Most toxic speeches
Mr. Speaker, William Morissette lives in New Brunswick and has a cancer that makes it impossible for him to work. He has used up his 15 weeks of sickness benefits and does not have access to disability benefits.In addition to fighting cancer, William has to fight the Liberal government, even though there are 32 Liberal members in Atlantic Canada. William, like thousands of others, believed the Prime Minister and the minister responsible for this file when they promised to enhance the EI's unfair sickness benefits.When will they keep this promise to William and thousands of other sick people who cannot work and do not have a dime?
Mr. Speaker, our relations with China are at an all-time low, and all the Prime Minister is willing to do is to blame the Americans.China has banned Canadian pork, banned Canadian canola and detained two Canadians.While China is bullying Canada, the Prime Minister is giving over a quarter of a billion dollars to China's Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.Will the Prime Minister quit blaming others for his failures, pull all funding to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, file a trade challenge at the WTO and immediately appoint a new ambassador?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government is at war with Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, British Columbia and Quebec. This weekend, the Minister of Families, who is from Quebec, and his colleague from Louis-Hébert directly and publicly attacked the Premier of Quebec and the Government of Quebec. Their attitude is disrespectful towards the Government of Quebec.I will repeat my question. Why did an announcement for a provincial-federal project, an infrastructure project for Quebec, take place without the Government of Quebec present?
Mr. Speaker, Canadians deserve a transparent and open legal system. The Norman case has been anything but.We know that the Prime Minister's Office, the Department of Defence and the Privy Council Office withheld important documents in this case. How is it that Gerald Butts got his old texts and emails within days of quitting, but Vice-Admiral Norman has waited a year and a half?Liberals have interfered with yet another judicial process. If they value the rule of law, why are Liberals blocking Canadians' access to this information?
Mr. Speaker, a tax system that is fair, efficient and modern is one of seven requests of over 200,000 Canadian businesses that just want the government to stop throwing up barriers and allow them to thrive and succeed. Instead, the Liberals have given Canadian businesses tax increases, like a job-killing carbon tax and higher payroll taxes, and complicated red tape that will hurt many small businesses. Will the Liberals accept the recommendations of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, or are they just going to keep calling Canadian small business owners tax cheats?
Mr. Speaker, the minister said at an event that he regrets the process Vice-Admiral Norman had to go through, but he seems to have forgotten that it was the Prime Minister who hung the Vice-Admiral out to dry in the first place. Now that Vice-Admiral Norman has been declared innocent, it is time for this corrupt Liberal government to explain why it obstructed justice, used code words to hide its actions and refused to turn over evidence. Will the Prime Minister allow the national defence committee to examine the politically motivated attack against Vice-Admiral Norman, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, across this country, Canadians are struggling to buy a home, but it turns out that money laundering has directly increased the cost of housing. In fact, last year alone, there was $47 billion of money laundered in Canada.Conservative inaction got us into this mess. The Liberals have done little to fix it. Will the Liberals now commit to creating a registry for real owners, to making sure the money-laundering unit actually does its work and to ensuring that there are meaningful penalties imposed on criminals who break the law?
Mr. Speaker, what is absurd is the Prime Minister's own actions. While the Prime Minister claims the process was free from interference, Vice-Admiral Norman was vindicated in spite of the Liberals' attempt to obstruct justice and politically interfere in his case. The miscarriage of justice is yet another example of someone standing up to the Prime Minister and getting crushed for getting in his way. Will the Prime Minister apologize to Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, show Canadians what they have been hiding and give Vice-Admiral Norman his old job back?
Actually, Mr. Speaker, the cold hard facts delivered from Statistics Canada demonstrate the best middle-class income growth of any government, before or since, happened under the Conservatives: a million net new jobs, the lowest debt and deficit in the G7, the highest economic growth in the G7, the last in and first out of the great global recession. That is what we did in the hard global times. Imagine what we can do when times are good. We will eliminate their deficit, lower taxes and leave more money in the pockets of people who earned it. When will Liberals learn that their theory of trickle-down government does not work?
Mr. Speaker, Canadians from coast to coast are paying the price for the Liberals' inaction on money laundering. This inaction leads to higher housing prices, loss of public funds and an increase in organized crime. Instead of leading the charge, the Liberals refuse to act and are leaving the British Columbia government to fend for itself. The Liberals must strengthen our laws to ensure that the guilty parties are held accountable.Will they do it?
Mr. Speaker, the fact is that the Liberals are protecting the web giants from paying taxes, and that is irresponsible.Now a B.C. report estimates that money laundering in Canada under the Liberals now reaches close to $50 billion annually. Money laundering is not a victimless crime, and it has caused a major increase in home prices in the Lower Mainland and elsewhere. The Liberal government refuses to crack down on rampant money laundering. It failed to allocate staffing and resources; it refused the necessary tools.Why is the government refusing to take these actions, and who are they protecting now?
Mr. Speaker, not a single penny has been budgeted to compensate supply-managed producers before the election. The Parliamentary Budget Officer has confirmed it.This means that the $3.9 billion promised by the Liberals has become an election promise. To those farmers, however, that money is not an election issue; it is crucial to keeping their businesses afloat.Dairy farmers are saying they want to see concrete action before the election, and that would include a cheque.When will they get their cheque?
Mr. Speaker, across Canada we are hearing a powerful sense of urgency around fighting climate change. While Liberals and Conservatives use the issue to beat each other up, a closer look shows that they actually have the same emission targets and the same love of pipelines, and that both parties will exempt the biggest polluters from paying a price. New Democrats, though, are bringing people together with concrete action, ambitious targets and making sure no worker or community is left behind. Will the Liberals join us in declaring a climate emergency?
Mr. Speaker, a majority of Canadians are really worried about the rising price of gas. In my riding, in my province, they are looking at tight budgets already and deciding what essentials need to be cut.The Liberals' handing out millions of dollars to their billionaire friends at Loblaws is doing nothing for affordability. Meanwhile, we have the Prime Minister and the environment minister jet-setting around the world with abandon.When will the Liberals finally admit that their carbon tax is hurting those who are the most vulnerable?
