issues that matter to Canadians, whether it be a real plan to fight climate change, or a budget that helps Canadians get the training they need to be able to continue in the workforce, that makes education more affordable or that helps homebuyers buy their first homes.
Mr. Speaker, my question was simple. La Presse has requested access to all of Michael Wernick's documents from November 1 to December 15.How did the government respond? It said the documents would be available in 240 days, in other words, four weeks after the election. What a coincidence.If the Prime Minister has nothing to hide, will he stand here today, before this House and before Canadians, and promise to make those documents available, as requested by La Presse?
Mr. Speaker, the only trust that has been broken is between the Prime Minister and Canadians, who have seen his abuse of power.He is trying to chalk this all up as some kind of internal Liberal civil was, like in the Martin-Chrétien days. However, this is different. This is not about factions within a caucus. This is about two strong individuals who saw something that was wrong and decided to stand up to it.Why does speaking truth to power disqualify members from sitting as a Liberal?
Mr. Speaker, so far, everything the former attorney general has said about the Prime Minister's corruption scandal has been proven to be true, and everything the Prime Minister has said has been proven to be false.Why is the Prime Minister still saying things he knows to be false?
Mr. Speaker, we were elected on a promise to invest in the middle class and in our communities, and that is exactly what we did. We are seeing the creation of more than 900,000 jobs across the country and a drop in the unemployment rate to its lowest levels in 40 years. We are seeing one of the strongest growth rates in the G7. We continue to prove that the way to grow the economy is to invest in the middle class. We will continue to keep the promises we made to Canadians because that is what Canadians expect.
Mr. Speaker, what has been obvious for a number of weeks now is that the Conservatives will go to any ends to avoid talking about the budget, to avoid talking about climate change, to avoid talking about the things that matter deeply to Canadians. We are proud that in our last budget we invested significantly in women's organizations across the country. We have put a program forward so first-time homebuyers can actually get into their home ownership sooner. We have moved forward on significant measures to fight climate change.We will continue to focus on the things that matter to Canadians, even if the Conservatives stay focused on us.
Mr. Speaker, when the member for TimminsJames Bay and I visited Grassy Narrows, we were devastated by the impacts of mercury poisoning on young people and the community. Reconciliation is not just in words. It is in actions. When indigenous activists raised concerns about the mercury poisoning in Grassy Narrows, the Prime Minister responded by making a joke at their expense. That is not leadership. Will the Prime Minister commit today to going to Grassy Narrows, meeting with a community that is suffering with mercury poisoning, meeting with the leadership and committing to action?
Mr. Speaker, trust goes both ways, does it not? I think that is something the Prime Minister needs to remember.Women are quite often whistle-blowers, and I will explain why. For many years we were not part of boardrooms. We sat on the sidelines of what happens in the corporate boardroom and in legislatures. As a result, we are uniquely placed to see when ethical lapses are happening. We also do have the courage to step up and speak when we need to.The Prime Minister may believe that he has dealt with this by throwing two people out of the Liberal Party, but many more courageous women are here, and they are here today, and they are watching. What does the Prime Minister have to say to them?
Mr. Speaker, nobody would have to dig through anything if the Prime Minister did not abuse his power to interfere in a court proceeding. Nobody would have to dig through anything if the Prime Minister could just answer a simple question.Did he know about that phone call on December 19, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, about six months from now, Canadians will have an opportunity to go to the polls and choose what the future of the country will look like. I suspect, from conversations we have had with Canadians, they are going to be making choices around who has a better plan for the economy, who has a real plan to fight climate change, who has a plan for reconciliation with indigenous peoples and who is going to move forward in a way that responds to their real concerns.The Conservatives promised a plan to fight climate change 339 days ago and still refuse to talk about anything.
Mr. Speaker, at that September meeting, the former attorney general reports that she looked the Prime Minister in the eye and said, Are you politically interfering with my role...as the Attorney General? I would strongly advise against it.Does the Prime Minister remember her saying any such thing?
Mr. Speaker, I apologized and I apologize again for the comments I made. They lacked respect. They were unacceptable. We know that the situation in Grassy Narrows has been dire for a long time. That is why we have committed to moving forward on building the resources for it. We have continued to work in partnership with the province that holds a significant area of responsibility in this matter to ensure that we are supporting the people of Grassy Narrows. I am happy to say that the Minister of Indigenous Services just had a conversation with Chief Turtle. We will continue to work with the community of Grassy Narrows on concrete solutions.
Mr. Speaker, once she said that, I responded, No, I am not, and said it was her decision to make. She then committed to revisit and look into the decision once again. All these are elements in the testimony we have heard, which the justice committee examined exhaustively. Once again, we see that the member opposite is desperate to talk about anything other than our budget, anything other than the economic growth we are putting forward, and anything other than our concrete plan to fight climate change, because the Conservatives have no plan on any of that.
Mr. Speaker, the member for Carleton continues to try to find inconsistencies where there simply are none.We are going to continue to work together as a government on the things that matter to Canadians, as a strong, united team that is secure in the trust of this team. As we move forward, we are going to stay focused on the things that matter, while the members opposite try to clutch at straws and create political complications where there are none. We are going to stay focused on Canadians, while those members stay focused on us.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister just said that he was proud of having a gender-balanced cabinet. However, when two women had the courage to be transparent and honest and to tell the truth, the first thing he did was remove them from the Liberal caucus and send them to this side of the House.Meanwhile, the problem is still there. The Prime Minister interfered in the legal system on a case involving criminal charges.If the Prime Minister has nothing to hide, will he give La Presse access to the document from the former clerk of the Privy Council, Michael Wernick, so that we can have all of the information between November 1 and
Mr. Speaker, now the Prime Minister has caught himself in a trap of his own making. He came out on February 15 and said that no one had come forward to raise any concerns about his conduct. Now he admits on the floor of the House of Commons that way before, in September, his own attorney general asked him to his face if he was interfering. Why is the Prime Minister having so much difficulty remembering his story? Is it because it is simply not true?
Mr. Speaker, when one gains power, one has to actually respect the institutions, respect the voice for 338 ridings that was sent to Parliament, allow for real debate, and have ministers who are actually ministers of their department and not just spokespeople as approved by the PMO.Who said those words? It was the current Prime Minister, speaking to Maclean's in 2014. How things have changed.Yesterday, the Prime Minister ordered the expulsion of two former ministers, two women who dared to stand up to him.Is that how the Prime Minister sees power, as a means to banish anyone who disobeys his orders?
Mr. Speaker, he cannot answer a simple yes or no question. There are only two options: Either he knew about it or he did not know about it. Once again, did the Prime Minister know anything about that phone call on December 19 between the former attorney general and the Clerk of the Privy Council? There is only one answer. Is it yes or is it no?
Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we on this side of the House listen to and respect all voices. However, the member opposite does not seem to have any respect for the voices in our caucus and cabinet talking about the work the government will keep doing to deliver on its commitments for Canadians and to invest in the middle class and in our communities.We are going to keep working together as a united team with a strong bond of trust. Unfortunately, in the case of the two former members of our caucus, that trust was broken.
Mr. Speaker, once again the member opposite is twisting himself into rhetorical knots to try to make a point that is simply not there.We have been crystal clear throughout this process. We have allowed the testimonies to be heard through the justice committee, because of an unprecedented waiver we put forward suspending both cabinet confidentiality and solicitor-client privilege. We very much continue to stand up for our institutions and the rule of law, while always standing up for Canadians and their jobs, right across the country.We will continue to do that.
Mr. Speaker, from the very beginning, the government has been focused on partnership with indigenous peoples. We have been focused on moving forward in ways that respect and uplift indigenous peoples in communities. We have been doing that with hundreds of new school projects, better access to health care, eliminating 82 long-term boil water advisories and being on track to eliminating 100% of them within the five years we committed to. We know there is tremendous work being done on new relationships, including new fiscal relationships and new governance relationships. We are walking forward on the path to reconciliation, but we admit there is much more
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Bay of Quinte for his hard work for his constituents. We recognize that one person living in homelessness is one too many. We announced Canada's first-ever national housing strategy and made record investments in housing.Reaching home, our homelessness partnering strategy, sets ambitious targets and doubles funding to fight homelessness, reducing it by 50% in the coming years. Reaching home makes more communities eligible to receive funding, helps us meet our ambitious targets, and mostly helps vulnerable people across our country.
Mr. Speaker, that was not the question. I did not ask if he got a debrief. I asked when the first time he spoke to the Clerk of Privy Council was after that phone call. I will try it a slightly different way. Did the Prime Minister know anything about that phone call between the Clerk of the Privy Council and the former attorney general on December 19, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, I will take no lessons from the Conservatives on the matter of strong leadership. We have 18 strong women members of cabinet who lead every day on the big issues that matter to Canadians, from our place in the world to investing in resources for women's organizations to bringing extraordinary young women to Ottawa on a day like this from every corner of the country.We will continue to lead the way in a way that matters to Canadians and to this world.
Mr. Speaker, I was proud that for the first time in history we brought in a gender-balanced cabinet, bringing in strong women from across the country to be a full part of this government. I would very much like to hear from the member opposite if she can tell us that her party has made the commitment that if they should form government again, they will have a gender-balanced cabinet. That would be a wonderful thing to announce to the women in this room today, who very much want to see gender balance as the way forward in boardrooms, in courtrooms, in the house of Parliament and in government.
Mr. Speaker, I agree entirely with the member opposite when he points out that we have done really big things as a government on the path to reconciliation. A lot of it is due to the extraordinary leadership of our former indigenous services minister. However, he will also know that an approach on reconciliation requires a whole-of-government approach.I can highlight that every single cabinet minister in this government has been working very hard on reconciliation and is partially responsible for the tremendous advances we have made upon this path. There is much more to do, and we are going to continue.
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I believe you will find unanimous consent of the House to move the following motion: that this House acknowledge the 50th anniversary of the expropriation of land from Mirabel residents and that this House call on the government to formally and officially apologize to the people of Quebec from whom the federal government expropriated land in 1969 to build the Mirabel airport.
Mr. Speaker, today we had 338 Daughters of the Vote delegates take their seats in the House of Commons. They represented the strength and integrity that Canadians value.This morning, as we listened to their statements, I was inspired and acutely understood that they get it. They understand the power of their actions, the power of unity and the power of their voice.I want to encourage them to continue to speak their truth and to continue to stand up for justice. We stand with them.
What we have right now is the Conservative Party desperate to try to stretch out a matter that has
Mr. Speaker, there are two viewpoints. There is the Prime Minister's viewpoint and there is the truth. After all of that, there are still massive inconsistencies between what the Prime Minister has said and what testimony has shown. I have a very simple question for the Prime Minister. When was the first time the Prime Minister spoke to the Clerk of the Privy Council after the December 19 phone call with the former attorney general?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister told Canadians that if anyone thought he had done anything wrong on SNC, then it was their responsibility to come forward, but no one did. However, text messages, journal entries and audio recordings prove the former attorney general did come forward and complain to him and his top staff on September 16, 17 and 19, October 26, November 22, and December 5, 18 and 19. Does he really claim he knew absolutely nothing about the complaints she brought forward in more than half a dozen meetings?
Mr. Speaker, during the last election campaign, the Liberal Party promised a lot of things, such as enacting electoral reform, ending subsidies for oil companies, increasing international aid, ensuring respect for first nations and reducing tax evasion. Nothing has been done. We were also told they would do politics differently, that they would reduce the role of the Prime Minister's Office. Today we find out that Liberal ministers and MPs have to do the PMO's bidding.Does the Prime Minister realize that he has lost all credibility and that no one trusts him any more?
Mr. Speaker, everyone on this side of the House understands that a range of perspectives and opinions is essential in representing Canadians from coast to coast to coast in their hopes and aspirations, in standing up for our institutions and in standing up for their jobs. We are going to continue to do what matters to Canadians in investing in their jobs and their future, while defending our institutions. We will continue to do that as a strong, united team because that is what Canadians expect.
Mr. Speaker, we have committed to forging a new relationship with indigenous peoples based on trust, respect and the true spirit of co-operation, not just empty words like the member opposite accuses us of. We have made historic investments since 2015, including advancing reconciliation in concrete ways, securing a better quality of life and improving access to safe, clean drinking water. Investments have increased by 50% and there is still more work to do.In budget 2019 we eliminated barriers to quality health care and culturally relevant social supports. We are funding post-secondary
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Whitby for her strong words and her unflagging compassion and passion for bringing Canada forward.Bringing more women into the political process and our democratic institutions is fundamental if we are to achieve gender equality. That is why the work of Equal Voice and Daughters of the Vote is so timely and crucial. That is why we were proud to invest $3.8 million in Daughters of the Vote.I thank Equal Voice and the Daughters of the Vote program for their important work, and I wish great success to all the daughters who are here in Ottawa this week.
Mr. Speaker, unlike the members opposite, we have always embraced a range of viewpoints and perspectives within our party. That actually strengthens the Liberal Party and allows us to do a better job of listening to Canadians from coast to coast to coast and governing in a way that is inclusive rather than divisive. That is what we will continue to do, but ultimately diversity only works if there is also trust, and when that relationship of trust was broken within our caucus I had to take a difficult decision, and I did.
Mr. Speaker, what the member opposite said is untrue. We did not take action immediately. We took several weeks to try to bring together our caucus and work with the individuals in question. We wanted a united team so that we could continue to work on Canadians' top priorities.We have taken this new approach to leadership, which focuses on bringing people together and listening to different perspectives, very seriously. However, when we realized that there was no longer trust in our team, we had to do something.
Mr. Speaker, this week I was pleased to see that Hastings County will be receiving more than $1.4 million to help fight homelessness. This funding is part of Canada's first-ever national housing strategy, in which our government committed to reducing chronic homelessness by at least 50% over the next decade.Could the Prime Minister tell the House how the national housing strategy and reaching home, the government's redesigned homelessness partnering strategy, are helping Canada's most at-risk people find safe, affordable, accessible places to call home?
Mr. Speaker, there have been hours and hours of testimony at the justice committee by a broad range of actors in this, including by the former attorney general herself, who was given an unprecedented waiver that allowed her to speak fully on matters regarding SNC-Lavalin and her time as Attorney General. I can understand that the members opposite want to stay on this and do not want to talk about the fact that they have no plan to fight climate change, that they have no plan for the economy, that they have no plan for ensuring the jobs of the future. They continue to need to play politics.
Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, my message to the young women here today and across the country is that they should get into politics. We need their perspectives. We need the wide range of opinions and perspectives they will bring and add to the House of Commons. We must listen to them. Everyone will not always agree on everything. This chamber exists so that members can engage in debate with people who have different perspectives. This happens by listening to one another, understanding one another and working together based on our values. That is what we will always do and that is what we have done.
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. In a moment, I will be seeking unanimous consent for a motion. As we all know in the House, our canola producers are going through a lot of hardship right now. I hope, because the House has not yet had a chance to voice its opinion on this matter, that all members in the House will join me in giving support to the following motion: That, in the opinion of the House, the government recognize the importance and value of canola as an agricultural crop and do everything in its power to resolve the current trade dispute with China, including (a) ensuring all agricultural business-risk management programs are reviewed and made adaptable to the needs of producers who are suffering because of loss-of-market access; (b) using all diplomatic channels available with the Government of China to press for a speedy resolution; (c) reviewing Canada's current trade deficit with China to ensure we are safeguarding current and future jobs by using all fiscal, legal and other trade options available at Canada's disposal; and (d) diversifying our canola export market.
Mr. Speaker, we thank the member for Long Range Mountains and the Minister of Indigenous Services for their incredible work on securing a strong future for Newfoundland and Labrador.We were pleased to conclude the renewal of the Atlantic Accord with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. We have reached a new resource sharing agreement that will create and protect good middle-class jobs. We are going to develop natural resources in the right way. We will set the stage for sustained economic growth for years to come.This agreement supports a better, more secure future for generations of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, and I want to thank everyone involved for their tremendous work.
Mr. Speaker, apparently unlike the member opposite, we have confidence in the work of our House committees. We respect the work that the justice committee did in hearing hours upon hours of testimony, including testimony that was allowed for by the fact that we emitted an unprecedented waiver of both solicitor-client privilege and cabinet confidentiality to allow the former attorney general and others to speak fully to the matter under investigation by the justice committee.That is the kind of openness and transparency that Canadians expect, and that is what we will always stand for.
Mr. Speaker, as we have said repeatedly and as we have heard repeatedly, I was not debriefed on that conversation between the clerk and the minister. I should have spoken directly with the minister. There was not an opportunity to do that.I continue to say that we know we need to work better. We need to improve our systems so that the lines of communication are better open. This has been a situation that has led to concrete changes in how we move forward.Again, we are continuing to move forward on the things that matter to Canadians, which include
Mr. Speaker, let us talk for a moment about how we can continue to improve the lives of our middle-class Canadians right across the country.We have already invested in incredible infrastructure projects in my riding of Outremont, such as the metro's blue line, the REM, the new University of Montreal campus and others.Can the Prime Minister tell us about the investments in the budget that will continue to meet our municipalities' needs?
Mr. Speaker, everyone in this place knows that being a member of a caucus comes with both rights and responsibilities and part of that responsibility is around trust.I had extensive conversations with members of our caucus, who informed me that they felt trust was broken. I reflected on it. We worked with the two individuals in question and made the determination that maintaining trust so we could continue to work on the big things that matter to Canadians, whether it is reconciliation, protecting our environment or growing the economy for the middle class, meant that we would move forward together.
Mr. Speaker, I could not agree more that the interests of Canadians outweigh the interests of political parties. That is why we are focusing on reconciliation, economic growth, gender equality, strong investments in communities across the country, a plan for pharmacare, and a plan for investing in municipal infrastructure. We are working for Canadians instead of playing politics.
Mr. Speaker, it was our government that strengthened the access to information system. We are currently reviewing that request and will respond appropriately at the earliest opportunity. We believe strongly in the importance of access to information and transparency, and in the extraordinary work done by journalists across the country to protect our democracy and keep Canadians informed.
Mr. Speaker, as all members of Parliament know, being a member of a caucus comes with both rights and responsibilities. That is why I listened to what members of our caucus had to say.Maintaining trust within a caucus is essential if we are to keep fighting for important things such as achieving reconciliation, tackling climate change and growing the economy for everyone. That is why we made that difficult decision. We remain united as we work on the things that matter.