Mr. Speaker, the southern resident killer whales are under immediate threat of extinction, yet the Liberal government's recovery plan lacks urgency and fails to take on the major threat to these orcas: oil tankers and freighters. While the government has banned local small craft from the Swiftsure Bank, the most critical piece of habitat for the orcas, it will continue to allow more than 13,000 freighters and oil tankers to transit the bank each year. That makes no sense. In order to protect these endangered orcas, will the government act immediately to realign the commercial shipping lanes and move the major noise and pollution threats away from the Swiftsure Bank?
Mr. Speaker, Vice-Admiral Mark Norman and his defence team have been clear. The Prime Minister and his office tried to interfere in the case against the vice-admiral, both prior to the charges being laid and during the proceedings. In fact, Marie Henein said,you don't put your finger and try to weigh in on the scales of justice, that is not what should be happening. She was talking about the Liberals.Just exactly why did the Prime Minister try to weigh in on the scales of justice and interfere in the vice-admiral's court case?
Mr. Speaker, I am quite sure that two hon. members over here could participate in this very important issue too.The Prime Minister said something particularly remarkable in December 2015. He said that his pledge to balance the budget in 2019 was very cast in stone. That is what the Prime Minister said. He said that a zero deficit in 2019 was cast in stone, but exactly the opposite is true.The Prime Minister's word on public finances is worthless.When the country is in a period of economic growth, particularly when that growth is due to American wealth, that is the time to pay off our debts, not rack up more. Are the Liberals aware of that?
Mr. Speaker, Loblaws is one of the richest companies in Canada. Canadians were outraged when they found out that the Liberals gave the company $12 million to buy new fridges, even though Loblaws did not need or deserve that money. This is the same company that ripped off Canadians by rigging bread prices for over a decade. Is this the Liberals' idea of a climate change plan? Which other well-connected companies are getting handouts from the government's low-carbon economy fund?
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Services and Procurement says the government cannot be apologizing for the public prosecution doing its job in the Vice-Admiral Norman case. However, let us be clear. The public prosecution protected the rule of law and requires no apology. It is the Prime Minister and the Liberals who politically interfered to tip the scales of justice and punish Vice-Admiral Norman.When will the Prime Minister admit to Canadians that what he did was wrong and apologize to Vice-Admiral Norman?
Mr. Speaker, the time for conversation is over. It is time to write a cheque.We are not asking the minister to reassure our farmers; we are asking him to compensate them. The Parliamentary Budget Officer said he would be worried if he were a farmer. The money the government promised is not there. It is not in the budget. The message to farmers is that they have to vote for the Liberal Party if they want to get their money.With the election right around the corner, instead of blackmailing our farmers, will the government send them a cheque before the end of this session of Parliament?
Mr. Speaker, once again, my colleague knows that committees operate independently from the government. We will wait for the outcome of the deliberations. Once again, with respect to the legal process involving Vice-Admiral Norman, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada noted when it stayed the charge that no other factors were considered in this decision, nor was there any contact or influence from outside the PPSC, including political influence in either the initial decision to prosecute Mr. Norman or in the decision to stay the charge. Once again, any accusations otherwise from the opposition are completely absurd.
Mr. Speaker, we are signing trade agreements, which means 1.5 billion customers in Canada's free trade zone. Canada is the only G7 nation to have a free trade agreement with the other six. That sounds like a strong trade policy to me. How about an increase of 17% in Canadian exports to Japan after ratification of the CPTPP? I would call that a strong trade policy.What is weak is the Conservative opposition's understanding of what strength means in trade policy.
Mr. Speaker, a loan guarantee is no substitute for weak trade policy.The Conservative leader has outlined three concrete steps to stand up for canola farmers: appoint an ambassador to China, launch a WTO trade complaint against China, and pull funds from the Chinese-run Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Instead of taking our advice, the Prime Minister sent the agriculture minister to the G20, where she could not even be bothered to raise this issue once with the Chinese.Will the Liberals ever stand up to China and take action?
Mr. Speaker, the United Nations recently released its report on biodiversity. The headlines read, Natures Dangerous Decline Unprecedented; One million species face extinction; and How to fix nature to avoid human misery. Innumerable scientific studies have documented the human cost of climate change, yet many people and parties, even in this House, remain stuck in denial, with no plan to save nature and thus humanity. Will the parliamentary secretary please give us specifics with respect to the action that is being taken by our government to protect nature and thus humankind?
Mr. Speaker, after two months of inaction on the canola crisis with China, the Prime Minister is finally realizing that this is a political crisis. His reaction, however, is surprising: he is going to continue to do nothing and wait. He did not file a complaint with the WTO and he has not appointed a new ambassador. He is doing absolutely nothing.The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food is returning from Japan after a two-day meeting of G20 agriculture ministers. Did she stand up for Canada's canola farmers? Did she demand that her Chinese counterparts set a firm date for us to send a delegation of scientists to China? Yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth. As we have said a number of times on this side of the House, we have full faith in our institutions in Canada. The charges in question were laid by the prosecution service by the director of public prosecutions. The process was managed by the prosecution service of Canada, and the stay was decided by the prosecution service of Canada. The evidence was gathered by the RCMP. It was turned over to the prosecution service of Canada.The director of public prosecutions as well as the prosecutor in this case have both stated that there was no government interference or contact.
Mr. Speaker, the changes to the asylum system the Prime Minister tried to sneak through in the omnibus budget bill show his true colours.Despite Liberal promises, there was no gender-based analysis done. When experts pointed this out at the immigration committee, government members had no answers. The changes will disproportionately impact women and girls fleeing violence by denying their right to seek protection in Canada. Forty-six women's organizations from across Canada sent an open letter to the Prime Minister condemning these changes. Will the Prime Minister do what is right and withdraw these provisions, or is he just content that his version of feminism is just for show?
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for NewmarketAurora is right. When small businesses export, they are more productive; they create more jobs; they grow and they scale at higher rates. Recently, I announced an investment of $6.7 million to help 1,000 Canadian SMEs grow their businesses, including SMEs in the northern communities in Ontario, so they can successfully put a plan together and successfully export.Canada's trade agreements give our businesses access to 1.5 billion customers in the global marketplace. Our government is going to work hard for small businesses, today and every day.
Mr. Speaker, the member is not paying attention to what the Premier of Saskatchewan has said, nor is he paying attention to the expansion of export markets, nor is he paying attention to the very interesting meeting that the Minister of Agriculture had in Japan with her counterpart. We will know more about that in a matter of days.
Mr. Speaker, our government works hard for small businesses. We have cut over 400 regulatory irritants for small businesses. We have cut more red tape in the last three and a half years than the Conservatives did in the last 10 years. That is working hard for small businesses in this country.
Mr. Speaker, at the end of the day, the Conservatives will continue the Ford government plan, which is cuts to Canadian families who need help and increased spending for millionaires. We are focused on Canadians, and as a result we have one of the best economies in the G7. We are going to keep working for Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, do the terms Kraken, C34 and The Boss mean anything to you? They are code names used to secretly identify Admiral Norman to prevent information about him from being released under access to information requests.What is more, the Privy Council Office confirmed that at least 73 people were aware of the Liberal cabinet discussion about taking the Asterix contract away from the Davie shipyard. However, the Prime Minister only gave the RCMP the name of Vice-Admiral Norman for investigation. That is political interference.When will the Liberals admit it and apologize?
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to last week's decision, the charges brought against Vice-Admiral Norman were stayed. As confirmed by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada last week, every decision was made completely independently. No other factors were considered in this decision, nor was there any contact or influence from outside the PPSC, including political influence in either the initial decision to prosecute Mr. Norman or in the decision to stay the charge. Any accusation is completely absurd.
Mr. Speaker, I am always astonished that my colleague from Louis-Saint-Laurent is able to keep a straight face when he says that the Conservatives balanced the budget, since they actually added $150 billion to the national debt.What was the result? The Conservatives had the worst export growth since the Second World War, along with the worst job growth. Canada's growth was anemic for 10 years. It was a decade of economic failure. I will say this next part slowly so that he understands. Since we took office three and a half years ago, we have created one million jobs in Canada and 20%
Mr. Speaker, I do not have the stomach to imagine what the Conservatives would continue to do with our economy after the disastrous 10 years they had. I am glad that they also recognize now the importance
Mr. Speaker, the member opposite just described the failed Conservative plan: more debt, lower wages for Canadians and less growth in the economy, but they did increase unemployment rates. We cannot take any lessons from the Conservatives. They just simply cannot stand it. Their plan does not work, and now they do not know what to do.However, on this side of the House, our plan is working. We have invested in the middle class, and as a result we have created over a million new jobs.
Mr. Speaker, I am sorry that the hon. member has not been paying closer attention to the file. If he had been paying closer attention to the file, he would know that there has been continuous engagement and that we seek to be invited to China to talk to the scientists about the accusation that there is impurity in our canola.Second, had he been paying attention to the generous support for producers, which has been called a very important
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows that our plan to put a price on pollution is going to put more money in the pockets of eight out of 10 families in the province of Ontario. I am curious whether the hon. member is actually going to be claiming her climate action incentive this tax year.The fact is that the Conservatives were not concerned about affordability until it became politically convenient. When we put more money in the pockets of nine out of 10 Canadian families by improving the Canada child benefit, they voted against it. When we cut taxes for nine million middle-class Canadians and raised them on the wealthiest 1%, they voted against it. When we beefed up the guaranteed income supplement for low-income single seniors to make life more affordable for the most vulnerable Canadians, they voted against it.
Mr. Speaker, in the first month that our plan to put a price on pollution took effect, the hon. member's province added 45,000 jobs to the provincial economy. If he is claiming that this is going to be gloom and doom, I am curious as to why it is working so well.The fact is that, from day one, we have had a plan that is going to reduce emissions; from day one, we have had a plan that is going to grow the economy; and, most important, from day one we have had a plan that will make life more affordable for Canadians. If the hon. member does not want to take my word for it, I would gladly point him to the Parliamentary Budget Officer's report, which confirms this to be a fact.
Mr. Speaker, when the Conservatives were in office, Canadian job creators generated one million jobs. The Conservative government did that with a balanced budget. The Liberals may be creating jobs, but they are also running massive deficits, even though they promised to run only small deficits and to balance the budget by 2019. They did exactly the opposite of what they promised.Are the Liberals aware that, in a few months, when they travel around Canada to tell Canadians how they plan to manage the public purse, they will not have any credibility because they lied to Canadians in 2015?
Mr. Speaker, if the Prime Minister did not have a grudge against Vice-Admiral Norman, he would have given the 73 names to the RCMP. He would not have prevented Mr. Norman's lawyers from getting the documents they requested. He ruined Vice-Admiral Norman's reputation and nearly succeeded in making Davie lose a large contract.Will the Prime Minister allow the Standing Committee on National Defence to shed light on this affair, or will he continue with his political obstruction?
Mr. Speaker, once again, the PPSC said that no other factors were considered in this decision, nor was there any outside contact or influence, including political influence, in either the initial decision to prosecute Mr. Norman or in the decision to stay the charge. Once again, any accusation to the contrary is absurd. As we said, general Vance will sit down and speak with Vice-Admiral Norman about what comes next at the appropriate time.
Mr. Speaker, all the various premises of that question are categorically false.The Department of Justice co-operated with the court in order to provide the requested documents. The documents that were requested were given, more than 8,000 of them from seven different agencies. Of course that takes time. The redaction was done independently of political bodies.The court itself cited the government and its co-operation in this matter.
Mr. Speaker, last week the Liberals dispatched one of their MPs to China, not to demand the release of Canadian citizens and not to fight for our exporters, but to suggest partnership in our Arctic with China. Days after the United States questioned our sovereignty and raised risks about Russia and China in the Arctic, the Liberal government rushes to partner with China.When will the Liberal government start getting serious with China?
Mr. Speaker, the committees operate independently of the government, and we will wait for the results of their deliberations. As for the legal process involving Vice-Admiral Norman, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada noted when it stayed the charge that no other factors were considered in that decision, nor was there any contact or influence from outside the PPSC, including political influence in either the initial decision to prosecute Mr. Norman or in the decision to stay the charge. Any accusation to the contrary is completely absurd.