Mr. Speaker, I am certain that the member for Burnaby South did not mean to even inadvertently disparage the extraordinary women who remain in our government who continue to lead every day on issues that matter deeply to Canadians, whether it is foreign affairs, official languages, employment, status of women, or whether it is the very first Minister of Agriculture to happen to be a woman or the first woman government House leader. There is an extraordinary range of strong women in all seats in this House who are making a difference with what they deeply believe in. I know he did not mean to disparage any one of them.
Mr. Speaker, for weeks and weeks, we have worked with the two individuals in question to try to find a way to move forward, because we know that the two former members of our caucus agree with the values of reconciliation, economic growth for the middle class and environmental protection. We are still looking to move forward.However, when it became clear that the relationship of trust between these individuals and the caucus was broken, we could no longer continue to work together as a team. I think everyone can understand that.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member from Outremont for her hard work and her question.Budget 2019 invests $2.2 billion in our communities and in those who have shown that they are ready to move forward on projects. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities calls this a turning point for cities and communities across Canada. The Conservatives do not know what it means to work with municipalities, which they neglected for 10 years. We are working to build stronger and sustainable communities in Outremont and across the country.
Mr. Speaker, we spent weeks working with the former attorney general and others to try to find a path forward to rebuild the links of trust that must exist within a team at any point for it to function.We took the time to try to find a path forward, and amid many criticisms that we needed to act sooner, we did not. We wanted to demonstrate a different way and a different approach to politics that looks for common ground, that looks for paths forward. Only when it became very clear that there was a broken bond of trust that was not going to be able to be rebuilt did we take
Mr. Speaker, as a government we have moved forward in significant and meaningful ways on gender equality. I am proud of our development assistance policy, which is fundamentally feminist. I am proud that we have put forward budgets with a GBA-plus analysis. I am proud that we have moved forward on pay equity, that we have moved forward on funding for women's organizations across this country and that we have moved forward on a gender-balanced cabinet.I recognize there is much more to do and I am proud that there is now a contest among party leaders to see who can be the better feminist. I think that is a great thing for this country. I think that is a great thing for Parliament.
Mr. Speaker, I note that he just cannot seem to bring himself to answer a very simple question. Is it yes or no? There is a reason this is important. It is because from the beginning he has always claimed that he never put pressure on the former attorney general. In that phone call, the clerk said four times that the Prime Minister was firm. He also claims that he had no idea the phone call took place and that she never brought her concerns to his office. Once again, is the answer yes or no? Did he know anything about the call before or after? It is one of the two options: yes or no.
Mr. Speaker, in my direct encounter in a meeting with the former attorney general in September, I confirmed to her that the decision around a DPA was hers and hers alone. That is what has been clear throughout this entire process.There have been 13 hours of testimony, including four by the former attorney general, allowed for by the fact that we put forward an unprecedented waiver that suspended solicitor-client privilege in this matter, that suspended cabinet confidentiality so she could speak fully to this matter that was being looked at by the justice committee.
Mr. Speaker, this past Monday marked the 70th anniversary since my province of Newfoundland and Labrador joined Confederation.Since 1949, our province has made an invaluable contribution to the social and cultural fabric of our nation. We have seen some unprecedented economic growth and development.Can the Prime Minister please update this House on the details of the renewed Atlantic Accord with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and how this will benefit every single person in our province?
Mr. Speaker, there have been hours and hours of testimony by all the people involved, including the former attorney general, who spoke for four hours. We issued an unprecedented order in council waiving solicitor-client privilege and cabinet confidence, allowing her to speak fully on the matter. We know that it is important for all perspectives to be heard, and they have indeed been heard.
Mr. Speaker, in his February 15 press conference, the Prime Minister said that it was the Attorney General's responsibility to come forward. We know that she did. She told the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance, the Clerk of the Privy Council and several other people in his office to stop.How can he claim that she did not come forward?
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister sent a very clear message yesterday to all Canadians: Liberal members of Parliament are here to do what the Prime Minister says, or else.The devastating cost for anyone who stands on principle and tells the truth is to be fired, humiliated and discarded.The Prime Minister holds the highest office in the land. He must serve Canada and defend our democracy, the rule of law and the truth. When will he start living up to the obligations of his office?
Mr. Speaker, he is continuing to remove everyone who has stood up to his abuse of power and his cover-up of this scandal.Pressuring an attorney general to interfere in a criminal proceeding is wrong. Kicking out two members of Parliament who stood up to his abuse of power is unconscionable.Again, why does telling the truth get members kicked out of the Liberal Party?
What we have right now is the Conservative Party desperate to try to stretch out a matter that has
Mr. Speaker, we know that the former attorney general was telling the truth. She was being inappropriately pressured by the Prime Minister. The tape proves it, and the Prime Minister should have finally admitted that she was right, but that is not what happened. Instead, he kicked her out of caucus and then he sent out his Liberal MPs to smear and insult her. We even saw the Liberal member for BrossardSaint-Lambert accuse the former attorney general of treason. Will the Prime Minister stand up now and have the integrity to denounce these outrageous and insulting comments?
Mr. Speaker, I would be careful about throwing stones about falsehoods when I am sitting in the official opposition's chair.The fact of the matter is that we are going to continue to focus on the things that matter to Canadians. Yes, the integrity of our institutions and the rule of law matter deeply to Canadians, like they matter to us. That is why we will continue to respect our institutions and the rule of law, even as we fight for jobs and we stand up for workers across this country. We continue to do the things Canadians expect us to do after 10 years of failure by the Conservatives.
Mr. Speaker, everyone in this place knows that being a member of a caucus comes with both rights and responsibilities and part of that responsibility is around trust.I had extensive conversations with members of our caucus, who informed me that they felt trust was broken. I reflected on it. We worked with the two individuals in question and made the determination that maintaining trust so we could continue to work on the big things that matter to Canadians, whether it is reconciliation, protecting our environment or growing the economy for the middle class, meant that we would move forward together.
Mr. Speaker, once she said that, I responded, No, I am not, and said it was her decision to make. She then committed to revisit and look into the decision once again. All these are elements in the testimony we have heard, which the justice committee examined exhaustively. Once again, we see that the member opposite is desperate to talk about anything other than our budget, anything other than the economic growth we are putting forward, and anything other than our concrete plan to fight climate change, because the Conservatives have no plan on any of that.
Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we on this side of the House listen to and respect all voices. However, the member opposite does not seem to have any respect for the voices in our caucus and cabinet talking about the work the government will keep doing to deliver on its commitments for Canadians and to invest in the middle class and in our communities.We are going to keep working together as a united team with a strong bond of trust. Unfortunately, in the case of the two former members of our caucus, that trust was broken.
Mr. Speaker, unlike the members opposite, we have always embraced a range of viewpoints and perspectives within our party. That actually strengthens the Liberal Party and allows us to do a better job of listening to Canadians from coast to coast to coast and governing in a way that is inclusive rather than divisive. That is what we will continue to do, but ultimately diversity only works if there is also trust, and when that relationship of trust was broken within our caucus I had to take a difficult decision, and I did.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are watching. What they saw yesterday was two women ministers being shown the door for speaking truth to power, and now the Prime Minister is not willing to answer any questions about the matter.The only reason the Prime Minister would continue with these non-answers is that the truth is even worse. Canadians deserve to know the truth before they go to the polls in October.Will the Prime Minister do what is right and call a public inquiry now?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member from Outremont for her hard work and her question.Budget 2019 invests $2.2 billion in our communities and in those who have shown that they are ready to move forward on projects. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities calls this a turning point for cities and communities across Canada. The Conservatives do not know what it means to work with municipalities, which they neglected for 10 years. We are working to build stronger and sustainable communities in Outremont and across the country.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians watched with disgust when the Liberals stood and applauded as the Prime Minister kicked two MPs out of the Liberal Party for having the audacity to stand up to him and speak truth to power.The Liberals may have decided there is no greater principle than covering up corruption, but Canadians know better. Throughout this entire affair, the Prime Minister has refused to tell the truth about his involvement in a concerted campaign to interfere in an ongoing criminal investigation.Why does he not do the honourable thing for once: apologize and resign?
Mr. Speaker, as all members of Parliament know, being a member of a caucus comes with both rights and responsibilities. That is why I listened to what members of our caucus had to say.Maintaining trust within a caucus is essential if we are to keep fighting for important things such as achieving reconciliation, tackling climate change and growing the economy for everyone. That is why we made that difficult decision. We remain united as we work on the things that matter.
Mr. Speaker, in his February 15 press conference, the Prime Minister said that it was the Attorney General's responsibility to come forward. We know that she did. She told the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance, the Clerk of the Privy Council and several other people in his office to stop.How can he claim that she did not come forward?
Mr. Speaker, for weeks and weeks, we have worked with the two individuals in question to try to find a way to move forward, because we know that the two former members of our caucus agree with the values of reconciliation, economic growth for the middle class and environmental protection. We are still looking to move forward.However, when it became clear that the relationship of trust between these individuals and the caucus was broken, we could no longer continue to work together as a team. I think everyone can understand that.
Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, my message to the young women here today and across the country is that they should get into politics. We need their perspectives. We need the wide range of opinions and perspectives they will bring and add to the House of Commons. We must listen to them. Everyone will not always agree on everything. This chamber exists so that members can engage in debate with people who have different perspectives. This happens by listening to one another, understanding one another and working together based on our values. That is what we will always do and that is what we have done.
Mr. Speaker, nobody would have to dig through anything if the Prime Minister did not abuse his power to interfere in a court proceeding. Nobody would have to dig through anything if the Prime Minister could just answer a simple question.Did he know about that phone call on December 19, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I believe you will find unanimous consent of the House to move the following motion: that this House acknowledge the 50th anniversary of the expropriation of land from Mirabel residents and that this House call on the government to formally and officially apologize to the people of Quebec from whom the federal government expropriated land in 1969 to build the Mirabel airport.
Mr. Speaker, he cannot answer a simple yes or no question. There are only two options: Either he knew about it or he did not know about it. Once again, did the Prime Minister know anything about that phone call on December 19 between the former attorney general and the Clerk of the Privy Council? There is only one answer. Is it yes or is it no?
Mr. Speaker, I would like to know what the Prime Minister thinks of one of his female ministers, the Minister of International Development, who thumbed her nose at Canadians when she said that if the Liberals did politics the old-fashioned way, those two would have been booted from caucus two months ago. She says that is what it means to do politics differently.The Prime Minister expelled two women from his caucus because they took a stand and defended their principles.Since when has doing politics differently meant firing the attorney general for protecting our justice system?
Mr. Speaker, the only trust that has been broken is between the Prime Minister and Canadians, who have seen his abuse of power.He is trying to chalk this all up as some kind of internal Liberal civil was, like in the Martin-Chrétien days. However, this is different. This is not about factions within a caucus. This is about two strong individuals who saw something that was wrong and decided to stand up to it.Why does speaking truth to power disqualify members from sitting as a Liberal?
Mr. Speaker, so far, everything the former attorney general has said about the Prime Minister's corruption scandal has been proven to be true, and everything the Prime Minister has said has been proven to be false.Why is the Prime Minister still saying things he knows to be false?
Mr. Speaker, there are two viewpoints. There is the Prime Minister's viewpoint and there is the truth. After all of that, there are still massive inconsistencies between what the Prime Minister has said and what testimony has shown. I have a very simple question for the Prime Minister. When was the first time the Prime Minister spoke to the Clerk of the Privy Council after the December 19 phone call with the former attorney general?
Mr. Speaker, we spent weeks working with the former attorney general and others to try to find a path forward to rebuild the links of trust that must exist within a team at any point for it to function.We took the time to try to find a path forward, and amid many criticisms that we needed to act sooner, we did not. We wanted to demonstrate a different way and a different approach to politics that looks for common ground, that looks for paths forward. Only when it became very clear that there was a broken bond of trust that was not going to be able to be rebuilt did we take
Mr. Speaker, when one gains power, one has to actually respect the institutions, respect the voice for 338 ridings that was sent to Parliament, allow for real debate, and have ministers who are actually ministers of their department and not just spokespeople as approved by the PMO.Who said those words? It was the current Prime Minister, speaking to Maclean's in 2014. How things have changed.Yesterday, the Prime Minister ordered the expulsion of two former ministers, two women who dared to stand up to him.Is that how the Prime Minister sees power, as a means to banish anyone who disobeys his orders?
Mr. Speaker, what the member opposite said is untrue. We did not take action immediately. We took several weeks to try to bring together our caucus and work with the individuals in question. We wanted a united team so that we could continue to work on Canadians' top priorities.We have taken this new approach to leadership, which focuses on bringing people together and listening to different perspectives, very seriously. However, when we realized that there was no longer trust in our team, we had to do something.
Mr. Speaker, I note that he just cannot seem to bring himself to answer a very simple question. Is it yes or no? There is a reason this is important. It is because from the beginning he has always claimed that he never put pressure on the former attorney general. In that phone call, the clerk said four times that the Prime Minister was firm. He also claims that he had no idea the phone call took place and that she never brought her concerns to his office. Once again, is the answer yes or no? Did he know anything about the call before or after? It is one of the two options: yes or no.
Mr. Speaker, I agree entirely with the member opposite when he points out that we have done really big things as a government on the path to reconciliation. A lot of it is due to the extraordinary leadership of our former indigenous services minister. However, he will also know that an approach on reconciliation requires a whole-of-government approach.I can highlight that every single cabinet minister in this government has been working very hard on reconciliation and is partially responsible for the tremendous advances we have made upon this path. There is much more to do, and we are going to continue.
Mr. Speaker, today in this chamber dozens of the Daughters of the Vote turned their backs to the Prime Minister. Why? It is because they support strong, independent women speaking truth to power and because they know that integrity is the cornerstone of a person's character.By kicking the first indigenous attorney general of Canada out of caucus for upholding the law, the Prime Minister has made it clear that principled women who dare to stand up to him are not welcome in the Liberal Party.Is this what a self-proclaimed feminist looks like in 2019?
Mr. Speaker, that was not the question. I did not ask if he got a debrief. I asked when the first time he spoke to the Clerk of Privy Council was after that phone call. I will try it a slightly different way. Did the Prime Minister know anything about that phone call between the Clerk of the Privy Council and the former attorney general on December 19, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, we have a plan to let women speak.Yesterday, the Prime Minister ousted two of his former ministers from his caucus for reasons that are unclear and to try to save his image. When the Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie was asked about the Prime Minister's fragile standing in the wake of that decision, she simply said that people are either loyal or they are not.Since when is telling the truth considered to be disloyal?
Mr. Speaker, at that September meeting, the former attorney general reports that she looked the Prime Minister in the eye and said, Are you politically interfering with my role...as the Attorney General? I would strongly advise against it.Does the Prime Minister remember her saying any such thing?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister told Canadians that if anyone thought he had done anything wrong on SNC, then it was their responsibility to come forward, but no one did. However, text messages, journal entries and audio recordings prove the former attorney general did come forward and complain to him and his top staff on September 16, 17 and 19, October 26, November 22, and December 5, 18 and 19. Does he really claim he knew absolutely nothing about the complaints she brought forward in more than half a dozen meetings?
Mr. Speaker, when the member for TimminsJames Bay and I visited Grassy Narrows, we were devastated by the impacts of mercury poisoning on young people and the community. Reconciliation is not just in words. It is in actions. When indigenous activists raised concerns about the mercury poisoning in Grassy Narrows, the Prime Minister responded by making a joke at their expense. That is not leadership. Will the Prime Minister commit today to going to Grassy Narrows, meeting with a community that is suffering with mercury poisoning, meeting with the leadership and committing to action?
Mr. Speaker, the question was whether he would go there or not. He does not seem to answer.Many women are on the Hill today to encourage women to get into politics. The Prime Minister has sent them a clear message: anyone who dares to criticize him, who dares to stand up for principles like judicial independence, will be shown the door.How does the Prime Minister plan to encourage women with a message like that?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is sending that same message to countless young people who were hoping that politics would be done differently. The Prime Minister has no time for those who have the courage to put Canadians' interests ahead of their party's interests.Why attack women who stand up for principles that are greater than any political party?
Mr. Speaker, indigenous people across the country want their inherent rights to be recognized. The case of mercury poisoning in Grassy Narrows is no laughing matter. Indigenous people want to live with dignity and have a good quality of life. The Prime Minister said his comments lacked respect. What he did not say was that he lacks the will to seriously listen to indigenous people.Enough empty words from the Prime Minister. Will he commit to visit the people of Grassy Narrows and give them the respect and attention they deserve?
Mr. Speaker, this past Monday marked the 70th anniversary since my province of Newfoundland and Labrador joined Confederation.Since 1949, our province has made an invaluable contribution to the social and cultural fabric of our nation. We have seen some unprecedented economic growth and development.Can the Prime Minister please update this House on the details of the renewed Atlantic Accord with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and how this will benefit every single person in our province?
Mr. Speaker, both my office and the clerk himself have confirmed that I did not get a debrief on that particular conversation.What we see once again are members opposite trying to talk about anything other than the economy, the budget, the canola challenge that our western farmers are facing right now. These are the kinds of things that matter to Canadians. It has been 339 days since the member opposite promised Canadians he would soon release his climate change plan, and we are still waiting. No wonder he does not want to talk about it.
Mr. Speaker, there have been hours and hours of testimony at the justice committee by a broad range of actors in this, including by the former attorney general herself, who was given an unprecedented waiver that allowed her to speak fully on matters regarding SNC-Lavalin and her time as Attorney General. I can understand that the members opposite want to stay on this and do not want to talk about the fact that they have no plan to fight climate change, that they have no plan for the economy, that they have no plan for ensuring the jobs of the future. They continue to need to play politics.
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. In a moment, I will be seeking unanimous consent for a motion. As we all know in the House, our canola producers are going through a lot of hardship right now. I hope, because the House has not yet had a chance to voice its opinion on this matter, that all members in the House will join me in giving support to the following motion: That, in the opinion of the House, the government recognize the importance and value of canola as an agricultural crop and do everything in its power to resolve the current trade dispute with China, including (a) ensuring all agricultural business-risk management programs are reviewed and made adaptable to the needs of producers who are suffering because of loss-of-market access; (b) using all diplomatic channels available with the Government of China to press for a speedy resolution; (c) reviewing Canada's current trade deficit with China to ensure we are safeguarding current and future jobs by using all fiscal, legal and other trade options available at Canada's disposal; and (d) diversifying our canola export market.
Mr. Speaker, today hundreds of determined young women are in the House from Daughters of the Vote. I spoke with them about the importance of getting involved and running for office, but what have they seen this week? They have seen women speak truth to power and then get shown the door. What message is the Prime Minister sending to Canadians, particularly to young women, when he kicks out former cabinet ministers just for doing the right thing?