Mr. Speaker, as the member is aware, since he sits on that committee, the committee operates independently from the government and we will wait for the results of their deliberations.As for the legal process involving Vice-Admiral Norman, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada noted when it stayed the charge, that no other factors were considered in this decision, nor was there any contact or influence from outside the PPSC, including political influence, in either the initial decision to prosecute Mr. Norman or in the decision to stay the charge. Any accusation to the contrary from the opposition is completely absurd.
Mr. Speaker, the UN report to which the hon. member refers paints a very stark picture of the challenge facing nature today. The fact is that since the 1970s the world has lost 60% of its wildlife. We also know that Canada is one of five countries that represent three-quarters of the world's remaining wilderness. There is time to do something about it if we pull together. Our government has made the single largest investment in protecting nature in the history of our country and has committed to doubling protected spaces. This is a statistic that should shock the conscience of all Canadians, but it is something we have time to turn around if we all just pull together for once.
Mr. Speaker, here is how the Liberal plan is working. The number of Canadians who are $200 or less away from not being able to pay their bills every month has climbed to 48%, while 26% cannot even cover their bills.What does the Prime Minister do? He imposes a carbon tax on the necessities of life, driving up the cost of everything for seniors and families who cannot afford it. Gas prices are skyrocketing and groceries are going up with this new carbon tax. Why does the Prime Minister not just admit that his plan is not an environmental plan? It is a tax plan that will do nothing to reduce emissions.
Mr. Speaker, the difference is this: We created a million jobs when the world was in economic crisis. We did it while raising middle-class incomes more than any government before or since. We did so by increasing the amount people had in their pockets and making it possible to pay their bills. Right now, half of Canadians are $200 away from insolvency while their government drowns in debt. Is that not really the Liberal agenda: more debt, lower incomes and a declining economy?
Mr. Speaker, I would point out to the hon. member that a majority of Canadians are similarly opposed to provincial governments wasting taxpayers' dollars to fight climate action instead of climate change. The fact is that we are moving forward with a plan that is going to reduce our emissions. Our climate is facing a crisis, but we can actually do something about it if we pull together. The Conservatives have not asked me a single question about what we can do to protect our environment, despite having been in this chamber for months. They would reverse course. We are bringing emissions down, and we are doing it in a way that is helping to grow the economy. We have added over a million jobs to the economy with the help of Canadians, put more money in the pockets of middle-class families, and done right by our environment, as well.
Mr. Speaker, we are taking unprecedented steps with respect to transportation, with respect to ships passing through not only the Juan de Fuca Strait, where they displace themselves, but also where they slow down when they are going through Boundary Pass and the Haro Strait. We have also put in place minimum distances from southern resident killer whales that are unprecedented and make us leaders in the world. We take this issue extremely seriously, and we are very proud of what we have done.
Mr. Speaker, once again the Conservatives continue the Harper era of turning their backs on the world. They should not be cheering. As a result of the types of policies that the Conservatives had, they had some of the lowest growth since the Great Depression.We on this side, with Canadians, have created over one million jobs, and that is because we know a strong global economy is good for Canada and good for Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, the investigation in question was led by the RCMP, an institution that we, in Canada, are very proud of. The RCMP turned the evidence it collected over to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, another institution that we are very proud of. This was a criminal prosecution led by the director of the Public Prosecution Service and she was the one who decided to stay the charges. There was no interference.
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals do not have an environmental plan; they have a tax plan. Since they put the carbon tax in place, the price of gas has gone up, the price of home heating has gone up, and Canadians are paying more for food as businesses raise their prices to cover the costs of the carbon tax.Why are the Liberals continuing to raise taxes on families and seniors who can least afford it?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister engaged in political interference in this case from the beginning. Vice-Admiral Norman's defence counsel said, No person in this country should ever walk into a courtroom and feel like they are fighting their elected government or any sort of political [interference]. She was talking about the Liberal government.Will the Liberals on the defence committee block the truth from coming out, or will they allow this to come before the committee, allow us to call witnesses, and get to the bottom of this, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, it is a curious question with an accusation that is baseless.In fact, in this particular case, the PPSC was acting independently of the federal government because the supervisory role in this case, under the Criminal Code, was actually held by the Attorney General for Ontario.The director of public prosecutions and the prosecutor in question have said that there was no contact or government interference in this case.
Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear. The process that unfolded did so completely independent of our government. The investigation, the decision to stay proceedings and, in fact, the prosecution itself were handled by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada.Canadians can be very confident in the independence of our judicial system.
Mr. Speaker, let me reiterate that the Liberals are the only ones who do not think there was any interference in Vice-Admiral Norman's case.Today, the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities was on Montreal's north shore to make an announcement about an infrastructure project in Quebec, but there was a big problem. The Government of Quebec was not even there. It is an infrastructure project in Quebec, a federal provincial-partnership that did not seem to include Quebec.My question for the Prime Minister is simple: Why was the Government of Quebec not there for the federal-provincial announcement?
Mr. Speaker, the denial story is not working. The Liberal government does not get to decide to uphold the rule of law when it benefits only the Liberals.The Prime Minister promised he would do things differently, but his office has now been involved in two different cases of potentially interfering in our independent justice system. Mark Norman's lawyer clearly said the PMO was counselling witnesses as to what they could and could not say.Our independent justice system does not belong to the Liberals. When will they get out of the way and allow Canadians to know what happened?
Mr. Speaker, we are working hard every day to reduce pollution, create good jobs for the middle class, keep life affordable and build a prosperous future for our children and grandchildren.We have a plan to fight climate change and strengthen the economy for everyone. Our plan includes 50 measures, including investing in renewable energy to have 90% more clean electricity, supporting more than 1,000 public transit projects across the country and phasing out coal.We will continue to work hard to ensure that we reduce pollution in Canada.
Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear. Canada remains absolutely committed to a fair and compassionate refugee protection system, and everyone who comes to this country will be afforded a hearing.We have been equally clear that any individual who is determined to be in need of protection will receive Canada's protection.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are confident in the director of public prosecutions, but the Minister of Public Services and Procurement stated that the Prime Minister's saying Vice-Admiral Norman would be in court before he was even charged was not the best framing of words.It was also not the best framing when the Prime Minister refused to provide court-ordered documents and tampered with witnesses, or when the Minister of National Defence refused to pay Norman's legal fees, stating he was guilty. Clearly, the only one being framed was Vice-Admiral Norman. When will the Prime Minister apologize for what his government has done to Mark Norman?
Mr. Speaker, the low-carbon economy fund had an open application process, and we tasked officials to identify the most effective projects they could find in terms of dollars spent to have emissions come down. This was one of 54 projects. However, I would like to point out that this is just one of over 50 measures we have implemented. We are putting a price on pollution, which is making life more affordable. We are investing in public transit, and yes, we are investing in energy efficiency. The fact is that we are able to do this at the same time that the Canadian economy has added over one million jobs.The Conservatives have no plan for the environment, and no plan for the economy. They seem content with turning back the clock to the days of Stephen Harper.
Mr. Speaker, I am thrilled to answer this question from my hon. colleague. Let us talk about our record: a million new jobs created by Canadians, the best growth we have seen in decades, unemployment rates down, lifting 300,000 children out of poverty and giving more benefits to Canadian seniors. I am not surprised it has taken them this long to ask a question about the budget, because when we look at the Conservatives' record, we see they are failures. This Prime Minister and this Minister of Finance have delivered for Canadians, and that is precisely what we are going to continue.
Mr. Speaker, when the government asks regular folks to pay their taxes but gives tax breaks to billion-dollar companies, there is clearly something wrong.Canada is the only G7 nation that applies sales tax as if the Internet did not exist.The NDP will shortly be introducing a bill that will finally extend tax compliance to Facebook, Google and Netflix. Multinational web corporations need to follow the same rules as Canadian companies; otherwise, the playing field will not be level.Will the government finally join the 21st century and support the NDP's bill to adapt our tax laws to the digital economy?
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to have the opportunity to direct the member opposite to take a look at budget 2019, where our government has made significant new investments in increasing law enforcement capacity and brought forward new regulatory changes in the budget implementation act, which I urge them to support.These new regulations will provide for greater transparency for federal organizations in determining beneficial ownership. They also create a new offence of recklessness, which will facilitate both investigations and successful prosecutions. As well, we are making significant investments in enhancing the capability of FINTRAC and the RCMP to work collaboratively with our provincial and territorial partners.
Mr. Speaker, we are not questioning the independence of the public prosecutor. We know that the decision to stay the trial was theirs, but as Norman's lawyer said very directly, the decision to stay the charges was made independently, despite the attempts of the Liberals to interferenot because of but despite their attempts.Here we are five days later and still no answers from the Prime Minister. Will he get up today and answer this question, or will he appear before the defence committee and start answering some questions on this?
Mr. Speaker, in Canada and around the world, women are rising. Global women's marches, #MeToo and other movements like it remind us of the progress made, the work remaining and the need to push back against the push-back.This June, in Vancouver, we will be hosting Women Deliver, an opportunity to raise awareness and build momentum to achieve the sustainable development goals by 2030. Our government believes that advancing gender equality is the right thing to do. It is also about tapping into the $150-billion economy in Canada and the $12-trillion economy around the world. Our approach is working. A million jobs have been created in Canada since we were elected.
Mr. Speaker, our government knows that international students contribute immensely to our economy, our culture and our society, with economic spinoffs worth about $15 billion annually.International students are welcome in Canada. We have made changes to the post-graduate work permit to allow them to work and stay in Canada, and immigrate permanently to our country, for those who wish to do so. It is important for all applicants to live up to the requirements of the immigration system in this stream. We are attracting the best and the brightest from around the world to contribute to our economic growth.
Mr. Speaker, we work very hard every day to reduce pollution, create good middle-class jobs, keep life affordable and build a clean and prosperous future for our kids and grandkids. We have a serious plan that was built, with Canadians, to tackle climate change and to make the clean economy affordable for everyone, with more than 50 measures that include investing in renewables to get 90% cleaner electricity, supporting a thousand projects across the country when it comes to transportation, and also phasing out coal. We will work tirelessly to make sure we reduce pollution.
Mr. Speaker, the government realizes the importance of maintaining a fair and equitable housing market for all Canadians. That is why the Canada Revenue Agency increased audits on real estate transactions in British Columbia and Ontario. Since October 2015, these audits have brought in more than $794 million. The $50-million investment allocated in budget 2019 will help the Canada Revenue Agency step up its efforts by creating four new teams dedicated to real estate audits.Let me be clear: tax cheats can no longer hide.
Mr. Speaker, people are paying the price for climate change. If we do not act now, the cost will be enormous. The Liberals' policies are sending the country in the wrong direction. They bought a pipeline, and they continue to subsidize the oil sector and exempt big polluters. We have to make different choices if we want better results.Will the Liberals have the courage to support our motion to declare a climate emergency?
Mr. Speaker, let me start by addressing the question of the Northwest Passage to which the hon. member has alluded. It is important to state very clearly in the House and for all Canadians who are listening Canada's absolute claim to the Northwest Passage. This is a claim based on geography. It is a claim based on history. It is a claim based on who we are as Canadians, and we are very clear on that, as I was in my meeting with Secretary Pompeo in Finland last week.
Mr. Speaker, it is great to have foreign students come to Canada to learn from our world-class educational institutions. It is good for the world, and it is good for Canada. While these students are learning in school, they are also working and contributing to our economy. However, I read an article today about a student named Jobandeep Sandhu, who is facing deportation for working too much. This is sad, and it is not right. Will the Minister of Immigration consider raising the number of hours that an international student can legally work in Canada?
Mr. Speaker, there were requests from the court, and we provided the court with more than 8,000 documents from seven different government agencies. In fact, the court complimented us on our co-operation in this matter. The decision to redact those documents was made not by the government but by an apolitical agency.Canadians can be assured that our judicial system, our prosecution system, operates completely independent of government, and we can be proud of this.
Mr. Speaker, the government recognizes the importance of ensuring a fair housing market for all Canadians. That is why the Canada Revenue Agency has increased audits of real estate transactions in British Columbia and Ontario. Since October 2015, these audits have resulted in more than $794 million in unreported assessed income. Budget 2019 announced a $50-million investment that will help the CRA step up its efforts by creating four new dedicated real estate audit teams. Let me be very clear that tax cheats cannot hide anymore.