Mr. Speaker, the member for Carleton continues to try to find inconsistencies where there simply are none.We are going to continue to work together as a government on the things that matter to Canadians, as a strong, united team that is secure in the trust of this team. As we move forward, we are going to stay focused on the things that matter, while the members opposite try to clutch at straws and create political complications where there are none. We are going to stay focused on Canadians, while those members stay focused on us.
Mr. Speaker, so far everything to date that the former attorney general has said about this corruption scandal has been proven to be true. Everything the Prime Minister has said, from claiming that he never put pressure on her to she never came forward with her concerns, has been proven to be false.Why does telling the truth get a member kicked out of the Liberal Party?
Mr. Speaker, during the last election campaign, the Liberal Party promised a lot of things, such as enacting electoral reform, ending subsidies for oil companies, increasing international aid, ensuring respect for first nations and reducing tax evasion. Nothing has been done. We were also told they would do politics differently, that they would reduce the role of the Prime Minister's Office. Today we find out that Liberal ministers and MPs have to do the PMO's bidding.Does the Prime Minister realize that he has lost all credibility and that no one trusts him any more?
Mr. Speaker, we have a justice committee that has been tasked with looking into this matter. We have an Ethics Commissioner who, for those people watching today, has the role to make determinations about what is going on in the House.In this House, members opposite are free to make all sorts of accusations, allegations and sling mud as they will, but we have an Ethics and Conflict of Interest Commissioner who is tasked with digging to the bottom of things to understand what is political dross and what is reality. That is the work that we support. That is what we will continue
Mr. Speaker, first of all, standing up for the independence of our rule of law is important to every single Canadian. The Prime Minister need not worry. We can talk about the falsehoods that he says about his record later.Today we are talking about the things he has said about this scandal that just are not true. We have all heard the tape. We know now that the Prime Minister sent in his top officials to pressure the former attorney general, and we have seen him kick out those individuals who stood up to him.Again, why is the Liberal Party safe for those who spread falsehoods, but not safe for truth-tellers?
Mr. Speaker, everyone on this side of the House understands that a range of perspectives and opinions is essential in representing Canadians from coast to coast to coast in their hopes and aspirations, in standing up for our institutions and in standing up for their jobs. We are going to continue to do what matters to Canadians in investing in their jobs and their future, while defending our institutions. We will continue to do that as a strong, united team because that is what Canadians expect.
Mr. Speaker, in my direct encounter in a meeting with the former attorney general in September, I confirmed to her that the decision around a DPA was hers and hers alone. That is what has been clear throughout this entire process.There have been 13 hours of testimony, including four by the former attorney general, allowed for by the fact that we put forward an unprecedented waiver that suspended solicitor-client privilege in this matter, that suspended cabinet confidentiality so she could speak fully to this matter that was being looked at by the justice committee.
Mr. Speaker, my question was simple. La Presse has requested access to all of Michael Wernick's documents from November 1 to December 15.How did the government respond? It said the documents would be available in 240 days, in other words, four weeks after the election. What a coincidence.If the Prime Minister has nothing to hide, will he stand here today, before this House and before Canadians, and promise to make those documents available, as requested by La Presse?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Bay of Quinte for his hard work for his constituents. We recognize that one person living in homelessness is one too many. We announced Canada's first-ever national housing strategy and made record investments in housing.Reaching home, our homelessness partnering strategy, sets ambitious targets and doubles funding to fight homelessness, reducing it by 50% in the coming years. Reaching home makes more communities eligible to receive funding, helps us meet our ambitious targets, and mostly helps vulnerable people across our country.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has shown a profound disrespect toward indigenous peoples. He mocks protestors when they are seeking justice for Grassy Narrows, turns his back on indigenous peoples saying no to his pipeline, and now fires one of the most prominent indigenous women in Canada for speaking truth to power.Indigenous peoples have had enough of this disrespect. Colonialism is alive and well in this country. Many still live in third world living conditions, so why will this Prime Minister not listen to what they are saying and why does he continuously show such disrespect to indigenous peoples?
Mr. Speaker, we were elected on a promise to invest in the middle class and in our communities, and that is exactly what we did. We are seeing the creation of more than 900,000 jobs across the country and a drop in the unemployment rate to its lowest levels in 40 years. We are seeing one of the strongest growth rates in the G7. We continue to prove that the way to grow the economy is to invest in the middle class. We will continue to keep the promises we made to Canadians because that is what Canadians expect.
Mr. Speaker, I am certain that the member for Burnaby South did not mean to even inadvertently disparage the extraordinary women who remain in our government who continue to lead every day on issues that matter deeply to Canadians, whether it is foreign affairs, official languages, employment, status of women, or whether it is the very first Minister of Agriculture to happen to be a woman or the first woman government House leader. There is an extraordinary range of strong women in all seats in this House who are making a difference with what they deeply believe in. I know he did not mean to disparage any one of them.
Mr. Speaker, right now we see a Conservative Party trying to stretch out an issue that has dominated headlines for the past weeks because it wants to keep talking about anything other than the issues that matter to Canadians, whether it be a real plan to fight climate change, or a budget that helps Canadians get the training they need to be able to continue in the workforce, that makes education more affordable or that helps homebuyers buy their first homes.
Mr. Speaker, that is an absolutely cowardly response from the Prime Minister. By not denouncing those comments, the Prime Minister is endorsing the smear campaign levelled against the former attorney general and the former president of the Treasury Board. These women are being punished for the crime of telling the truth and having the proof to back it up. They stood up to the Prime Minister and they refused to be silent.Why did the Prime Minister punish these strong women for doing what was right, for telling the truth and for standing up to his good old boys club?
Mr. Speaker, once again the member opposite is twisting himself into rhetorical knots to try to make a point that is simply not there.We have been crystal clear throughout this process. We have allowed the testimonies to be heard through the justice committee, because of an unprecedented waiver we put forward suspending both cabinet confidentiality and solicitor-client privilege. We very much continue to stand up for our institutions and the rule of law, while always standing up for Canadians and their jobs, right across the country.We will continue to do that.
Mr. Speaker, in 2002, three women appeared on the cover of Time magazine as persons of the year. They were whistle-blowers. They took risks to reveal illegal or unethical practices in their own organizations. These women inspired me when I was a young lawyer in 2002. Today we have two more women who are probably very inspiring for women across this country. These women also took risks to speak their truth, and they were thrown out the door of the Liberal Party.Why has the Prime Minister decided that whistle-blowers need to be punished and not appreciated?
Mr. Speaker, apparently unlike the member opposite, we have confidence in the work of our House committees. We respect the work that the justice committee did in hearing hours upon hours of testimony, including testimony that was allowed for by the fact that we emitted an unprecedented waiver of both solicitor-client privilege and cabinet confidentiality to allow the former attorney general and others to speak fully to the matter under investigation by the justice committee.That is the kind of openness and transparency that Canadians expect, and that is what we will always stand for.
Mr. Speaker, what has been obvious for a number of weeks now is that the Conservatives will go to any ends to avoid talking about the budget, to avoid talking about climate change, to avoid talking about the things that matter deeply to Canadians. We are proud that in our last budget we invested significantly in women's organizations across the country. We have put a program forward so first-time homebuyers can actually get into their home ownership sooner. We have moved forward on significant measures to fight climate change.We will continue to focus on the things that matter to Canadians, even if the Conservatives stay focused on us.
Mr. Speaker, from the very beginning, the government has been focused on partnership with indigenous peoples. We have been focused on moving forward in ways that respect and uplift indigenous peoples in communities. We have been doing that with hundreds of new school projects, better access to health care, eliminating 82 long-term boil water advisories and being on track to eliminating 100% of them within the five years we committed to. We know there is tremendous work being done on new relationships, including new fiscal relationships and new governance relationships. We are walking forward on the path to reconciliation, but we admit there is much more
Mr. Speaker, about six months from now, Canadians will have an opportunity to go to the polls and choose what the future of the country will look like. I suspect, from conversations we have had with Canadians, they are going to be making choices around who has a better plan for the economy, who has a real plan to fight climate change, who has a plan for reconciliation with indigenous peoples and who is going to move forward in a way that responds to their real concerns.The Conservatives promised a plan to fight climate change 339 days ago and still refuse to talk about anything.
Mr. Speaker, in 15 years I have dealt with all manner of Indian affairs ministers, but the member for MarkhamStouffville was one who got things done. I worked with her on the health and suicide crisis in the north. She committed to the relocation of Kashechewan and we battled to instill Jordan's principle as a legal right.To see the Liberal caucus publicly trash the member's reputation with words like traitor and repugnant and joined at the hip with her colleague is just not acceptable. She deserves better than this.Does the Prime Minister not understand that?
Mr. Speaker, we have committed to forging a new relationship with indigenous peoples based on trust, respect and the true spirit of co-operation, not just empty words like the member opposite accuses us of. We have made historic investments since 2015, including advancing reconciliation in concrete ways, securing a better quality of life and improving access to safe, clean drinking water. Investments have increased by 50% and there is still more work to do.In budget 2019 we eliminated barriers to quality health care and culturally relevant social supports. We are funding post-secondary
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister just said that he was proud of having a gender-balanced cabinet. However, when two women had the courage to be transparent and honest and to tell the truth, the first thing he did was remove them from the Liberal caucus and send them to this side of the House.Meanwhile, the problem is still there. The Prime Minister interfered in the legal system on a case involving criminal charges.If the Prime Minister has nothing to hide, will he give La Presse access to the document from the former clerk of the Privy Council, Michael Wernick, so that we can have all of the information between November 1 and
Mr. Speaker, as we have said repeatedly and as we have heard repeatedly, I was not debriefed on that conversation between the clerk and the minister. I should have spoken directly with the minister. There was not an opportunity to do that.I continue to say that we know we need to work better. We need to improve our systems so that the lines of communication are better open. This has been a situation that has led to concrete changes in how we move forward.Again, we are continuing to move forward on the things that matter to Canadians, which include
Mr. Speaker, now the Prime Minister has caught himself in a trap of his own making. He came out on February 15 and said that no one had come forward to raise any concerns about his conduct. Now he admits on the floor of the House of Commons that way before, in September, his own attorney general asked him to his face if he was interfering. Why is the Prime Minister having so much difficulty remembering his story? Is it because it is simply not true?
Mr. Speaker, I will take no lessons from the Conservatives on the matter of strong leadership. We have 18 strong women members of cabinet who lead every day on the big issues that matter to Canadians, from our place in the world to investing in resources for women's organizations to bringing extraordinary young women to Ottawa on a day like this from every corner of the country.We will continue to lead the way in a way that matters to Canadians and to this world.
Mr. Speaker, there have been hours and hours of testimony by all the people involved, including the former attorney general, who spoke for four hours. We issued an unprecedented order in council waiving solicitor-client privilege and cabinet confidence, allowing her to speak fully on the matter. We know that it is important for all perspectives to be heard, and they have indeed been heard.
Mr. Speaker, let us talk for a moment about how we can continue to improve the lives of our middle-class Canadians right across the country.We have already invested in incredible infrastructure projects in my riding of Outremont, such as the metro's blue line, the REM, the new University of Montreal campus and others.Can the Prime Minister tell us about the investments in the budget that will continue to meet our municipalities' needs?
Mr. Speaker, I could not agree more that the interests of Canadians outweigh the interests of political parties. That is why we are focusing on reconciliation, economic growth, gender equality, strong investments in communities across the country, a plan for pharmacare, and a plan for investing in municipal infrastructure. We are working for Canadians instead of playing politics.
Mr. Speaker, this week I was pleased to see that Hastings County will be receiving more than $1.4 million to help fight homelessness. This funding is part of Canada's first-ever national housing strategy, in which our government committed to reducing chronic homelessness by at least 50% over the next decade.Could the Prime Minister tell the House how the national housing strategy and reaching home, the government's redesigned homelessness partnering strategy, are helping Canada's most at-risk people find safe, affordable, accessible places to call home?
Mr. Speaker, I apologized and I apologize again for the comments I made. They lacked respect. They were unacceptable. We know that the situation in Grassy Narrows has been dire for a long time. That is why we have committed to moving forward on building the resources for it. We have continued to work in partnership with the province that holds a significant area of responsibility in this matter to ensure that we are supporting the people of Grassy Narrows. I am happy to say that the Minister of Indigenous Services just had a conversation with Chief Turtle. We will continue to work with the community of Grassy Narrows on concrete solutions.
Mr. Speaker, now the Prime Minister has effectively admitted that when he looked 37 million Canadians in the eye on February 15 and told them that the former attorney general had never spoken a word about her concerns, he was stating a patent falsehood. There is a word for that kind of falsehood that I cannot utter on the floor of the House of Commons.Will the Prime Minister, having now caught himself in his own trap of contradiction and deception, apologize to the Canadian people for stating that falsehood on February 15?
Mr. Speaker, it was our government that strengthened the access to information system. We are currently reviewing that request and will respond appropriately at the earliest opportunity. We believe strongly in the importance of access to information and transparency, and in the extraordinary work done by journalists across the country to protect our democracy and keep Canadians informed.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Whitby for her strong words and her unflagging compassion and passion for bringing Canada forward.Bringing more women into the political process and our democratic institutions is fundamental if we are to achieve gender equality. That is why the work of Equal Voice and Daughters of the Vote is so timely and crucial. That is why we were proud to invest $3.8 million in Daughters of the Vote.I thank Equal Voice and the Daughters of the Vote program for their important work, and I wish great success to all the daughters who are here in Ottawa this week.
Mr. Speaker, we thank the member for Long Range Mountains and the Minister of Indigenous Services for their incredible work on securing a strong future for Newfoundland and Labrador.We were pleased to conclude the renewal of the Atlantic Accord with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. We have reached a new resource sharing agreement that will create and protect good middle-class jobs. We are going to develop natural resources in the right way. We will set the stage for sustained economic growth for years to come.This agreement supports a better, more secure future for generations of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, and I want to thank everyone involved for their tremendous work.
Mr. Speaker, trust goes both ways, does it not? I think that is something the Prime Minister needs to remember.Women are quite often whistle-blowers, and I will explain why. For many years we were not part of boardrooms. We sat on the sidelines of what happens in the corporate boardroom and in legislatures. As a result, we are uniquely placed to see when ethical lapses are happening. We also do have the courage to step up and speak when we need to.The Prime Minister may believe that he has dealt with this by throwing two people out of the Liberal Party, but many more courageous women are here, and they are here today, and they are watching. What does the Prime Minister have to say to them?
Mr. Speaker, the good old boys club is gone, because we have a gender-balanced cabinet in which strong women stand up every day for their constituents and for people right across the country. The Conservatives can pick and choose who they want to support and which individuals they want to listen to. We listen to all voices. We respect all voices. They are crassly exploiting a political situation for their own advantage and not thinking about the consequences for Canadians when we do not stand up for jobs, do not invest in opportunities for youth or do not support women's organizations like
Mr. Speaker, we will keep working to make life better for Canadians as we continue to respect our institutions and the rule of law, protect jobs, invest in our communities, work toward reconciliation and act on our concrete plan to fight climate change.Those are all things the Conservatives cannot talk about and do not want to talk about. They have no plan for the environment, no plan for the economy, no plan for gender equality, and no plan for what matters most to Canadians. Petty politics is all they know how to do.
Mr. Speaker, I was proud that for the first time in history we brought in a gender-balanced cabinet, bringing in strong women from across the country to be a full part of this government. I would very much like to hear from the member opposite if she can tell us that her party has made the commitment that if they should form government again, they will have a gender-balanced cabinet. That would be a wonderful thing to announce to the women in this room today, who very much want to see gender balance as the way forward in boardrooms, in courtrooms, in the house of Parliament and in government.
Mr. Speaker, today we had 338 Daughters of the Vote delegates take their seats in the House of Commons. They represented the strength and integrity that Canadians value.This morning, as we listened to their statements, I was inspired and acutely understood that they get it. They understand the power of their actions, the power of unity and the power of their voice.I want to encourage them to continue to speak their truth and to continue to stand up for justice. We stand with them.
Mr. Speaker, as a government we have moved forward in significant and meaningful ways on gender equality. I am proud of our development assistance policy, which is fundamentally feminist. I am proud that we have put forward budgets with a GBA-plus analysis. I am proud that we have moved forward on pay equity, that we have moved forward on funding for women's organizations across this country and that we have moved forward on a gender-balanced cabinet.I recognize there is much more to do and I am proud that there is now a contest among party leaders to see who can be the better feminist. I think that is a great thing for this country. I think that is a great thing for Parliament.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister sent a very clear message yesterday to all Canadians: Liberal members of Parliament are here to do what the Prime Minister says, or else.The devastating cost for anyone who stands on principle and tells the truth is to be fired, humiliated and discarded.The Prime Minister holds the highest office in the land. He must serve Canada and defend our democracy, the rule of law and the truth. When will he start living up to the obligations of his office?
Mr. Speaker, he is continuing to remove everyone who has stood up to his abuse of power and his cover-up of this scandal.Pressuring an attorney general to interfere in a criminal proceeding is wrong. Kicking out two members of Parliament who stood up to his abuse of power is unconscionable.Again, why does telling the truth get members kicked out of the Liberal Party?
What we have right now is the Conservative Party desperate to try to stretch out a matter that has
Mr. Speaker, we know that the former attorney general was telling the truth. She was being inappropriately pressured by the Prime Minister. The tape proves it, and the Prime Minister should have finally admitted that she was right, but that is not what happened. Instead, he kicked her out of caucus and then he sent out his Liberal MPs to smear and insult her. We even saw the Liberal member for BrossardSaint-Lambert accuse the former attorney general of treason. Will the Prime Minister stand up now and have the integrity to denounce these outrageous and insulting comments?
Mr. Speaker, I would be careful about throwing stones about falsehoods when I am sitting in the official opposition's chair.The fact of the matter is that we are going to continue to focus on the things that matter to Canadians. Yes, the integrity of our institutions and the rule of law matter deeply to Canadians, like they matter to us. That is why we will continue to respect our institutions and the rule of law, even as we fight for jobs and we stand up for workers across this country. We continue to do the things Canadians expect us to do after 10 years of failure by the Conservatives.
Mr. Speaker, everyone in this place knows that being a member of a caucus comes with both rights and responsibilities and part of that responsibility is around trust.I had extensive conversations with members of our caucus, who informed me that they felt trust was broken. I reflected on it. We worked with the two individuals in question and made the determination that maintaining trust so we could continue to work on the big things that matter to Canadians, whether it is reconciliation, protecting our environment or growing the economy for the middle class, meant that we would move forward together.