Mr. Speaker, small business owners in both Newmarket and Aurora have told me how important it is for them to export to new markets. Reaching global markets not only helps their businesses find new clients, but it also means better-paying jobs right here at home. How is the Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion helping our best and most promising small businesses prepare to export to these new markets?
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for raising this issue, which is central to the mandate we received from Canadians to work for middle-class families and for those families who find it difficult to join the middle class for all sorts of reasons, including the loss of employment. Terrible health problems affect families' incomes and their confidence in the future. We have made substantial improvements to the employment insurance regime. We enhanced the five special benefits that already existed in 2015. We added two other special benefits, but it is clear that there is still much work to be done.
Mr. Speaker, in June, Vancouver will host Women Deliver, the world's largest conference on gender equality and the health, rights and well-being of women and girls around the world. Women Deliver brings together people from over 160 countries with a common goal of activating and mobilizing communities across the globe to push the needle toward progress.Can the Minister of International Development and Minister for Women and Gender Equality tell this House how Canadians can join this movement, promote gender equality and change the narrative worldwide?
Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to ensuring that Canada's tax system is fair and creates a strong middle class, but the issue of how to appropriately tax web giants is not uniquely Canadian. In fact, it is a global issue. That is precisely why Canada is working with our international partners, including the OECD, to come up with a consensus-based approach, one that ensures every company pays its fair share but that also fosters in the country a space of innovation in digital technology.
Mr. Speaker, the member knows that the minister and the department have been in constant conversation with the producers, and that the commitment was made a very long time ago. The commitment will be delivered, and there will be full and fair compensation to an industry that is so important to the Canadian economy.
Mr. Speaker, I am even more delighted to talk about the Canadian government's investments in the Quebec City region.Working in collaboration with major partners in the Quebec City region, we developed a modern, defining transit infrastructure project for my city, Quebec City, and the surrounding region. This project will reduce congestion and let families spend less time driving to work or day care. It will reduce pollution, increase families' quality of life and boost economic growth. We are very proud of this project.
Mr. Speaker, I am thrilled to have this opportunity to talk about the Government of Canada's $187-billion, 10-year infrastructure plan. Our historic plan is not only changing the way our country works and will work in the future, it is also making significant investments in middle-class families, investments that achieve both environmental and economic goals, investments that will bring about major change across Quebec.
Mr. Speaker, the member knows that throughout our conversations internationally we have steadfastly supported the supply management system in Canada. We believe that it is important, not only for those regions where it has been important for a long time, but for the Canadian agricultural economy. The promise was made that there would be full and fair compensation, and that is a promise that will be delivered.
Mr. Speaker, as my colleague is aware, since he sits on that committee, the committee operates independently
Mr. Speaker, William Morissette lives in New Brunswick and has a cancer that makes it impossible for him to work. He has used up his 15 weeks of sickness benefits and does not have access to disability benefits.In addition to fighting cancer, William has to fight the Liberal government, even though there are 32 Liberal members in Atlantic Canada. William, like thousands of others, believed the Prime Minister and the minister responsible for this file when they promised to enhance the EI's unfair sickness benefits.When will they keep this promise to William and thousands of other sick people who cannot work and do not have a dime?
Mr. Speaker, our relations with China are at an all-time low, and all the Prime Minister is willing to do is to blame the Americans.China has banned Canadian pork, banned Canadian canola and detained two Canadians.While China is bullying Canada, the Prime Minister is giving over a quarter of a billion dollars to China's Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.Will the Prime Minister quit blaming others for his failures, pull all funding to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, file a trade challenge at the WTO and immediately appoint a new ambassador?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government is at war with Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, British Columbia and Quebec. This weekend, the Minister of Families, who is from Quebec, and his colleague from Louis-Hébert directly and publicly attacked the Premier of Quebec and the Government of Quebec. Their attitude is disrespectful towards the Government of Quebec.I will repeat my question. Why did an announcement for a provincial-federal project, an infrastructure project for Quebec, take place without the Government of Quebec present?
Mr. Speaker, Canadians deserve a transparent and open legal system. The Norman case has been anything but.We know that the Prime Minister's Office, the Department of Defence and the Privy Council Office withheld important documents in this case. How is it that Gerald Butts got his old texts and emails within days of quitting, but Vice-Admiral Norman has waited a year and a half?Liberals have interfered with yet another judicial process. If they value the rule of law, why are Liberals blocking Canadians' access to this information?
Mr. Speaker, a tax system that is fair, efficient and modern is one of seven requests of over 200,000 Canadian businesses that just want the government to stop throwing up barriers and allow them to thrive and succeed. Instead, the Liberals have given Canadian businesses tax increases, like a job-killing carbon tax and higher payroll taxes, and complicated red tape that will hurt many small businesses. Will the Liberals accept the recommendations of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, or are they just going to keep calling Canadian small business owners tax cheats?
Mr. Speaker, the minister said at an event that he regrets the process Vice-Admiral Norman had to go through, but he seems to have forgotten that it was the Prime Minister who hung the Vice-Admiral out to dry in the first place. Now that Vice-Admiral Norman has been declared innocent, it is time for this corrupt Liberal government to explain why it obstructed justice, used code words to hide its actions and refused to turn over evidence. Will the Prime Minister allow the national defence committee to examine the politically motivated attack against Vice-Admiral Norman, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, across this country, Canadians are struggling to buy a home, but it turns out that money laundering has directly increased the cost of housing. In fact, last year alone, there was $47 billion of money laundered in Canada.Conservative inaction got us into this mess. The Liberals have done little to fix it. Will the Liberals now commit to creating a registry for real owners, to making sure the money-laundering unit actually does its work and to ensuring that there are meaningful penalties imposed on criminals who break the law?
Mr. Speaker, what is absurd is the Prime Minister's own actions. While the Prime Minister claims the process was free from interference, Vice-Admiral Norman was vindicated in spite of the Liberals' attempt to obstruct justice and politically interfere in his case. The miscarriage of justice is yet another example of someone standing up to the Prime Minister and getting crushed for getting in his way. Will the Prime Minister apologize to Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, show Canadians what they have been hiding and give Vice-Admiral Norman his old job back?