Mr. Speaker, once she said that, I responded, No, I am not, and said it was her decision to make. She then committed to revisit and look into the decision once again. All these are elements in the testimony we have heard, which the justice committee examined exhaustively. Once again, we see that the member opposite is desperate to talk about anything other than our budget, anything other than the economic growth we are putting forward, and anything other than our concrete plan to fight climate change, because the Conservatives have no plan on any of that.
Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we on this side of the House listen to and respect all voices. However, the member opposite does not seem to have any respect for the voices in our caucus and cabinet talking about the work the government will keep doing to deliver on its commitments for Canadians and to invest in the middle class and in our communities.We are going to keep working together as a united team with a strong bond of trust. Unfortunately, in the case of the two former members of our caucus, that trust was broken.
Mr. Speaker, unlike the members opposite, we have always embraced a range of viewpoints and perspectives within our party. That actually strengthens the Liberal Party and allows us to do a better job of listening to Canadians from coast to coast to coast and governing in a way that is inclusive rather than divisive. That is what we will continue to do, but ultimately diversity only works if there is also trust, and when that relationship of trust was broken within our caucus I had to take a difficult decision, and I did.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are watching. What they saw yesterday was two women ministers being shown the door for speaking truth to power, and now the Prime Minister is not willing to answer any questions about the matter.The only reason the Prime Minister would continue with these non-answers is that the truth is even worse. Canadians deserve to know the truth before they go to the polls in October.Will the Prime Minister do what is right and call a public inquiry now?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member from Outremont for her hard work and her question.Budget 2019 invests $2.2 billion in our communities and in those who have shown that they are ready to move forward on projects. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities calls this a turning point for cities and communities across Canada. The Conservatives do not know what it means to work with municipalities, which they neglected for 10 years. We are working to build stronger and sustainable communities in Outremont and across the country.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians watched with disgust when the Liberals stood and applauded as the Prime Minister kicked two MPs out of the Liberal Party for having the audacity to stand up to him and speak truth to power.The Liberals may have decided there is no greater principle than covering up corruption, but Canadians know better. Throughout this entire affair, the Prime Minister has refused to tell the truth about his involvement in a concerted campaign to interfere in an ongoing criminal investigation.Why does he not do the honourable thing for once: apologize and resign?
Mr. Speaker, as all members of Parliament know, being a member of a caucus comes with both rights and responsibilities. That is why I listened to what members of our caucus had to say.Maintaining trust within a caucus is essential if we are to keep fighting for important things such as achieving reconciliation, tackling climate change and growing the economy for everyone. That is why we made that difficult decision. We remain united as we work on the things that matter.
Mr. Speaker, in his February 15 press conference, the Prime Minister said that it was the Attorney General's responsibility to come forward. We know that she did. She told the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance, the Clerk of the Privy Council and several other people in his office to stop.How can he claim that she did not come forward?
Mr. Speaker, for weeks and weeks, we have worked with the two individuals in question to try to find a way to move forward, because we know that the two former members of our caucus agree with the values of reconciliation, economic growth for the middle class and environmental protection. We are still looking to move forward.However, when it became clear that the relationship of trust between these individuals and the caucus was broken, we could no longer continue to work together as a team. I think everyone can understand that.
Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, my message to the young women here today and across the country is that they should get into politics. We need their perspectives. We need the wide range of opinions and perspectives they will bring and add to the House of Commons. We must listen to them. Everyone will not always agree on everything. This chamber exists so that members can engage in debate with people who have different perspectives. This happens by listening to one another, understanding one another and working together based on our values. That is what we will always do and that is what we have done.
Mr. Speaker, nobody would have to dig through anything if the Prime Minister did not abuse his power to interfere in a court proceeding. Nobody would have to dig through anything if the Prime Minister could just answer a simple question.Did he know about that phone call on December 19, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I believe you will find unanimous consent of the House to move the following motion: that this House acknowledge the 50th anniversary of the expropriation of land from Mirabel residents and that this House call on the government to formally and officially apologize to the people of Quebec from whom the federal government expropriated land in 1969 to build the Mirabel airport.
Mr. Speaker, he cannot answer a simple yes or no question. There are only two options: Either he knew about it or he did not know about it. Once again, did the Prime Minister know anything about that phone call on December 19 between the former attorney general and the Clerk of the Privy Council? There is only one answer. Is it yes or is it no?
Mr. Speaker, I would like to know what the Prime Minister thinks of one of his female ministers, the Minister of International Development, who thumbed her nose at Canadians when she said that if the Liberals did politics the old-fashioned way, those two would have been booted from caucus two months ago. She says that is what it means to do politics differently.The Prime Minister expelled two women from his caucus because they took a stand and defended their principles.Since when has doing politics differently meant firing the attorney general for protecting our justice system?
Mr. Speaker, the only trust that has been broken is between the Prime Minister and Canadians, who have seen his abuse of power.He is trying to chalk this all up as some kind of internal Liberal civil was, like in the Martin-Chrétien days. However, this is different. This is not about factions within a caucus. This is about two strong individuals who saw something that was wrong and decided to stand up to it.Why does speaking truth to power disqualify members from sitting as a Liberal?
Mr. Speaker, so far, everything the former attorney general has said about the Prime Minister's corruption scandal has been proven to be true, and everything the Prime Minister has said has been proven to be false.Why is the Prime Minister still saying things he knows to be false?
Mr. Speaker, there are two viewpoints. There is the Prime Minister's viewpoint and there is the truth. After all of that, there are still massive inconsistencies between what the Prime Minister has said and what testimony has shown. I have a very simple question for the Prime Minister. When was the first time the Prime Minister spoke to the Clerk of the Privy Council after the December 19 phone call with the former attorney general?
Mr. Speaker, we spent weeks working with the former attorney general and others to try to find a path forward to rebuild the links of trust that must exist within a team at any point for it to function.We took the time to try to find a path forward, and amid many criticisms that we needed to act sooner, we did not. We wanted to demonstrate a different way and a different approach to politics that looks for common ground, that looks for paths forward. Only when it became very clear that there was a broken bond of trust that was not going to be able to be rebuilt did we take
Mr. Speaker, when one gains power, one has to actually respect the institutions, respect the voice for 338 ridings that was sent to Parliament, allow for real debate, and have ministers who are actually ministers of their department and not just spokespeople as approved by the PMO.Who said those words? It was the current Prime Minister, speaking to Maclean's in 2014. How things have changed.Yesterday, the Prime Minister ordered the expulsion of two former ministers, two women who dared to stand up to him.Is that how the Prime Minister sees power, as a means to banish anyone who disobeys his orders?
Mr. Speaker, what the member opposite said is untrue. We did not take action immediately. We took several weeks to try to bring together our caucus and work with the individuals in question. We wanted a united team so that we could continue to work on Canadians' top priorities.We have taken this new approach to leadership, which focuses on bringing people together and listening to different perspectives, very seriously. However, when we realized that there was no longer trust in our team, we had to do something.
Mr. Speaker, I note that he just cannot seem to bring himself to answer a very simple question. Is it yes or no? There is a reason this is important. It is because from the beginning he has always claimed that he never put pressure on the former attorney general. In that phone call, the clerk said four times that the Prime Minister was firm. He also claims that he had no idea the phone call took place and that she never brought her concerns to his office. Once again, is the answer yes or no? Did he know anything about the call before or after? It is one of the two options: yes or no.
Mr. Speaker, I agree entirely with the member opposite when he points out that we have done really big things as a government on the path to reconciliation. A lot of it is due to the extraordinary leadership of our former indigenous services minister. However, he will also know that an approach on reconciliation requires a whole-of-government approach.I can highlight that every single cabinet minister in this government has been working very hard on reconciliation and is partially responsible for the tremendous advances we have made upon this path. There is much more to do, and we are going to continue.
Mr. Speaker, today in this chamber dozens of the Daughters of the Vote turned their backs to the Prime Minister. Why? It is because they support strong, independent women speaking truth to power and because they know that integrity is the cornerstone of a person's character.By kicking the first indigenous attorney general of Canada out of caucus for upholding the law, the Prime Minister has made it clear that principled women who dare to stand up to him are not welcome in the Liberal Party.Is this what a self-proclaimed feminist looks like in 2019?
Mr. Speaker, that was not the question. I did not ask if he got a debrief. I asked when the first time he spoke to the Clerk of Privy Council was after that phone call. I will try it a slightly different way. Did the Prime Minister know anything about that phone call between the Clerk of the Privy Council and the former attorney general on December 19, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, we have a plan to let women speak.Yesterday, the Prime Minister ousted two of his former ministers from his caucus for reasons that are unclear and to try to save his image. When the Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie was asked about the Prime Minister's fragile standing in the wake of that decision, she simply said that people are either loyal or they are not.Since when is telling the truth considered to be disloyal?
Mr. Speaker, at that September meeting, the former attorney general reports that she looked the Prime Minister in the eye and said, Are you politically interfering with my role...as the Attorney General? I would strongly advise against it.Does the Prime Minister remember her saying any such thing?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister told Canadians that if anyone thought he had done anything wrong on SNC, then it was their responsibility to come forward, but no one did. However, text messages, journal entries and audio recordings prove the former attorney general did come forward and complain to him and his top staff on September 16, 17 and 19, October 26, November 22, and December 5, 18 and 19. Does he really claim he knew absolutely nothing about the complaints she brought forward in more than half a dozen meetings?
Mr. Speaker, when the member for TimminsJames Bay and I visited Grassy Narrows, we were devastated by the impacts of mercury poisoning on young people and the community. Reconciliation is not just in words. It is in actions. When indigenous activists raised concerns about the mercury poisoning in Grassy Narrows, the Prime Minister responded by making a joke at their expense. That is not leadership. Will the Prime Minister commit today to going to Grassy Narrows, meeting with a community that is suffering with mercury poisoning, meeting with the leadership and committing to action?
Mr. Speaker, the question was whether he would go there or not. He does not seem to answer.Many women are on the Hill today to encourage women to get into politics. The Prime Minister has sent them a clear message: anyone who dares to criticize him, who dares to stand up for principles like judicial independence, will be shown the door.How does the Prime Minister plan to encourage women with a message like that?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is sending that same message to countless young people who were hoping that politics would be done differently. The Prime Minister has no time for those who have the courage to put Canadians' interests ahead of their party's interests.Why attack women who stand up for principles that are greater than any political party?
Mr. Speaker, indigenous people across the country want their inherent rights to be recognized. The case of mercury poisoning in Grassy Narrows is no laughing matter. Indigenous people want to live with dignity and have a good quality of life. The Prime Minister said his comments lacked respect. What he did not say was that he lacks the will to seriously listen to indigenous people.Enough empty words from the Prime Minister. Will he commit to visit the people of Grassy Narrows and give them the respect and attention they deserve?
Mr. Speaker, this past Monday marked the 70th anniversary since my province of Newfoundland and Labrador joined Confederation.Since 1949, our province has made an invaluable contribution to the social and cultural fabric of our nation. We have seen some unprecedented economic growth and development.Can the Prime Minister please update this House on the details of the renewed Atlantic Accord with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and how this will benefit every single person in our province?
Mr. Speaker, both my office and the clerk himself have confirmed that I did not get a debrief on that particular conversation.What we see once again are members opposite trying to talk about anything other than the economy, the budget, the canola challenge that our western farmers are facing right now. These are the kinds of things that matter to Canadians. It has been 339 days since the member opposite promised Canadians he would soon release his climate change plan, and we are still waiting. No wonder he does not want to talk about it.
Mr. Speaker, there have been hours and hours of testimony at the justice committee by a broad range of actors in this, including by the former attorney general herself, who was given an unprecedented waiver that allowed her to speak fully on matters regarding SNC-Lavalin and her time as Attorney General. I can understand that the members opposite want to stay on this and do not want to talk about the fact that they have no plan to fight climate change, that they have no plan for the economy, that they have no plan for ensuring the jobs of the future. They continue to need to play politics.
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. In a moment, I will be seeking unanimous consent for a motion. As we all know in the House, our canola producers are going through a lot of hardship right now. I hope, because the House has not yet had a chance to voice its opinion on this matter, that all members in the House will join me in giving support to the following motion: That, in the opinion of the House, the government recognize the importance and value of canola as an agricultural crop and do everything in its power to resolve the current trade dispute with China, including (a) ensuring all agricultural business-risk management programs are reviewed and made adaptable to the needs of producers who are suffering because of loss-of-market access; (b) using all diplomatic channels available with the Government of China to press for a speedy resolution; (c) reviewing Canada's current trade deficit with China to ensure we are safeguarding current and future jobs by using all fiscal, legal and other trade options available at Canada's disposal; and (d) diversifying our canola export market.
Mr. Speaker, today hundreds of determined young women are in the House from Daughters of the Vote. I spoke with them about the importance of getting involved and running for office, but what have they seen this week? They have seen women speak truth to power and then get shown the door. What message is the Prime Minister sending to Canadians, particularly to young women, when he kicks out former cabinet ministers just for doing the right thing?
Mr. Speaker, the member for Carleton continues to try to find inconsistencies where there simply are none.We are going to continue to work together as a government on the things that matter to Canadians, as a strong, united team that is secure in the trust of this team. As we move forward, we are going to stay focused on the things that matter, while the members opposite try to clutch at straws and create political complications where there are none. We are going to stay focused on Canadians, while those members stay focused on us.
Mr. Speaker, so far everything to date that the former attorney general has said about this corruption scandal has been proven to be true. Everything the Prime Minister has said, from claiming that he never put pressure on her to she never came forward with her concerns, has been proven to be false.Why does telling the truth get a member kicked out of the Liberal Party?
Mr. Speaker, during the last election campaign, the Liberal Party promised a lot of things, such as enacting electoral reform, ending subsidies for oil companies, increasing international aid, ensuring respect for first nations and reducing tax evasion. Nothing has been done. We were also told they would do politics differently, that they would reduce the role of the Prime Minister's Office. Today we find out that Liberal ministers and MPs have to do the PMO's bidding.Does the Prime Minister realize that he has lost all credibility and that no one trusts him any more?
Mr. Speaker, we have a justice committee that has been tasked with looking into this matter. We have an Ethics Commissioner who, for those people watching today, has the role to make determinations about what is going on in the House.In this House, members opposite are free to make all sorts of accusations, allegations and sling mud as they will, but we have an Ethics and Conflict of Interest Commissioner who is tasked with digging to the bottom of things to understand what is political dross and what is reality. That is the work that we support. That is what we will continue
Mr. Speaker, first of all, standing up for the independence of our rule of law is important to every single Canadian. The Prime Minister need not worry. We can talk about the falsehoods that he says about his record later.Today we are talking about the things he has said about this scandal that just are not true. We have all heard the tape. We know now that the Prime Minister sent in his top officials to pressure the former attorney general, and we have seen him kick out those individuals who stood up to him.Again, why is the Liberal Party safe for those who spread falsehoods, but not safe for truth-tellers?
Mr. Speaker, everyone on this side of the House understands that a range of perspectives and opinions is essential in representing Canadians from coast to coast to coast in their hopes and aspirations, in standing up for our institutions and in standing up for their jobs. We are going to continue to do what matters to Canadians in investing in their jobs and their future, while defending our institutions. We will continue to do that as a strong, united team because that is what Canadians expect.
Mr. Speaker, in my direct encounter in a meeting with the former attorney general in September, I confirmed to her that the decision around a DPA was hers and hers alone. That is what has been clear throughout this entire process.There have been 13 hours of testimony, including four by the former attorney general, allowed for by the fact that we put forward an unprecedented waiver that suspended solicitor-client privilege in this matter, that suspended cabinet confidentiality so she could speak fully to this matter that was being looked at by the justice committee.
Mr. Speaker, my question was simple. La Presse has requested access to all of Michael Wernick's documents from November 1 to December 15.How did the government respond? It said the documents would be available in 240 days, in other words, four weeks after the election. What a coincidence.If the Prime Minister has nothing to hide, will he stand here today, before this House and before Canadians, and promise to make those documents available, as requested by La Presse?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Bay of Quinte for his hard work for his constituents. We recognize that one person living in homelessness is one too many. We announced Canada's first-ever national housing strategy and made record investments in housing.Reaching home, our homelessness partnering strategy, sets ambitious targets and doubles funding to fight homelessness, reducing it by 50% in the coming years. Reaching home makes more communities eligible to receive funding, helps us meet our ambitious targets, and mostly helps vulnerable people across our country.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has shown a profound disrespect toward indigenous peoples. He mocks protestors when they are seeking justice for Grassy Narrows, turns his back on indigenous peoples saying no to his pipeline, and now fires one of the most prominent indigenous women in Canada for speaking truth to power.Indigenous peoples have had enough of this disrespect. Colonialism is alive and well in this country. Many still live in third world living conditions, so why will this Prime Minister not listen to what they are saying and why does he continuously show such disrespect to indigenous peoples?
Mr. Speaker, we were elected on a promise to invest in the middle class and in our communities, and that is exactly what we did. We are seeing the creation of more than 900,000 jobs across the country and a drop in the unemployment rate to its lowest levels in 40 years. We are seeing one of the strongest growth rates in the G7. We continue to prove that the way to grow the economy is to invest in the middle class. We will continue to keep the promises we made to Canadians because that is what Canadians expect.
Mr. Speaker, I am certain that the member for Burnaby South did not mean to even inadvertently disparage the extraordinary women who remain in our government who continue to lead every day on issues that matter deeply to Canadians, whether it is foreign affairs, official languages, employment, status of women, or whether it is the very first Minister of Agriculture to happen to be a woman or the first woman government House leader. There is an extraordinary range of strong women in all seats in this House who are making a difference with what they deeply believe in. I know he did not mean to disparage any one of them.
Mr. Speaker, right now we see a Conservative Party trying to stretch out an issue that has dominated headlines for the past weeks because it wants to keep talking about anything other than the issues that matter to Canadians, whether it be a real plan to fight climate change, or a budget that helps Canadians get the training they need to be able to continue in the workforce, that makes education more affordable or that helps homebuyers buy their first homes.
Mr. Speaker, that is an absolutely cowardly response from the Prime Minister. By not denouncing those comments, the Prime Minister is endorsing the smear campaign levelled against the former attorney general and the former president of the Treasury Board. These women are being punished for the crime of telling the truth and having the proof to back it up. They stood up to the Prime Minister and they refused to be silent.Why did the Prime Minister punish these strong women for doing what was right, for telling the truth and for standing up to his good old boys club?
Mr. Speaker, once again the member opposite is twisting himself into rhetorical knots to try to make a point that is simply not there.We have been crystal clear throughout this process. We have allowed the testimonies to be heard through the justice committee, because of an unprecedented waiver we put forward suspending both cabinet confidentiality and solicitor-client privilege. We very much continue to stand up for our institutions and the rule of law, while always standing up for Canadians and their jobs, right across the country.We will continue to do that.
Mr. Speaker, in 2002, three women appeared on the cover of Time magazine as persons of the year. They were whistle-blowers. They took risks to reveal illegal or unethical practices in their own organizations. These women inspired me when I was a young lawyer in 2002. Today we have two more women who are probably very inspiring for women across this country. These women also took risks to speak their truth, and they were thrown out the door of the Liberal Party.Why has the Prime Minister decided that whistle-blowers need to be punished and not appreciated?
Mr. Speaker, apparently unlike the member opposite, we have confidence in the work of our House committees. We respect the work that the justice committee did in hearing hours upon hours of testimony, including testimony that was allowed for by the fact that we emitted an unprecedented waiver of both solicitor-client privilege and cabinet confidentiality to allow the former attorney general and others to speak fully to the matter under investigation by the justice committee.That is the kind of openness and transparency that Canadians expect, and that is what we will always stand for.
Mr. Speaker, what has been obvious for a number of weeks now is that the Conservatives will go to any ends to avoid talking about the budget, to avoid talking about climate change, to avoid talking about the things that matter deeply to Canadians. We are proud that in our last budget we invested significantly in women's organizations across the country. We have put a program forward so first-time homebuyers can actually get into their home ownership sooner. We have moved forward on significant measures to fight climate change.We will continue to focus on the things that matter to Canadians, even if the Conservatives stay focused on us.
Mr. Speaker, from the very beginning, the government has been focused on partnership with indigenous peoples. We have been focused on moving forward in ways that respect and uplift indigenous peoples in communities. We have been doing that with hundreds of new school projects, better access to health care, eliminating 82 long-term boil water advisories and being on track to eliminating 100% of them within the five years we committed to. We know there is tremendous work being done on new relationships, including new fiscal relationships and new governance relationships. We are walking forward on the path to reconciliation, but we admit there is much more
Mr. Speaker, about six months from now, Canadians will have an opportunity to go to the polls and choose what the future of the country will look like. I suspect, from conversations we have had with Canadians, they are going to be making choices around who has a better plan for the economy, who has a real plan to fight climate change, who has a plan for reconciliation with indigenous peoples and who is going to move forward in a way that responds to their real concerns.The Conservatives promised a plan to fight climate change 339 days ago and still refuse to talk about anything.
Mr. Speaker, in 15 years I have dealt with all manner of Indian affairs ministers, but the member for MarkhamStouffville was one who got things done. I worked with her on the health and suicide crisis in the north. She committed to the relocation of Kashechewan and we battled to instill Jordan's principle as a legal right.To see the Liberal caucus publicly trash the member's reputation with words like traitor and repugnant and joined at the hip with her colleague is just not acceptable. She deserves better than this.Does the Prime Minister not understand that?
Mr. Speaker, we have committed to forging a new relationship with indigenous peoples based on trust, respect and the true spirit of co-operation, not just empty words like the member opposite accuses us of. We have made historic investments since 2015, including advancing reconciliation in concrete ways, securing a better quality of life and improving access to safe, clean drinking water. Investments have increased by 50% and there is still more work to do.In budget 2019 we eliminated barriers to quality health care and culturally relevant social supports. We are funding post-secondary
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister just said that he was proud of having a gender-balanced cabinet. However, when two women had the courage to be transparent and honest and to tell the truth, the first thing he did was remove them from the Liberal caucus and send them to this side of the House.Meanwhile, the problem is still there. The Prime Minister interfered in the legal system on a case involving criminal charges.If the Prime Minister has nothing to hide, will he give La Presse access to the document from the former clerk of the Privy Council, Michael Wernick, so that we can have all of the information between November 1 and
Mr. Speaker, as we have said repeatedly and as we have heard repeatedly, I was not debriefed on that conversation between the clerk and the minister. I should have spoken directly with the minister. There was not an opportunity to do that.I continue to say that we know we need to work better. We need to improve our systems so that the lines of communication are better open. This has been a situation that has led to concrete changes in how we move forward.Again, we are continuing to move forward on the things that matter to Canadians, which include
Mr. Speaker, now the Prime Minister has caught himself in a trap of his own making. He came out on February 15 and said that no one had come forward to raise any concerns about his conduct. Now he admits on the floor of the House of Commons that way before, in September, his own attorney general asked him to his face if he was interfering. Why is the Prime Minister having so much difficulty remembering his story? Is it because it is simply not true?
Mr. Speaker, I will take no lessons from the Conservatives on the matter of strong leadership. We have 18 strong women members of cabinet who lead every day on the big issues that matter to Canadians, from our place in the world to investing in resources for women's organizations to bringing extraordinary young women to Ottawa on a day like this from every corner of the country.We will continue to lead the way in a way that matters to Canadians and to this world.
Mr. Speaker, there have been hours and hours of testimony by all the people involved, including the former attorney general, who spoke for four hours. We issued an unprecedented order in council waiving solicitor-client privilege and cabinet confidence, allowing her to speak fully on the matter. We know that it is important for all perspectives to be heard, and they have indeed been heard.
Mr. Speaker, let us talk for a moment about how we can continue to improve the lives of our middle-class Canadians right across the country.We have already invested in incredible infrastructure projects in my riding of Outremont, such as the metro's blue line, the REM, the new University of Montreal campus and others.Can the Prime Minister tell us about the investments in the budget that will continue to meet our municipalities' needs?
Mr. Speaker, I could not agree more that the interests of Canadians outweigh the interests of political parties. That is why we are focusing on reconciliation, economic growth, gender equality, strong investments in communities across the country, a plan for pharmacare, and a plan for investing in municipal infrastructure. We are working for Canadians instead of playing politics.
Mr. Speaker, this week I was pleased to see that Hastings County will be receiving more than $1.4 million to help fight homelessness. This funding is part of Canada's first-ever national housing strategy, in which our government committed to reducing chronic homelessness by at least 50% over the next decade.Could the Prime Minister tell the House how the national housing strategy and reaching home, the government's redesigned homelessness partnering strategy, are helping Canada's most at-risk people find safe, affordable, accessible places to call home?
Mr. Speaker, I apologized and I apologize again for the comments I made. They lacked respect. They were unacceptable. We know that the situation in Grassy Narrows has been dire for a long time. That is why we have committed to moving forward on building the resources for it. We have continued to work in partnership with the province that holds a significant area of responsibility in this matter to ensure that we are supporting the people of Grassy Narrows. I am happy to say that the Minister of Indigenous Services just had a conversation with Chief Turtle. We will continue to work with the community of Grassy Narrows on concrete solutions.
Mr. Speaker, now the Prime Minister has effectively admitted that when he looked 37 million Canadians in the eye on February 15 and told them that the former attorney general had never spoken a word about her concerns, he was stating a patent falsehood. There is a word for that kind of falsehood that I cannot utter on the floor of the House of Commons.Will the Prime Minister, having now caught himself in his own trap of contradiction and deception, apologize to the Canadian people for stating that falsehood on February 15?
Mr. Speaker, it was our government that strengthened the access to information system. We are currently reviewing that request and will respond appropriately at the earliest opportunity. We believe strongly in the importance of access to information and transparency, and in the extraordinary work done by journalists across the country to protect our democracy and keep Canadians informed.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Whitby for her strong words and her unflagging compassion and passion for bringing Canada forward.Bringing more women into the political process and our democratic institutions is fundamental if we are to achieve gender equality. That is why the work of Equal Voice and Daughters of the Vote is so timely and crucial. That is why we were proud to invest $3.8 million in Daughters of the Vote.I thank Equal Voice and the Daughters of the Vote program for their important work, and I wish great success to all the daughters who are here in Ottawa this week.
Mr. Speaker, we thank the member for Long Range Mountains and the Minister of Indigenous Services for their incredible work on securing a strong future for Newfoundland and Labrador.We were pleased to conclude the renewal of the Atlantic Accord with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. We have reached a new resource sharing agreement that will create and protect good middle-class jobs. We are going to develop natural resources in the right way. We will set the stage for sustained economic growth for years to come.This agreement supports a better, more secure future for generations of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, and I want to thank everyone involved for their tremendous work.
Mr. Speaker, trust goes both ways, does it not? I think that is something the Prime Minister needs to remember.Women are quite often whistle-blowers, and I will explain why. For many years we were not part of boardrooms. We sat on the sidelines of what happens in the corporate boardroom and in legislatures. As a result, we are uniquely placed to see when ethical lapses are happening. We also do have the courage to step up and speak when we need to.The Prime Minister may believe that he has dealt with this by throwing two people out of the Liberal Party, but many more courageous women are here, and they are here today, and they are watching. What does the Prime Minister have to say to them?
Mr. Speaker, the good old boys club is gone, because we have a gender-balanced cabinet in which strong women stand up every day for their constituents and for people right across the country. The Conservatives can pick and choose who they want to support and which individuals they want to listen to. We listen to all voices. We respect all voices. They are crassly exploiting a political situation for their own advantage and not thinking about the consequences for Canadians when we do not stand up for jobs, do not invest in opportunities for youth or do not support women's organizations like
Mr. Speaker, we will keep working to make life better for Canadians as we continue to respect our institutions and the rule of law, protect jobs, invest in our communities, work toward reconciliation and act on our concrete plan to fight climate change.Those are all things the Conservatives cannot talk about and do not want to talk about. They have no plan for the environment, no plan for the economy, no plan for gender equality, and no plan for what matters most to Canadians. Petty politics is all they know how to do.
Mr. Speaker, I was proud that for the first time in history we brought in a gender-balanced cabinet, bringing in strong women from across the country to be a full part of this government. I would very much like to hear from the member opposite if she can tell us that her party has made the commitment that if they should form government again, they will have a gender-balanced cabinet. That would be a wonderful thing to announce to the women in this room today, who very much want to see gender balance as the way forward in boardrooms, in courtrooms, in the house of Parliament and in government.
Mr. Speaker, today we had 338 Daughters of the Vote delegates take their seats in the House of Commons. They represented the strength and integrity that Canadians value.This morning, as we listened to their statements, I was inspired and acutely understood that they get it. They understand the power of their actions, the power of unity and the power of their voice.I want to encourage them to continue to speak their truth and to continue to stand up for justice. We stand with them.
Mr. Speaker, as a government we have moved forward in significant and meaningful ways on gender equality. I am proud of our development assistance policy, which is fundamentally feminist. I am proud that we have put forward budgets with a GBA-plus analysis. I am proud that we have moved forward on pay equity, that we have moved forward on funding for women's organizations across this country and that we have moved forward on a gender-balanced cabinet.I recognize there is much more to do and I am proud that there is now a contest among party leaders to see who can be the better feminist. I think that is a great thing for this country. I think that is a great thing for Parliament.
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Mr. Speaker, as a government we have moved forward in significant and meaningful ways on gender equality. I am proud of our development assistance policy, which is fundamentally feminist. I am proud that we have put forward budgets with a GBA-plus analysis. I am proud that we have moved forward on pay equity, that we have moved forward on funding for women's organizations across this country and that we have moved forward on a gender-balanced cabinet.I recognize there is much more to do and I am proud that there is now a contest among party leaders to see who can be the better feminist. I think that is a great thing for this country. I think that is a great thing for Parliament.
Mr. Speaker, today we had 338 Daughters of the Vote delegates take their seats in the House of Commons. They represented the strength and integrity that Canadians value.This morning, as we listened to their statements, I was inspired and acutely understood that they get it. They understand the power of their actions, the power of unity and the power of their voice.I want to encourage them to continue to speak their truth and to continue to stand up for justice. We stand with them.
Mr. Speaker, I was proud that for the first time in history we brought in a gender-balanced cabinet, bringing in strong women from across the country to be a full part of this government. I would very much like to hear from the member opposite if she can tell us that her party has made the commitment that if they should form government again, they will have a gender-balanced cabinet. That would be a wonderful thing to announce to the women in this room today, who very much want to see gender balance as the way forward in boardrooms, in courtrooms, in the house of Parliament and in government.
Mr. Speaker, we will keep working to make life better for Canadians as we continue to respect our institutions and the rule of law, protect jobs, invest in our communities, work toward reconciliation and act on our concrete plan to fight climate change.Those are all things the Conservatives cannot talk about and do not want to talk about. They have no plan for the environment, no plan for the economy, no plan for gender equality, and no plan for what matters most to Canadians. Petty politics is all they know how to do.
Mr. Speaker, the good old boys club is gone, because we have a gender-balanced cabinet in which strong women stand up every day for their constituents and for people right across the country. The Conservatives can pick and choose who they want to support and which individuals they want to listen to. We listen to all voices. We respect all voices. They are crassly exploiting a political situation for their own advantage and not thinking about the consequences for Canadians when we do not stand up for jobs, do not invest in opportunities for youth or do not support women's organizations like
Mr. Speaker, trust goes both ways, does it not? I think that is something the Prime Minister needs to remember.Women are quite often whistle-blowers, and I will explain why. For many years we were not part of boardrooms. We sat on the sidelines of what happens in the corporate boardroom and in legislatures. As a result, we are uniquely placed to see when ethical lapses are happening. We also do have the courage to step up and speak when we need to.The Prime Minister may believe that he has dealt with this by throwing two people out of the Liberal Party, but many more courageous women are here, and they are here today, and they are watching. What does the Prime Minister have to say to them?
Mr. Speaker, we thank the member for Long Range Mountains and the Minister of Indigenous Services for their incredible work on securing a strong future for Newfoundland and Labrador.We were pleased to conclude the renewal of the Atlantic Accord with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. We have reached a new resource sharing agreement that will create and protect good middle-class jobs. We are going to develop natural resources in the right way. We will set the stage for sustained economic growth for years to come.This agreement supports a better, more secure future for generations of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, and I want to thank everyone involved for their tremendous work.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Whitby for her strong words and her unflagging compassion and passion for bringing Canada forward.Bringing more women into the political process and our democratic institutions is fundamental if we are to achieve gender equality. That is why the work of Equal Voice and Daughters of the Vote is so timely and crucial. That is why we were proud to invest $3.8 million in Daughters of the Vote.I thank Equal Voice and the Daughters of the Vote program for their important work, and I wish great success to all the daughters who are here in Ottawa this week.
Mr. Speaker, it was our government that strengthened the access to information system. We are currently reviewing that request and will respond appropriately at the earliest opportunity. We believe strongly in the importance of access to information and transparency, and in the extraordinary work done by journalists across the country to protect our democracy and keep Canadians informed.
Mr. Speaker, now the Prime Minister has effectively admitted that when he looked 37 million Canadians in the eye on February 15 and told them that the former attorney general had never spoken a word about her concerns, he was stating a patent falsehood. There is a word for that kind of falsehood that I cannot utter on the floor of the House of Commons.Will the Prime Minister, having now caught himself in his own trap of contradiction and deception, apologize to the Canadian people for stating that falsehood on February 15?
Mr. Speaker, I apologized and I apologize again for the comments I made. They lacked respect. They were unacceptable. We know that the situation in Grassy Narrows has been dire for a long time. That is why we have committed to moving forward on building the resources for it. We have continued to work in partnership with the province that holds a significant area of responsibility in this matter to ensure that we are supporting the people of Grassy Narrows. I am happy to say that the Minister of Indigenous Services just had a conversation with Chief Turtle. We will continue to work with the community of Grassy Narrows on concrete solutions.
Mr. Speaker, this week I was pleased to see that Hastings County will be receiving more than $1.4 million to help fight homelessness. This funding is part of Canada's first-ever national housing strategy, in which our government committed to reducing chronic homelessness by at least 50% over the next decade.Could the Prime Minister tell the House how the national housing strategy and reaching home, the government's redesigned homelessness partnering strategy, are helping Canada's most at-risk people find safe, affordable, accessible places to call home?
Mr. Speaker, I could not agree more that the interests of Canadians outweigh the interests of political parties. That is why we are focusing on reconciliation, economic growth, gender equality, strong investments in communities across the country, a plan for pharmacare, and a plan for investing in municipal infrastructure. We are working for Canadians instead of playing politics.
Mr. Speaker, let us talk for a moment about how we can continue to improve the lives of our middle-class Canadians right across the country.We have already invested in incredible infrastructure projects in my riding of Outremont, such as the metro's blue line, the REM, the new University of Montreal campus and others.Can the Prime Minister tell us about the investments in the budget that will continue to meet our municipalities' needs?
Mr. Speaker, there have been hours and hours of testimony by all the people involved, including the former attorney general, who spoke for four hours. We issued an unprecedented order in council waiving solicitor-client privilege and cabinet confidence, allowing her to speak fully on the matter. We know that it is important for all perspectives to be heard, and they have indeed been heard.
Mr. Speaker, I will take no lessons from the Conservatives on the matter of strong leadership. We have 18 strong women members of cabinet who lead every day on the big issues that matter to Canadians, from our place in the world to investing in resources for women's organizations to bringing extraordinary young women to Ottawa on a day like this from every corner of the country.We will continue to lead the way in a way that matters to Canadians and to this world.
Mr. Speaker, now the Prime Minister has caught himself in a trap of his own making. He came out on February 15 and said that no one had come forward to raise any concerns about his conduct. Now he admits on the floor of the House of Commons that way before, in September, his own attorney general asked him to his face if he was interfering. Why is the Prime Minister having so much difficulty remembering his story? Is it because it is simply not true?