Actually, Mr. Speaker, the cold hard facts delivered from Statistics Canada demonstrate the best middle-class income growth of any government, before or since, happened under the Conservatives: a million net new jobs, the lowest debt and deficit in the G7, the highest economic growth in the G7, the last in and first out of the great global recession. That is what we did in the hard global times. Imagine what we can do when times are good. We will eliminate their deficit, lower taxes and leave more money in the pockets of people who earned it. When will Liberals learn that their theory of trickle-down government does not work?
Mr. Speaker, Canadians from coast to coast are paying the price for the Liberals' inaction on money laundering. This inaction leads to higher housing prices, loss of public funds and an increase in organized crime. Instead of leading the charge, the Liberals refuse to act and are leaving the British Columbia government to fend for itself. The Liberals must strengthen our laws to ensure that the guilty parties are held accountable.Will they do it?
Mr. Speaker, the fact is that the Liberals are protecting the web giants from paying taxes, and that is irresponsible.Now a B.C. report estimates that money laundering in Canada under the Liberals now reaches close to $50 billion annually. Money laundering is not a victimless crime, and it has caused a major increase in home prices in the Lower Mainland and elsewhere. The Liberal government refuses to crack down on rampant money laundering. It failed to allocate staffing and resources; it refused the necessary tools.Why is the government refusing to take these actions, and who are they protecting now?
Mr. Speaker, not a single penny has been budgeted to compensate supply-managed producers before the election. The Parliamentary Budget Officer has confirmed it.This means that the $3.9 billion promised by the Liberals has become an election promise. To those farmers, however, that money is not an election issue; it is crucial to keeping their businesses afloat.Dairy farmers are saying they want to see concrete action before the election, and that would include a cheque.When will they get their cheque?
Mr. Speaker, across Canada we are hearing a powerful sense of urgency around fighting climate change. While Liberals and Conservatives use the issue to beat each other up, a closer look shows that they actually have the same emission targets and the same love of pipelines, and that both parties will exempt the biggest polluters from paying a price. New Democrats, though, are bringing people together with concrete action, ambitious targets and making sure no worker or community is left behind. Will the Liberals join us in declaring a climate emergency?
Mr. Speaker, a majority of Canadians are really worried about the rising price of gas. In my riding, in my province, they are looking at tight budgets already and deciding what essentials need to be cut.The Liberals' handing out millions of dollars to their billionaire friends at Loblaws is doing nothing for affordability. Meanwhile, we have the Prime Minister and the environment minister jet-setting around the world with abandon.When will the Liberals finally admit that their carbon tax is hurting those who are the most vulnerable?
Mr. Speaker, the southern resident killer whales are under immediate threat of extinction, yet the Liberal government's recovery plan lacks urgency and fails to take on the major threat to these orcas: oil tankers and freighters. While the government has banned local small craft from the Swiftsure Bank, the most critical piece of habitat for the orcas, it will continue to allow more than 13,000 freighters and oil tankers to transit the bank each year. That makes no sense. In order to protect these endangered orcas, will the government act immediately to realign the commercial shipping lanes and move the major noise and pollution threats away from the Swiftsure Bank?
Mr. Speaker, Vice-Admiral Mark Norman and his defence team have been clear. The Prime Minister and his office tried to interfere in the case against the vice-admiral, both prior to the charges being laid and during the proceedings. In fact, Marie Henein said,you don't put your finger and try to weigh in on the scales of justice, that is not what should be happening. She was talking about the Liberals.Just exactly why did the Prime Minister try to weigh in on the scales of justice and interfere in the vice-admiral's court case?
Mr. Speaker, I am quite sure that two hon. members over here could participate in this very important issue too.The Prime Minister said something particularly remarkable in December 2015. He said that his pledge to balance the budget in 2019 was very cast in stone. That is what the Prime Minister said. He said that a zero deficit in 2019 was cast in stone, but exactly the opposite is true.The Prime Minister's word on public finances is worthless.When the country is in a period of economic growth, particularly when that growth is due to American wealth, that is the time to pay off our debts, not rack up more. Are the Liberals aware of that?
Mr. Speaker, Loblaws is one of the richest companies in Canada. Canadians were outraged when they found out that the Liberals gave the company $12 million to buy new fridges, even though Loblaws did not need or deserve that money. This is the same company that ripped off Canadians by rigging bread prices for over a decade. Is this the Liberals' idea of a climate change plan? Which other well-connected companies are getting handouts from the government's low-carbon economy fund?
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Services and Procurement says the government cannot be apologizing for the public prosecution doing its job in the Vice-Admiral Norman case. However, let us be clear. The public prosecution protected the rule of law and requires no apology. It is the Prime Minister and the Liberals who politically interfered to tip the scales of justice and punish Vice-Admiral Norman.When will the Prime Minister admit to Canadians that what he did was wrong and apologize to Vice-Admiral Norman?
Mr. Speaker, the time for conversation is over. It is time to write a cheque.We are not asking the minister to reassure our farmers; we are asking him to compensate them. The Parliamentary Budget Officer said he would be worried if he were a farmer. The money the government promised is not there. It is not in the budget. The message to farmers is that they have to vote for the Liberal Party if they want to get their money.With the election right around the corner, instead of blackmailing our farmers, will the government send them a cheque before the end of this session of Parliament?
Mr. Speaker, once again, my colleague knows that committees operate independently from the government. We will wait for the outcome of the deliberations. Once again, with respect to the legal process involving Vice-Admiral Norman, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada noted when it stayed the charge that no other factors were considered in this decision, nor was there any contact or influence from outside the PPSC, including political influence in either the initial decision to prosecute Mr. Norman or in the decision to stay the charge. Once again, any accusations otherwise from the opposition are completely absurd.
Mr. Speaker, we are signing trade agreements, which means 1.5 billion customers in Canada's free trade zone. Canada is the only G7 nation to have a free trade agreement with the other six. That sounds like a strong trade policy to me. How about an increase of 17% in Canadian exports to Japan after ratification of the CPTPP? I would call that a strong trade policy.What is weak is the Conservative opposition's understanding of what strength means in trade policy.
Mr. Speaker, a loan guarantee is no substitute for weak trade policy.The Conservative leader has outlined three concrete steps to stand up for canola farmers: appoint an ambassador to China, launch a WTO trade complaint against China, and pull funds from the Chinese-run Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Instead of taking our advice, the Prime Minister sent the agriculture minister to the G20, where she could not even be bothered to raise this issue once with the Chinese.Will the Liberals ever stand up to China and take action?