Mr. Speaker, as we have said repeatedly and as we have heard repeatedly, I was not debriefed on that conversation between the clerk and the minister. I should have spoken directly with the minister. There was not an opportunity to do that.I continue to say that we know we need to work better. We need to improve our systems so that the lines of communication are better open. This has been a situation that has led to concrete changes in how we move forward.Again, we are continuing to move forward on the things that matter to Canadians, which include
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister just said that he was proud of having a gender-balanced cabinet. However, when two women had the courage to be transparent and honest and to tell the truth, the first thing he did was remove them from the Liberal caucus and send them to this side of the House.Meanwhile, the problem is still there. The Prime Minister interfered in the legal system on a case involving criminal charges.If the Prime Minister has nothing to hide, will he give La Presse access to the document from the former clerk of the Privy Council, Michael Wernick, so that we can have all of the information between November 1 and
Mr. Speaker, we have committed to forging a new relationship with indigenous peoples based on trust, respect and the true spirit of co-operation, not just empty words like the member opposite accuses us of. We have made historic investments since 2015, including advancing reconciliation in concrete ways, securing a better quality of life and improving access to safe, clean drinking water. Investments have increased by 50% and there is still more work to do.In budget 2019 we eliminated barriers to quality health care and culturally relevant social supports. We are funding post-secondary
Mr. Speaker, in 15 years I have dealt with all manner of Indian affairs ministers, but the member for MarkhamStouffville was one who got things done. I worked with her on the health and suicide crisis in the north. She committed to the relocation of Kashechewan and we battled to instill Jordan's principle as a legal right.To see the Liberal caucus publicly trash the member's reputation with words like traitor and repugnant and joined at the hip with her colleague is just not acceptable. She deserves better than this.Does the Prime Minister not understand that?
Mr. Speaker, about six months from now, Canadians will have an opportunity to go to the polls and choose what the future of the country will look like. I suspect, from conversations we have had with Canadians, they are going to be making choices around who has a better plan for the economy, who has a real plan to fight climate change, who has a plan for reconciliation with indigenous peoples and who is going to move forward in a way that responds to their real concerns.The Conservatives promised a plan to fight climate change 339 days ago and still refuse to talk about anything.
Mr. Speaker, from the very beginning, the government has been focused on partnership with indigenous peoples. We have been focused on moving forward in ways that respect and uplift indigenous peoples in communities. We have been doing that with hundreds of new school projects, better access to health care, eliminating 82 long-term boil water advisories and being on track to eliminating 100% of them within the five years we committed to. We know there is tremendous work being done on new relationships, including new fiscal relationships and new governance relationships. We are walking forward on the path to reconciliation, but we admit there is much more
Mr. Speaker, what has been obvious for a number of weeks now is that the Conservatives will go to any ends to avoid talking about the budget, to avoid talking about climate change, to avoid talking about the things that matter deeply to Canadians. We are proud that in our last budget we invested significantly in women's organizations across the country. We have put a program forward so first-time homebuyers can actually get into their home ownership sooner. We have moved forward on significant measures to fight climate change.We will continue to focus on the things that matter to Canadians, even if the Conservatives stay focused on us.
Mr. Speaker, apparently unlike the member opposite, we have confidence in the work of our House committees. We respect the work that the justice committee did in hearing hours upon hours of testimony, including testimony that was allowed for by the fact that we emitted an unprecedented waiver of both solicitor-client privilege and cabinet confidentiality to allow the former attorney general and others to speak fully to the matter under investigation by the justice committee.That is the kind of openness and transparency that Canadians expect, and that is what we will always stand for.
Mr. Speaker, in 2002, three women appeared on the cover of Time magazine as persons of the year. They were whistle-blowers. They took risks to reveal illegal or unethical practices in their own organizations. These women inspired me when I was a young lawyer in 2002. Today we have two more women who are probably very inspiring for women across this country. These women also took risks to speak their truth, and they were thrown out the door of the Liberal Party.Why has the Prime Minister decided that whistle-blowers need to be punished and not appreciated?
Mr. Speaker, once again the member opposite is twisting himself into rhetorical knots to try to make a point that is simply not there.We have been crystal clear throughout this process. We have allowed the testimonies to be heard through the justice committee, because of an unprecedented waiver we put forward suspending both cabinet confidentiality and solicitor-client privilege. We very much continue to stand up for our institutions and the rule of law, while always standing up for Canadians and their jobs, right across the country.We will continue to do that.
Mr. Speaker, that is an absolutely cowardly response from the Prime Minister. By not denouncing those comments, the Prime Minister is endorsing the smear campaign levelled against the former attorney general and the former president of the Treasury Board. These women are being punished for the crime of telling the truth and having the proof to back it up. They stood up to the Prime Minister and they refused to be silent.Why did the Prime Minister punish these strong women for doing what was right, for telling the truth and for standing up to his good old boys club?
Mr. Speaker, right now we see a Conservative Party trying to stretch out an issue that has dominated headlines for the past weeks because it wants to keep talking about anything other than the issues that matter to Canadians, whether it be a real plan to fight climate change, or a budget that helps Canadians get the training they need to be able to continue in the workforce, that makes education more affordable or that helps homebuyers buy their first homes.
Mr. Speaker, I am certain that the member for Burnaby South did not mean to even inadvertently disparage the extraordinary women who remain in our government who continue to lead every day on issues that matter deeply to Canadians, whether it is foreign affairs, official languages, employment, status of women, or whether it is the very first Minister of Agriculture to happen to be a woman or the first woman government House leader. There is an extraordinary range of strong women in all seats in this House who are making a difference with what they deeply believe in. I know he did not mean to disparage any one of them.
Mr. Speaker, we were elected on a promise to invest in the middle class and in our communities, and that is exactly what we did. We are seeing the creation of more than 900,000 jobs across the country and a drop in the unemployment rate to its lowest levels in 40 years. We are seeing one of the strongest growth rates in the G7. We continue to prove that the way to grow the economy is to invest in the middle class. We will continue to keep the promises we made to Canadians because that is what Canadians expect.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has shown a profound disrespect toward indigenous peoples. He mocks protestors when they are seeking justice for Grassy Narrows, turns his back on indigenous peoples saying no to his pipeline, and now fires one of the most prominent indigenous women in Canada for speaking truth to power.Indigenous peoples have had enough of this disrespect. Colonialism is alive and well in this country. Many still live in third world living conditions, so why will this Prime Minister not listen to what they are saying and why does he continuously show such disrespect to indigenous peoples?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Bay of Quinte for his hard work for his constituents. We recognize that one person living in homelessness is one too many. We announced Canada's first-ever national housing strategy and made record investments in housing.Reaching home, our homelessness partnering strategy, sets ambitious targets and doubles funding to fight homelessness, reducing it by 50% in the coming years. Reaching home makes more communities eligible to receive funding, helps us meet our ambitious targets, and mostly helps vulnerable people across our country.
Mr. Speaker, my question was simple. La Presse has requested access to all of Michael Wernick's documents from November 1 to December 15.How did the government respond? It said the documents would be available in 240 days, in other words, four weeks after the election. What a coincidence.If the Prime Minister has nothing to hide, will he stand here today, before this House and before Canadians, and promise to make those documents available, as requested by La Presse?
Mr. Speaker, everyone on this side of the House understands that a range of perspectives and opinions is essential in representing Canadians from coast to coast to coast in their hopes and aspirations, in standing up for our institutions and in standing up for their jobs. We are going to continue to do what matters to Canadians in investing in their jobs and their future, while defending our institutions. We will continue to do that as a strong, united team because that is what Canadians expect.
Mr. Speaker, in my direct encounter in a meeting with the former attorney general in September, I confirmed to her that the decision around a DPA was hers and hers alone. That is what has been clear throughout this entire process.There have been 13 hours of testimony, including four by the former attorney general, allowed for by the fact that we put forward an unprecedented waiver that suspended solicitor-client privilege in this matter, that suspended cabinet confidentiality so she could speak fully to this matter that was being looked at by the justice committee.
Mr. Speaker, first of all, standing up for the independence of our rule of law is important to every single Canadian. The Prime Minister need not worry. We can talk about the falsehoods that he says about his record later.Today we are talking about the things he has said about this scandal that just are not true. We have all heard the tape. We know now that the Prime Minister sent in his top officials to pressure the former attorney general, and we have seen him kick out those individuals who stood up to him.Again, why is the Liberal Party safe for those who spread falsehoods, but not safe for truth-tellers?
Mr. Speaker, we have a justice committee that has been tasked with looking into this matter. We have an Ethics Commissioner who, for those people watching today, has the role to make determinations about what is going on in the House.In this House, members opposite are free to make all sorts of accusations, allegations and sling mud as they will, but we have an Ethics and Conflict of Interest Commissioner who is tasked with digging to the bottom of things to understand what is political dross and what is reality. That is the work that we support. That is what we will continue
Mr. Speaker, so far everything to date that the former attorney general has said about this corruption scandal has been proven to be true. Everything the Prime Minister has said, from claiming that he never put pressure on her to she never came forward with her concerns, has been proven to be false.Why does telling the truth get a member kicked out of the Liberal Party?
Mr. Speaker, during the last election campaign, the Liberal Party promised a lot of things, such as enacting electoral reform, ending subsidies for oil companies, increasing international aid, ensuring respect for first nations and reducing tax evasion. Nothing has been done. We were also told they would do politics differently, that they would reduce the role of the Prime Minister's Office. Today we find out that Liberal ministers and MPs have to do the PMO's bidding.Does the Prime Minister realize that he has lost all credibility and that no one trusts him any more?
Mr. Speaker, the member for Carleton continues to try to find inconsistencies where there simply are none.We are going to continue to work together as a government on the things that matter to Canadians, as a strong, united team that is secure in the trust of this team. As we move forward, we are going to stay focused on the things that matter, while the members opposite try to clutch at straws and create political complications where there are none. We are going to stay focused on Canadians, while those members stay focused on us.
Mr. Speaker, today hundreds of determined young women are in the House from Daughters of the Vote. I spoke with them about the importance of getting involved and running for office, but what have they seen this week? They have seen women speak truth to power and then get shown the door. What message is the Prime Minister sending to Canadians, particularly to young women, when he kicks out former cabinet ministers just for doing the right thing?
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. In a moment, I will be seeking unanimous consent for a motion. As we all know in the House, our canola producers are going through a lot of hardship right now. I hope, because the House has not yet had a chance to voice its opinion on this matter, that all members in the House will join me in giving support to the following motion: That, in the opinion of the House, the government recognize the importance and value of canola as an agricultural crop and do everything in its power to resolve the current trade dispute with China, including (a) ensuring all agricultural business-risk management programs are reviewed and made adaptable to the needs of producers who are suffering because of loss-of-market access; (b) using all diplomatic channels available with the Government of China to press for a speedy resolution; (c) reviewing Canada's current trade deficit with China to ensure we are safeguarding current and future jobs by using all fiscal, legal and other trade options available at Canada's disposal; and (d) diversifying our canola export market.
Mr. Speaker, there have been hours and hours of testimony at the justice committee by a broad range of actors in this, including by the former attorney general herself, who was given an unprecedented waiver that allowed her to speak fully on matters regarding SNC-Lavalin and her time as Attorney General. I can understand that the members opposite want to stay on this and do not want to talk about the fact that they have no plan to fight climate change, that they have no plan for the economy, that they have no plan for ensuring the jobs of the future. They continue to need to play politics.
Mr. Speaker, both my office and the clerk himself have confirmed that I did not get a debrief on that particular conversation.What we see once again are members opposite trying to talk about anything other than the economy, the budget, the canola challenge that our western farmers are facing right now. These are the kinds of things that matter to Canadians. It has been 339 days since the member opposite promised Canadians he would soon release his climate change plan, and we are still waiting. No wonder he does not want to talk about it.
Mr. Speaker, this past Monday marked the 70th anniversary since my province of Newfoundland and Labrador joined Confederation.Since 1949, our province has made an invaluable contribution to the social and cultural fabric of our nation. We have seen some unprecedented economic growth and development.Can the Prime Minister please update this House on the details of the renewed Atlantic Accord with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and how this will benefit every single person in our province?
Mr. Speaker, indigenous people across the country want their inherent rights to be recognized. The case of mercury poisoning in Grassy Narrows is no laughing matter. Indigenous people want to live with dignity and have a good quality of life. The Prime Minister said his comments lacked respect. What he did not say was that he lacks the will to seriously listen to indigenous people.Enough empty words from the Prime Minister. Will he commit to visit the people of Grassy Narrows and give them the respect and attention they deserve?
Mr. Speaker, when the member for TimminsJames Bay and I visited Grassy Narrows, we were devastated by the impacts of mercury poisoning on young people and the community. Reconciliation is not just in words. It is in actions. When indigenous activists raised concerns about the mercury poisoning in Grassy Narrows, the Prime Minister responded by making a joke at their expense. That is not leadership. Will the Prime Minister commit today to going to Grassy Narrows, meeting with a community that is suffering with mercury poisoning, meeting with the leadership and committing to action?
Mr. Speaker, the question was whether he would go there or not. He does not seem to answer.Many women are on the Hill today to encourage women to get into politics. The Prime Minister has sent them a clear message: anyone who dares to criticize him, who dares to stand up for principles like judicial independence, will be shown the door.How does the Prime Minister plan to encourage women with a message like that?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is sending that same message to countless young people who were hoping that politics would be done differently. The Prime Minister has no time for those who have the courage to put Canadians' interests ahead of their party's interests.Why attack women who stand up for principles that are greater than any political party?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister told Canadians that if anyone thought he had done anything wrong on SNC, then it was their responsibility to come forward, but no one did. However, text messages, journal entries and audio recordings prove the former attorney general did come forward and complain to him and his top staff on September 16, 17 and 19, October 26, November 22, and December 5, 18 and 19. Does he really claim he knew absolutely nothing about the complaints she brought forward in more than half a dozen meetings?
Mr. Speaker, at that September meeting, the former attorney general reports that she looked the Prime Minister in the eye and said, Are you politically interfering with my role...as the Attorney General? I would strongly advise against it.Does the Prime Minister remember her saying any such thing?
Mr. Speaker, we have a plan to let women speak.Yesterday, the Prime Minister ousted two of his former ministers from his caucus for reasons that are unclear and to try to save his image. When the Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie was asked about the Prime Minister's fragile standing in the wake of that decision, she simply said that people are either loyal or they are not.Since when is telling the truth considered to be disloyal?
Mr. Speaker, that was not the question. I did not ask if he got a debrief. I asked when the first time he spoke to the Clerk of Privy Council was after that phone call. I will try it a slightly different way. Did the Prime Minister know anything about that phone call between the Clerk of the Privy Council and the former attorney general on December 19, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, today in this chamber dozens of the Daughters of the Vote turned their backs to the Prime Minister. Why? It is because they support strong, independent women speaking truth to power and because they know that integrity is the cornerstone of a person's character.By kicking the first indigenous attorney general of Canada out of caucus for upholding the law, the Prime Minister has made it clear that principled women who dare to stand up to him are not welcome in the Liberal Party.Is this what a self-proclaimed feminist looks like in 2019?
Mr. Speaker, I agree entirely with the member opposite when he points out that we have done really big things as a government on the path to reconciliation. A lot of it is due to the extraordinary leadership of our former indigenous services minister. However, he will also know that an approach on reconciliation requires a whole-of-government approach.I can highlight that every single cabinet minister in this government has been working very hard on reconciliation and is partially responsible for the tremendous advances we have made upon this path. There is much more to do, and we are going to continue.
Mr. Speaker, I note that he just cannot seem to bring himself to answer a very simple question. Is it yes or no? There is a reason this is important. It is because from the beginning he has always claimed that he never put pressure on the former attorney general. In that phone call, the clerk said four times that the Prime Minister was firm. He also claims that he had no idea the phone call took place and that she never brought her concerns to his office. Once again, is the answer yes or no? Did he know anything about the call before or after? It is one of the two options: yes or no.
Mr. Speaker, what the member opposite said is untrue. We did not take action immediately. We took several weeks to try to bring together our caucus and work with the individuals in question. We wanted a united team so that we could continue to work on Canadians' top priorities.We have taken this new approach to leadership, which focuses on bringing people together and listening to different perspectives, very seriously. However, when we realized that there was no longer trust in our team, we had to do something.
Mr. Speaker, when one gains power, one has to actually respect the institutions, respect the voice for 338 ridings that was sent to Parliament, allow for real debate, and have ministers who are actually ministers of their department and not just spokespeople as approved by the PMO.Who said those words? It was the current Prime Minister, speaking to Maclean's in 2014. How things have changed.Yesterday, the Prime Minister ordered the expulsion of two former ministers, two women who dared to stand up to him.Is that how the Prime Minister sees power, as a means to banish anyone who disobeys his orders?
Mr. Speaker, we spent weeks working with the former attorney general and others to try to find a path forward to rebuild the links of trust that must exist within a team at any point for it to function.We took the time to try to find a path forward, and amid many criticisms that we needed to act sooner, we did not. We wanted to demonstrate a different way and a different approach to politics that looks for common ground, that looks for paths forward. Only when it became very clear that there was a broken bond of trust that was not going to be able to be rebuilt did we take
Mr. Speaker, there are two viewpoints. There is the Prime Minister's viewpoint and there is the truth. After all of that, there are still massive inconsistencies between what the Prime Minister has said and what testimony has shown. I have a very simple question for the Prime Minister. When was the first time the Prime Minister spoke to the Clerk of the Privy Council after the December 19 phone call with the former attorney general?
Mr. Speaker, so far, everything the former attorney general has said about the Prime Minister's corruption scandal has been proven to be true, and everything the Prime Minister has said has been proven to be false.Why is the Prime Minister still saying things he knows to be false?
Mr. Speaker, the only trust that has been broken is between the Prime Minister and Canadians, who have seen his abuse of power.He is trying to chalk this all up as some kind of internal Liberal civil was, like in the Martin-Chrétien days. However, this is different. This is not about factions within a caucus. This is about two strong individuals who saw something that was wrong and decided to stand up to it.Why does speaking truth to power disqualify members from sitting as a Liberal?
Mr. Speaker, I would like to know what the Prime Minister thinks of one of his female ministers, the Minister of International Development, who thumbed her nose at Canadians when she said that if the Liberals did politics the old-fashioned way, those two would have been booted from caucus two months ago. She says that is what it means to do politics differently.The Prime Minister expelled two women from his caucus because they took a stand and defended their principles.Since when has doing politics differently meant firing the attorney general for protecting our justice system?
Mr. Speaker, he cannot answer a simple yes or no question. There are only two options: Either he knew about it or he did not know about it. Once again, did the Prime Minister know anything about that phone call on December 19 between the former attorney general and the Clerk of the Privy Council? There is only one answer. Is it yes or is it no?
Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, my message to the young women here today and across the country is that they should get into politics. We need their perspectives. We need the wide range of opinions and perspectives they will bring and add to the House of Commons. We must listen to them. Everyone will not always agree on everything. This chamber exists so that members can engage in debate with people who have different perspectives. This happens by listening to one another, understanding one another and working together based on our values. That is what we will always do and that is what we have done.
Mr. Speaker, nobody would have to dig through anything if the Prime Minister did not abuse his power to interfere in a court proceeding. Nobody would have to dig through anything if the Prime Minister could just answer a simple question.Did he know about that phone call on December 19, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I believe you will find unanimous consent of the House to move the following motion: that this House acknowledge the 50th anniversary of the expropriation of land from Mirabel residents and that this House call on the government to formally and officially apologize to the people of Quebec from whom the federal government expropriated land in 1969 to build the Mirabel airport.
Mr. Speaker, for weeks and weeks, we have worked with the two individuals in question to try to find a way to move forward, because we know that the two former members of our caucus agree with the values of reconciliation, economic growth for the middle class and environmental protection. We are still looking to move forward.However, when it became clear that the relationship of trust between these individuals and the caucus was broken, we could no longer continue to work together as a team. I think everyone can understand that.
Mr. Speaker, as all members of Parliament know, being a member of a caucus comes with both rights and responsibilities. That is why I listened to what members of our caucus had to say.Maintaining trust within a caucus is essential if we are to keep fighting for important things such as achieving reconciliation, tackling climate change and growing the economy for everyone. That is why we made that difficult decision. We remain united as we work on the things that matter.
Mr. Speaker, in his February 15 press conference, the Prime Minister said that it was the Attorney General's responsibility to come forward. We know that she did. She told the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance, the Clerk of the Privy Council and several other people in his office to stop.How can he claim that she did not come forward?
Mr. Speaker, Canadians watched with disgust when the Liberals stood and applauded as the Prime Minister kicked two MPs out of the Liberal Party for having the audacity to stand up to him and speak truth to power.The Liberals may have decided there is no greater principle than covering up corruption, but Canadians know better. Throughout this entire affair, the Prime Minister has refused to tell the truth about his involvement in a concerted campaign to interfere in an ongoing criminal investigation.Why does he not do the honourable thing for once: apologize and resign?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member from Outremont for her hard work and her question.Budget 2019 invests $2.2 billion in our communities and in those who have shown that they are ready to move forward on projects. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities calls this a turning point for cities and communities across Canada. The Conservatives do not know what it means to work with municipalities, which they neglected for 10 years. We are working to build stronger and sustainable communities in Outremont and across the country.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are watching. What they saw yesterday was two women ministers being shown the door for speaking truth to power, and now the Prime Minister is not willing to answer any questions about the matter.The only reason the Prime Minister would continue with these non-answers is that the truth is even worse. Canadians deserve to know the truth before they go to the polls in October.Will the Prime Minister do what is right and call a public inquiry now?
Mr. Speaker, unlike the members opposite, we have always embraced a range of viewpoints and perspectives within our party. That actually strengthens the Liberal Party and allows us to do a better job of listening to Canadians from coast to coast to coast and governing in a way that is inclusive rather than divisive. That is what we will continue to do, but ultimately diversity only works if there is also trust, and when that relationship of trust was broken within our caucus I had to take a difficult decision, and I did.
Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we on this side of the House listen to and respect all voices. However, the member opposite does not seem to have any respect for the voices in our caucus and cabinet talking about the work the government will keep doing to deliver on its commitments for Canadians and to invest in the middle class and in our communities.We are going to keep working together as a united team with a strong bond of trust. Unfortunately, in the case of the two former members of our caucus, that trust was broken.
Mr. Speaker, once she said that, I responded, No, I am not, and said it was her decision to make. She then committed to revisit and look into the decision once again. All these are elements in the testimony we have heard, which the justice committee examined exhaustively. Once again, we see that the member opposite is desperate to talk about anything other than our budget, anything other than the economic growth we are putting forward, and anything other than our concrete plan to fight climate change, because the Conservatives have no plan on any of that.
Mr. Speaker, everyone in this place knows that being a member of a caucus comes with both rights and responsibilities and part of that responsibility is around trust.I had extensive conversations with members of our caucus, who informed me that they felt trust was broken. I reflected on it. We worked with the two individuals in question and made the determination that maintaining trust so we could continue to work on the big things that matter to Canadians, whether it is reconciliation, protecting our environment or growing the economy for the middle class, meant that we would move forward together.
Mr. Speaker, I would be careful about throwing stones about falsehoods when I am sitting in the official opposition's chair.The fact of the matter is that we are going to continue to focus on the things that matter to Canadians. Yes, the integrity of our institutions and the rule of law matter deeply to Canadians, like they matter to us. That is why we will continue to respect our institutions and the rule of law, even as we fight for jobs and we stand up for workers across this country. We continue to do the things Canadians expect us to do after 10 years of failure by the Conservatives.
Mr. Speaker, we know that the former attorney general was telling the truth. She was being inappropriately pressured by the Prime Minister. The tape proves it, and the Prime Minister should have finally admitted that she was right, but that is not what happened. Instead, he kicked her out of caucus and then he sent out his Liberal MPs to smear and insult her. We even saw the Liberal member for BrossardSaint-Lambert accuse the former attorney general of treason. Will the Prime Minister stand up now and have the integrity to denounce these outrageous and insulting comments?
What we have right now is the Conservative Party desperate to try to stretch out a matter that has
Mr. Speaker, he is continuing to remove everyone who has stood up to his abuse of power and his cover-up of this scandal.Pressuring an attorney general to interfere in a criminal proceeding is wrong. Kicking out two members of Parliament who stood up to his abuse of power is unconscionable.Again, why does telling the truth get members kicked out of the Liberal Party?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister sent a very clear message yesterday to all Canadians: Liberal members of Parliament are here to do what the Prime Minister says, or else.The devastating cost for anyone who stands on principle and tells the truth is to be fired, humiliated and discarded.The Prime Minister holds the highest office in the land. He must serve Canada and defend our democracy, the rule of law and the truth. When will he start living up to the obligations of his office?
Mr. Speaker, as a government we have moved forward in significant and meaningful ways on gender equality. I am proud of our development assistance policy, which is fundamentally feminist. I am proud that we have put forward budgets with a GBA-plus analysis. I am proud that we have moved forward on pay equity, that we have moved forward on funding for women's organizations across this country and that we have moved forward on a gender-balanced cabinet.I recognize there is much more to do and I am proud that there is now a contest among party leaders to see who can be the better feminist. I think that is a great thing for this country. I think that is a great thing for Parliament.
Mr. Speaker, today we had 338 Daughters of the Vote delegates take their seats in the House of Commons. They represented the strength and integrity that Canadians value.This morning, as we listened to their statements, I was inspired and acutely understood that they get it. They understand the power of their actions, the power of unity and the power of their voice.I want to encourage them to continue to speak their truth and to continue to stand up for justice. We stand with them.
Mr. Speaker, I was proud that for the first time in history we brought in a gender-balanced cabinet, bringing in strong women from across the country to be a full part of this government. I would very much like to hear from the member opposite if she can tell us that her party has made the commitment that if they should form government again, they will have a gender-balanced cabinet. That would be a wonderful thing to announce to the women in this room today, who very much want to see gender balance as the way forward in boardrooms, in courtrooms, in the house of Parliament and in government.
Mr. Speaker, we will keep working to make life better for Canadians as we continue to respect our institutions and the rule of law, protect jobs, invest in our communities, work toward reconciliation and act on our concrete plan to fight climate change.Those are all things the Conservatives cannot talk about and do not want to talk about. They have no plan for the environment, no plan for the economy, no plan for gender equality, and no plan for what matters most to Canadians. Petty politics is all they know how to do.
Mr. Speaker, the good old boys club is gone, because we have a gender-balanced cabinet in which strong women stand up every day for their constituents and for people right across the country. The Conservatives can pick and choose who they want to support and which individuals they want to listen to. We listen to all voices. We respect all voices. They are crassly exploiting a political situation for their own advantage and not thinking about the consequences for Canadians when we do not stand up for jobs, do not invest in opportunities for youth or do not support women's organizations like
Mr. Speaker, trust goes both ways, does it not? I think that is something the Prime Minister needs to remember.Women are quite often whistle-blowers, and I will explain why. For many years we were not part of boardrooms. We sat on the sidelines of what happens in the corporate boardroom and in legislatures. As a result, we are uniquely placed to see when ethical lapses are happening. We also do have the courage to step up and speak when we need to.The Prime Minister may believe that he has dealt with this by throwing two people out of the Liberal Party, but many more courageous women are here, and they are here today, and they are watching. What does the Prime Minister have to say to them?
Mr. Speaker, we thank the member for Long Range Mountains and the Minister of Indigenous Services for their incredible work on securing a strong future for Newfoundland and Labrador.We were pleased to conclude the renewal of the Atlantic Accord with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. We have reached a new resource sharing agreement that will create and protect good middle-class jobs. We are going to develop natural resources in the right way. We will set the stage for sustained economic growth for years to come.This agreement supports a better, more secure future for generations of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, and I want to thank everyone involved for their tremendous work.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Whitby for her strong words and her unflagging compassion and passion for bringing Canada forward.Bringing more women into the political process and our democratic institutions is fundamental if we are to achieve gender equality. That is why the work of Equal Voice and Daughters of the Vote is so timely and crucial. That is why we were proud to invest $3.8 million in Daughters of the Vote.I thank Equal Voice and the Daughters of the Vote program for their important work, and I wish great success to all the daughters who are here in Ottawa this week.
Mr. Speaker, it was our government that strengthened the access to information system. We are currently reviewing that request and will respond appropriately at the earliest opportunity. We believe strongly in the importance of access to information and transparency, and in the extraordinary work done by journalists across the country to protect our democracy and keep Canadians informed.
Mr. Speaker, now the Prime Minister has effectively admitted that when he looked 37 million Canadians in the eye on February 15 and told them that the former attorney general had never spoken a word about her concerns, he was stating a patent falsehood. There is a word for that kind of falsehood that I cannot utter on the floor of the House of Commons.Will the Prime Minister, having now caught himself in his own trap of contradiction and deception, apologize to the Canadian people for stating that falsehood on February 15?
Mr. Speaker, I apologized and I apologize again for the comments I made. They lacked respect. They were unacceptable. We know that the situation in Grassy Narrows has been dire for a long time. That is why we have committed to moving forward on building the resources for it. We have continued to work in partnership with the province that holds a significant area of responsibility in this matter to ensure that we are supporting the people of Grassy Narrows. I am happy to say that the Minister of Indigenous Services just had a conversation with Chief Turtle. We will continue to work with the community of Grassy Narrows on concrete solutions.
Mr. Speaker, this week I was pleased to see that Hastings County will be receiving more than $1.4 million to help fight homelessness. This funding is part of Canada's first-ever national housing strategy, in which our government committed to reducing chronic homelessness by at least 50% over the next decade.Could the Prime Minister tell the House how the national housing strategy and reaching home, the government's redesigned homelessness partnering strategy, are helping Canada's most at-risk people find safe, affordable, accessible places to call home?
Mr. Speaker, I could not agree more that the interests of Canadians outweigh the interests of political parties. That is why we are focusing on reconciliation, economic growth, gender equality, strong investments in communities across the country, a plan for pharmacare, and a plan for investing in municipal infrastructure. We are working for Canadians instead of playing politics.
Mr. Speaker, let us talk for a moment about how we can continue to improve the lives of our middle-class Canadians right across the country.We have already invested in incredible infrastructure projects in my riding of Outremont, such as the metro's blue line, the REM, the new University of Montreal campus and others.Can the Prime Minister tell us about the investments in the budget that will continue to meet our municipalities' needs?
Mr. Speaker, there have been hours and hours of testimony by all the people involved, including the former attorney general, who spoke for four hours. We issued an unprecedented order in council waiving solicitor-client privilege and cabinet confidence, allowing her to speak fully on the matter. We know that it is important for all perspectives to be heard, and they have indeed been heard.
Mr. Speaker, I will take no lessons from the Conservatives on the matter of strong leadership. We have 18 strong women members of cabinet who lead every day on the big issues that matter to Canadians, from our place in the world to investing in resources for women's organizations to bringing extraordinary young women to Ottawa on a day like this from every corner of the country.We will continue to lead the way in a way that matters to Canadians and to this world.
Mr. Speaker, now the Prime Minister has caught himself in a trap of his own making. He came out on February 15 and said that no one had come forward to raise any concerns about his conduct. Now he admits on the floor of the House of Commons that way before, in September, his own attorney general asked him to his face if he was interfering. Why is the Prime Minister having so much difficulty remembering his story? Is it because it is simply not true?
Mr. Speaker, as we have said repeatedly and as we have heard repeatedly, I was not debriefed on that conversation between the clerk and the minister. I should have spoken directly with the minister. There was not an opportunity to do that.I continue to say that we know we need to work better. We need to improve our systems so that the lines of communication are better open. This has been a situation that has led to concrete changes in how we move forward.Again, we are continuing to move forward on the things that matter to Canadians, which include
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister just said that he was proud of having a gender-balanced cabinet. However, when two women had the courage to be transparent and honest and to tell the truth, the first thing he did was remove them from the Liberal caucus and send them to this side of the House.Meanwhile, the problem is still there. The Prime Minister interfered in the legal system on a case involving criminal charges.If the Prime Minister has nothing to hide, will he give La Presse access to the document from the former clerk of the Privy Council, Michael Wernick, so that we can have all of the information between November 1 and
Mr. Speaker, we have committed to forging a new relationship with indigenous peoples based on trust, respect and the true spirit of co-operation, not just empty words like the member opposite accuses us of. We have made historic investments since 2015, including advancing reconciliation in concrete ways, securing a better quality of life and improving access to safe, clean drinking water. Investments have increased by 50% and there is still more work to do.In budget 2019 we eliminated barriers to quality health care and culturally relevant social supports. We are funding post-secondary
Mr. Speaker, in 15 years I have dealt with all manner of Indian affairs ministers, but the member for MarkhamStouffville was one who got things done. I worked with her on the health and suicide crisis in the north. She committed to the relocation of Kashechewan and we battled to instill Jordan's principle as a legal right.To see the Liberal caucus publicly trash the member's reputation with words like traitor and repugnant and joined at the hip with her colleague is just not acceptable. She deserves better than this.Does the Prime Minister not understand that?
Mr. Speaker, about six months from now, Canadians will have an opportunity to go to the polls and choose what the future of the country will look like. I suspect, from conversations we have had with Canadians, they are going to be making choices around who has a better plan for the economy, who has a real plan to fight climate change, who has a plan for reconciliation with indigenous peoples and who is going to move forward in a way that responds to their real concerns.The Conservatives promised a plan to fight climate change 339 days ago and still refuse to talk about anything.
Mr. Speaker, from the very beginning, the government has been focused on partnership with indigenous peoples. We have been focused on moving forward in ways that respect and uplift indigenous peoples in communities. We have been doing that with hundreds of new school projects, better access to health care, eliminating 82 long-term boil water advisories and being on track to eliminating 100% of them within the five years we committed to. We know there is tremendous work being done on new relationships, including new fiscal relationships and new governance relationships. We are walking forward on the path to reconciliation, but we admit there is much more
Mr. Speaker, what has been obvious for a number of weeks now is that the Conservatives will go to any ends to avoid talking about the budget, to avoid talking about climate change, to avoid talking about the things that matter deeply to Canadians. We are proud that in our last budget we invested significantly in women's organizations across the country. We have put a program forward so first-time homebuyers can actually get into their home ownership sooner. We have moved forward on significant measures to fight climate change.We will continue to focus on the things that matter to Canadians, even if the Conservatives stay focused on us.
Mr. Speaker, apparently unlike the member opposite, we have confidence in the work of our House committees. We respect the work that the justice committee did in hearing hours upon hours of testimony, including testimony that was allowed for by the fact that we emitted an unprecedented waiver of both solicitor-client privilege and cabinet confidentiality to allow the former attorney general and others to speak fully to the matter under investigation by the justice committee.That is the kind of openness and transparency that Canadians expect, and that is what we will always stand for.
Mr. Speaker, in 2002, three women appeared on the cover of Time magazine as persons of the year. They were whistle-blowers. They took risks to reveal illegal or unethical practices in their own organizations. These women inspired me when I was a young lawyer in 2002. Today we have two more women who are probably very inspiring for women across this country. These women also took risks to speak their truth, and they were thrown out the door of the Liberal Party.Why has the Prime Minister decided that whistle-blowers need to be punished and not appreciated?
Mr. Speaker, once again the member opposite is twisting himself into rhetorical knots to try to make a point that is simply not there.We have been crystal clear throughout this process. We have allowed the testimonies to be heard through the justice committee, because of an unprecedented waiver we put forward suspending both cabinet confidentiality and solicitor-client privilege. We very much continue to stand up for our institutions and the rule of law, while always standing up for Canadians and their jobs, right across the country.We will continue to do that.
Mr. Speaker, that is an absolutely cowardly response from the Prime Minister. By not denouncing those comments, the Prime Minister is endorsing the smear campaign levelled against the former attorney general and the former president of the Treasury Board. These women are being punished for the crime of telling the truth and having the proof to back it up. They stood up to the Prime Minister and they refused to be silent.Why did the Prime Minister punish these strong women for doing what was right, for telling the truth and for standing up to his good old boys club?
Mr. Speaker, right now we see a Conservative Party trying to stretch out an issue that has dominated headlines for the past weeks because it wants to keep talking about anything other than the issues that matter to Canadians, whether it be a real plan to fight climate change, or a budget that helps Canadians get the training they need to be able to continue in the workforce, that makes education more affordable or that helps homebuyers buy their first homes.
Mr. Speaker, I am certain that the member for Burnaby South did not mean to even inadvertently disparage the extraordinary women who remain in our government who continue to lead every day on issues that matter deeply to Canadians, whether it is foreign affairs, official languages, employment, status of women, or whether it is the very first Minister of Agriculture to happen to be a woman or the first woman government House leader. There is an extraordinary range of strong women in all seats in this House who are making a difference with what they deeply believe in. I know he did not mean to disparage any one of them.
Mr. Speaker, we were elected on a promise to invest in the middle class and in our communities, and that is exactly what we did. We are seeing the creation of more than 900,000 jobs across the country and a drop in the unemployment rate to its lowest levels in 40 years. We are seeing one of the strongest growth rates in the G7. We continue to prove that the way to grow the economy is to invest in the middle class. We will continue to keep the promises we made to Canadians because that is what Canadians expect.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has shown a profound disrespect toward indigenous peoples. He mocks protestors when they are seeking justice for Grassy Narrows, turns his back on indigenous peoples saying no to his pipeline, and now fires one of the most prominent indigenous women in Canada for speaking truth to power.Indigenous peoples have had enough of this disrespect. Colonialism is alive and well in this country. Many still live in third world living conditions, so why will this Prime Minister not listen to what they are saying and why does he continuously show such disrespect to indigenous peoples?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Bay of Quinte for his hard work for his constituents. We recognize that one person living in homelessness is one too many. We announced Canada's first-ever national housing strategy and made record investments in housing.Reaching home, our homelessness partnering strategy, sets ambitious targets and doubles funding to fight homelessness, reducing it by 50% in the coming years. Reaching home makes more communities eligible to receive funding, helps us meet our ambitious targets, and mostly helps vulnerable people across our country.
Mr. Speaker, my question was simple. La Presse has requested access to all of Michael Wernick's documents from November 1 to December 15.How did the government respond? It said the documents would be available in 240 days, in other words, four weeks after the election. What a coincidence.If the Prime Minister has nothing to hide, will he stand here today, before this House and before Canadians, and promise to make those documents available, as requested by La Presse?
Mr. Speaker, everyone on this side of the House understands that a range of perspectives and opinions is essential in representing Canadians from coast to coast to coast in their hopes and aspirations, in standing up for our institutions and in standing up for their jobs. We are going to continue to do what matters to Canadians in investing in their jobs and their future, while defending our institutions. We will continue to do that as a strong, united team because that is what Canadians expect.
Mr. Speaker, in my direct encounter in a meeting with the former attorney general in September, I confirmed to her that the decision around a DPA was hers and hers alone. That is what has been clear throughout this entire process.There have been 13 hours of testimony, including four by the former attorney general, allowed for by the fact that we put forward an unprecedented waiver that suspended solicitor-client privilege in this matter, that suspended cabinet confidentiality so she could speak fully to this matter that was being looked at by the justice committee.
Mr. Speaker, first of all, standing up for the independence of our rule of law is important to every single Canadian. The Prime Minister need not worry. We can talk about the falsehoods that he says about his record later.Today we are talking about the things he has said about this scandal that just are not true. We have all heard the tape. We know now that the Prime Minister sent in his top officials to pressure the former attorney general, and we have seen him kick out those individuals who stood up to him.Again, why is the Liberal Party safe for those who spread falsehoods, but not safe for truth-tellers?
Mr. Speaker, we have a justice committee that has been tasked with looking into this matter. We have an Ethics Commissioner who, for those people watching today, has the role to make determinations about what is going on in the House.In this House, members opposite are free to make all sorts of accusations, allegations and sling mud as they will, but we have an Ethics and Conflict of Interest Commissioner who is tasked with digging to the bottom of things to understand what is political dross and what is reality. That is the work that we support. That is what we will continue
Mr. Speaker, so far everything to date that the former attorney general has said about this corruption scandal has been proven to be true. Everything the Prime Minister has said, from claiming that he never put pressure on her to she never came forward with her concerns, has been proven to be false.Why does telling the truth get a member kicked out of the Liberal Party?
Mr. Speaker, during the last election campaign, the Liberal Party promised a lot of things, such as enacting electoral reform, ending subsidies for oil companies, increasing international aid, ensuring respect for first nations and reducing tax evasion. Nothing has been done. We were also told they would do politics differently, that they would reduce the role of the Prime Minister's Office. Today we find out that Liberal ministers and MPs have to do the PMO's bidding.Does the Prime Minister realize that he has lost all credibility and that no one trusts him any more?
Mr. Speaker, the member for Carleton continues to try to find inconsistencies where there simply are none.We are going to continue to work together as a government on the things that matter to Canadians, as a strong, united team that is secure in the trust of this team. As we move forward, we are going to stay focused on the things that matter, while the members opposite try to clutch at straws and create political complications where there are none. We are going to stay focused on Canadians, while those members stay focused on us.
Mr. Speaker, today hundreds of determined young women are in the House from Daughters of the Vote. I spoke with them about the importance of getting involved and running for office, but what have they seen this week? They have seen women speak truth to power and then get shown the door. What message is the Prime Minister sending to Canadians, particularly to young women, when he kicks out former cabinet ministers just for doing the right thing?
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. In a moment, I will be seeking unanimous consent for a motion. As we all know in the House, our canola producers are going through a lot of hardship right now. I hope, because the House has not yet had a chance to voice its opinion on this matter, that all members in the House will join me in giving support to the following motion: That, in the opinion of the House, the government recognize the importance and value of canola as an agricultural crop and do everything in its power to resolve the current trade dispute with China, including (a) ensuring all agricultural business-risk management programs are reviewed and made adaptable to the needs of producers who are suffering because of loss-of-market access; (b) using all diplomatic channels available with the Government of China to press for a speedy resolution; (c) reviewing Canada's current trade deficit with China to ensure we are safeguarding current and future jobs by using all fiscal, legal and other trade options available at Canada's disposal; and (d) diversifying our canola export market.
Mr. Speaker, there have been hours and hours of testimony at the justice committee by a broad range of actors in this, including by the former attorney general herself, who was given an unprecedented waiver that allowed her to speak fully on matters regarding SNC-Lavalin and her time as Attorney General. I can understand that the members opposite want to stay on this and do not want to talk about the fact that they have no plan to fight climate change, that they have no plan for the economy, that they have no plan for ensuring the jobs of the future. They continue to need to play politics.
Mr. Speaker, both my office and the clerk himself have confirmed that I did not get a debrief on that particular conversation.What we see once again are members opposite trying to talk about anything other than the economy, the budget, the canola challenge that our western farmers are facing right now. These are the kinds of things that matter to Canadians. It has been 339 days since the member opposite promised Canadians he would soon release his climate change plan, and we are still waiting. No wonder he does not want to talk about it.
Mr. Speaker, this past Monday marked the 70th anniversary since my province of Newfoundland and Labrador joined Confederation.Since 1949, our province has made an invaluable contribution to the social and cultural fabric of our nation. We have seen some unprecedented economic growth and development.Can the Prime Minister please update this House on the details of the renewed Atlantic Accord with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and how this will benefit every single person in our province?
Mr. Speaker, indigenous people across the country want their inherent rights to be recognized. The case of mercury poisoning in Grassy Narrows is no laughing matter. Indigenous people want to live with dignity and have a good quality of life. The Prime Minister said his comments lacked respect. What he did not say was that he lacks the will to seriously listen to indigenous people.Enough empty words from the Prime Minister. Will he commit to visit the people of Grassy Narrows and give them the respect and attention they deserve?
Mr. Speaker, when the member for TimminsJames Bay and I visited Grassy Narrows, we were devastated by the impacts of mercury poisoning on young people and the community. Reconciliation is not just in words. It is in actions. When indigenous activists raised concerns about the mercury poisoning in Grassy Narrows, the Prime Minister responded by making a joke at their expense. That is not leadership. Will the Prime Minister commit today to going to Grassy Narrows, meeting with a community that is suffering with mercury poisoning, meeting with the leadership and committing to action?
Mr. Speaker, the question was whether he would go there or not. He does not seem to answer.Many women are on the Hill today to encourage women to get into politics. The Prime Minister has sent them a clear message: anyone who dares to criticize him, who dares to stand up for principles like judicial independence, will be shown the door.How does the Prime Minister plan to encourage women with a message like that?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is sending that same message to countless young people who were hoping that politics would be done differently. The Prime Minister has no time for those who have the courage to put Canadians' interests ahead of their party's interests.Why attack women who stand up for principles that are greater than any political party?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister told Canadians that if anyone thought he had done anything wrong on SNC, then it was their responsibility to come forward, but no one did. However, text messages, journal entries and audio recordings prove the former attorney general did come forward and complain to him and his top staff on September 16, 17 and 19, October 26, November 22, and December 5, 18 and 19. Does he really claim he knew absolutely nothing about the complaints she brought forward in more than half a dozen meetings?
Mr. Speaker, at that September meeting, the former attorney general reports that she looked the Prime Minister in the eye and said, Are you politically interfering with my role...as the Attorney General? I would strongly advise against it.Does the Prime Minister remember her saying any such thing?
Mr. Speaker, we have a plan to let women speak.Yesterday, the Prime Minister ousted two of his former ministers from his caucus for reasons that are unclear and to try to save his image. When the Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie was asked about the Prime Minister's fragile standing in the wake of that decision, she simply said that people are either loyal or they are not.Since when is telling the truth considered to be disloyal?
Mr. Speaker, that was not the question. I did not ask if he got a debrief. I asked when the first time he spoke to the Clerk of Privy Council was after that phone call. I will try it a slightly different way. Did the Prime Minister know anything about that phone call between the Clerk of the Privy Council and the former attorney general on December 19, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, today in this chamber dozens of the Daughters of the Vote turned their backs to the Prime Minister. Why? It is because they support strong, independent women speaking truth to power and because they know that integrity is the cornerstone of a person's character.By kicking the first indigenous attorney general of Canada out of caucus for upholding the law, the Prime Minister has made it clear that principled women who dare to stand up to him are not welcome in the Liberal Party.Is this what a self-proclaimed feminist looks like in 2019?
Mr. Speaker, I agree entirely with the member opposite when he points out that we have done really big things as a government on the path to reconciliation. A lot of it is due to the extraordinary leadership of our former indigenous services minister. However, he will also know that an approach on reconciliation requires a whole-of-government approach.I can highlight that every single cabinet minister in this government has been working very hard on reconciliation and is partially responsible for the tremendous advances we have made upon this path. There is much more to do, and we are going to continue.
Mr. Speaker, I note that he just cannot seem to bring himself to answer a very simple question. Is it yes or no? There is a reason this is important. It is because from the beginning he has always claimed that he never put pressure on the former attorney general. In that phone call, the clerk said four times that the Prime Minister was firm. He also claims that he had no idea the phone call took place and that she never brought her concerns to his office. Once again, is the answer yes or no? Did he know anything about the call before or after? It is one of the two options: yes or no.
Mr. Speaker, what the member opposite said is untrue. We did not take action immediately. We took several weeks to try to bring together our caucus and work with the individuals in question. We wanted a united team so that we could continue to work on Canadians' top priorities.We have taken this new approach to leadership, which focuses on bringing people together and listening to different perspectives, very seriously. However, when we realized that there was no longer trust in our team, we had to do something.
Mr. Speaker, when one gains power, one has to actually respect the institutions, respect the voice for 338 ridings that was sent to Parliament, allow for real debate, and have ministers who are actually ministers of their department and not just spokespeople as approved by the PMO.Who said those words? It was the current Prime Minister, speaking to Maclean's in 2014. How things have changed.Yesterday, the Prime Minister ordered the expulsion of two former ministers, two women who dared to stand up to him.Is that how the Prime Minister sees power, as a means to banish anyone who disobeys his orders?
Mr. Speaker, we spent weeks working with the former attorney general and others to try to find a path forward to rebuild the links of trust that must exist within a team at any point for it to function.We took the time to try to find a path forward, and amid many criticisms that we needed to act sooner, we did not. We wanted to demonstrate a different way and a different approach to politics that looks for common ground, that looks for paths forward. Only when it became very clear that there was a broken bond of trust that was not going to be able to be rebuilt did we take
Mr. Speaker, there are two viewpoints. There is the Prime Minister's viewpoint and there is the truth. After all of that, there are still massive inconsistencies between what the Prime Minister has said and what testimony has shown. I have a very simple question for the Prime Minister. When was the first time the Prime Minister spoke to the Clerk of the Privy Council after the December 19 phone call with the former attorney general?
Mr. Speaker, so far, everything the former attorney general has said about the Prime Minister's corruption scandal has been proven to be true, and everything the Prime Minister has said has been proven to be false.Why is the Prime Minister still saying things he knows to be false?
Mr. Speaker, the only trust that has been broken is between the Prime Minister and Canadians, who have seen his abuse of power.He is trying to chalk this all up as some kind of internal Liberal civil was, like in the Martin-Chrétien days. However, this is different. This is not about factions within a caucus. This is about two strong individuals who saw something that was wrong and decided to stand up to it.Why does speaking truth to power disqualify members from sitting as a Liberal?
Mr. Speaker, I would like to know what the Prime Minister thinks of one of his female ministers, the Minister of International Development, who thumbed her nose at Canadians when she said that if the Liberals did politics the old-fashioned way, those two would have been booted from caucus two months ago. She says that is what it means to do politics differently.The Prime Minister expelled two women from his caucus because they took a stand and defended their principles.Since when has doing politics differently meant firing the attorney general for protecting our justice system?
Mr. Speaker, he cannot answer a simple yes or no question. There are only two options: Either he knew about it or he did not know about it. Once again, did the Prime Minister know anything about that phone call on December 19 between the former attorney general and the Clerk of the Privy Council? There is only one answer. Is it yes or is it no?
Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, my message to the young women here today and across the country is that they should get into politics. We need their perspectives. We need the wide range of opinions and perspectives they will bring and add to the House of Commons. We must listen to them. Everyone will not always agree on everything. This chamber exists so that members can engage in debate with people who have different perspectives. This happens by listening to one another, understanding one another and working together based on our values. That is what we will always do and that is what we have done.
Mr. Speaker, nobody would have to dig through anything if the Prime Minister did not abuse his power to interfere in a court proceeding. Nobody would have to dig through anything if the Prime Minister could just answer a simple question.Did he know about that phone call on December 19, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I believe you will find unanimous consent of the House to move the following motion: that this House acknowledge the 50th anniversary of the expropriation of land from Mirabel residents and that this House call on the government to formally and officially apologize to the people of Quebec from whom the federal government expropriated land in 1969 to build the Mirabel airport.
Mr. Speaker, for weeks and weeks, we have worked with the two individuals in question to try to find a way to move forward, because we know that the two former members of our caucus agree with the values of reconciliation, economic growth for the middle class and environmental protection. We are still looking to move forward.However, when it became clear that the relationship of trust between these individuals and the caucus was broken, we could no longer continue to work together as a team. I think everyone can understand that.
Mr. Speaker, as all members of Parliament know, being a member of a caucus comes with both rights and responsibilities. That is why I listened to what members of our caucus had to say.Maintaining trust within a caucus is essential if we are to keep fighting for important things such as achieving reconciliation, tackling climate change and growing the economy for everyone. That is why we made that difficult decision. We remain united as we work on the things that matter.
Mr. Speaker, in his February 15 press conference, the Prime Minister said that it was the Attorney General's responsibility to come forward. We know that she did. She told the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance, the Clerk of the Privy Council and several other people in his office to stop.How can he claim that she did not come forward?
Mr. Speaker, Canadians watched with disgust when the Liberals stood and applauded as the Prime Minister kicked two MPs out of the Liberal Party for having the audacity to stand up to him and speak truth to power.The Liberals may have decided there is no greater principle than covering up corruption, but Canadians know better. Throughout this entire affair, the Prime Minister has refused to tell the truth about his involvement in a concerted campaign to interfere in an ongoing criminal investigation.Why does he not do the honourable thing for once: apologize and resign?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member from Outremont for her hard work and her question.Budget 2019 invests $2.2 billion in our communities and in those who have shown that they are ready to move forward on projects. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities calls this a turning point for cities and communities across Canada. The Conservatives do not know what it means to work with municipalities, which they neglected for 10 years. We are working to build stronger and sustainable communities in Outremont and across the country.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are watching. What they saw yesterday was two women ministers being shown the door for speaking truth to power, and now the Prime Minister is not willing to answer any questions about the matter.The only reason the Prime Minister would continue with these non-answers is that the truth is even worse. Canadians deserve to know the truth before they go to the polls in October.Will the Prime Minister do what is right and call a public inquiry now?
Mr. Speaker, unlike the members opposite, we have always embraced a range of viewpoints and perspectives within our party. That actually strengthens the Liberal Party and allows us to do a better job of listening to Canadians from coast to coast to coast and governing in a way that is inclusive rather than divisive. That is what we will continue to do, but ultimately diversity only works if there is also trust, and when that relationship of trust was broken within our caucus I had to take a difficult decision, and I did.
Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we on this side of the House listen to and respect all voices. However, the member opposite does not seem to have any respect for the voices in our caucus and cabinet talking about the work the government will keep doing to deliver on its commitments for Canadians and to invest in the middle class and in our communities.We are going to keep working together as a united team with a strong bond of trust. Unfortunately, in the case of the two former members of our caucus, that trust was broken.
Mr. Speaker, once she said that, I responded, No, I am not, and said it was her decision to make. She then committed to revisit and look into the decision once again. All these are elements in the testimony we have heard, which the justice committee examined exhaustively. Once again, we see that the member opposite is desperate to talk about anything other than our budget, anything other than the economic growth we are putting forward, and anything other than our concrete plan to fight climate change, because the Conservatives have no plan on any of that.
Mr. Speaker, everyone in this place knows that being a member of a caucus comes with both rights and responsibilities and part of that responsibility is around trust.I had extensive conversations with members of our caucus, who informed me that they felt trust was broken. I reflected on it. We worked with the two individuals in question and made the determination that maintaining trust so we could continue to work on the big things that matter to Canadians, whether it is reconciliation, protecting our environment or growing the economy for the middle class, meant that we would move forward together.
Mr. Speaker, I would be careful about throwing stones about falsehoods when I am sitting in the official opposition's chair.The fact of the matter is that we are going to continue to focus on the things that matter to Canadians. Yes, the integrity of our institutions and the rule of law matter deeply to Canadians, like they matter to us. That is why we will continue to respect our institutions and the rule of law, even as we fight for jobs and we stand up for workers across this country. We continue to do the things Canadians expect us to do after 10 years of failure by the Conservatives.
Mr. Speaker, we know that the former attorney general was telling the truth. She was being inappropriately pressured by the Prime Minister. The tape proves it, and the Prime Minister should have finally admitted that she was right, but that is not what happened. Instead, he kicked her out of caucus and then he sent out his Liberal MPs to smear and insult her. We even saw the Liberal member for BrossardSaint-Lambert accuse the former attorney general of treason. Will the Prime Minister stand up now and have the integrity to denounce these outrageous and insulting comments?
What we have right now is the Conservative Party desperate to try to stretch out a matter that has
Mr. Speaker, he is continuing to remove everyone who has stood up to his abuse of power and his cover-up of this scandal.Pressuring an attorney general to interfere in a criminal proceeding is wrong. Kicking out two members of Parliament who stood up to his abuse of power is unconscionable.Again, why does telling the truth get members kicked out of the Liberal Party?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister sent a very clear message yesterday to all Canadians: Liberal members of Parliament are here to do what the Prime Minister says, or else.The devastating cost for anyone who stands on principle and tells the truth is to be fired, humiliated and discarded.The Prime Minister holds the highest office in the land. He must serve Canada and defend our democracy, the rule of law and the truth. When will he start living up to the obligations of his office?