Mr. Speaker, the United Nations recently released its report on biodiversity. The headlines read, Natures Dangerous Decline Unprecedented; One million species face extinction; and How to fix nature to avoid human misery. Innumerable scientific studies have documented the human cost of climate change, yet many people and parties, even in this House, remain stuck in denial, with no plan to save nature and thus humanity. Will the parliamentary secretary please give us specifics with respect to the action that is being taken by our government to protect nature and thus humankind?
Mr. Speaker, after two months of inaction on the canola crisis with China, the Prime Minister is finally realizing that this is a political crisis. His reaction, however, is surprising: he is going to continue to do nothing and wait. He did not file a complaint with the WTO and he has not appointed a new ambassador. He is doing absolutely nothing.The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food is returning from Japan after a two-day meeting of G20 agriculture ministers. Did she stand up for Canada's canola farmers? Did she demand that her Chinese counterparts set a firm date for us to send a delegation of scientists to China? Yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth. As we have said a number of times on this side of the House, we have full faith in our institutions in Canada. The charges in question were laid by the prosecution service by the director of public prosecutions. The process was managed by the prosecution service of Canada, and the stay was decided by the prosecution service of Canada. The evidence was gathered by the RCMP. It was turned over to the prosecution service of Canada.The director of public prosecutions as well as the prosecutor in this case have both stated that there was no government interference or contact.
Mr. Speaker, the changes to the asylum system the Prime Minister tried to sneak through in the omnibus budget bill show his true colours.Despite Liberal promises, there was no gender-based analysis done. When experts pointed this out at the immigration committee, government members had no answers. The changes will disproportionately impact women and girls fleeing violence by denying their right to seek protection in Canada. Forty-six women's organizations from across Canada sent an open letter to the Prime Minister condemning these changes. Will the Prime Minister do what is right and withdraw these provisions, or is he just content that his version of feminism is just for show?
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for NewmarketAurora is right. When small businesses export, they are more productive; they create more jobs; they grow and they scale at higher rates. Recently, I announced an investment of $6.7 million to help 1,000 Canadian SMEs grow their businesses, including SMEs in the northern communities in Ontario, so they can successfully put a plan together and successfully export.Canada's trade agreements give our businesses access to 1.5 billion customers in the global marketplace. Our government is going to work hard for small businesses, today and every day.
Mr. Speaker, the member is not paying attention to what the Premier of Saskatchewan has said, nor is he paying attention to the expansion of export markets, nor is he paying attention to the very interesting meeting that the Minister of Agriculture had in Japan with her counterpart. We will know more about that in a matter of days.
Mr. Speaker, our government works hard for small businesses. We have cut over 400 regulatory irritants for small businesses. We have cut more red tape in the last three and a half years than the Conservatives did in the last 10 years. That is working hard for small businesses in this country.
Mr. Speaker, at the end of the day, the Conservatives will continue the Ford government plan, which is cuts to Canadian families who need help and increased spending for millionaires. We are focused on Canadians, and as a result we have one of the best economies in the G7. We are going to keep working for Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, do the terms Kraken, C34 and The Boss mean anything to you? They are code names used to secretly identify Admiral Norman to prevent information about him from being released under access to information requests.What is more, the Privy Council Office confirmed that at least 73 people were aware of the Liberal cabinet discussion about taking the Asterix contract away from the Davie shipyard. However, the Prime Minister only gave the RCMP the name of Vice-Admiral Norman for investigation. That is political interference.When will the Liberals admit it and apologize?
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to last week's decision, the charges brought against Vice-Admiral Norman were stayed. As confirmed by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada last week, every decision was made completely independently. No other factors were considered in this decision, nor was there any contact or influence from outside the PPSC, including political influence in either the initial decision to prosecute Mr. Norman or in the decision to stay the charge. Any accusation is completely absurd.
Mr. Speaker, I am always astonished that my colleague from Louis-Saint-Laurent is able to keep a straight face when he says that the Conservatives balanced the budget, since they actually added $150 billion to the national debt.What was the result? The Conservatives had the worst export growth since the Second World War, along with the worst job growth. Canada's growth was anemic for 10 years. It was a decade of economic failure. I will say this next part slowly so that he understands. Since we took office three and a half years ago, we have created one million jobs in Canada and 20%
Mr. Speaker, I do not have the stomach to imagine what the Conservatives would continue to do with our economy after the disastrous 10 years they had. I am glad that they also recognize now the importance
Mr. Speaker, the member opposite just described the failed Conservative plan: more debt, lower wages for Canadians and less growth in the economy, but they did increase unemployment rates. We cannot take any lessons from the Conservatives. They just simply cannot stand it. Their plan does not work, and now they do not know what to do.However, on this side of the House, our plan is working. We have invested in the middle class, and as a result we have created over a million new jobs.
Mr. Speaker, I am sorry that the hon. member has not been paying closer attention to the file. If he had been paying closer attention to the file, he would know that there has been continuous engagement and that we seek to be invited to China to talk to the scientists about the accusation that there is impurity in our canola.Second, had he been paying attention to the generous support for producers, which has been called a very important
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows that our plan to put a price on pollution is going to put more money in the pockets of eight out of 10 families in the province of Ontario. I am curious whether the hon. member is actually going to be claiming her climate action incentive this tax year.The fact is that the Conservatives were not concerned about affordability until it became politically convenient. When we put more money in the pockets of nine out of 10 Canadian families by improving the Canada child benefit, they voted against it. When we cut taxes for nine million middle-class Canadians and raised them on the wealthiest 1%, they voted against it. When we beefed up the guaranteed income supplement for low-income single seniors to make life more affordable for the most vulnerable Canadians, they voted against it.
Mr. Speaker, in the first month that our plan to put a price on pollution took effect, the hon. member's province added 45,000 jobs to the provincial economy. If he is claiming that this is going to be gloom and doom, I am curious as to why it is working so well.The fact is that, from day one, we have had a plan that is going to reduce emissions; from day one, we have had a plan that is going to grow the economy; and, most important, from day one we have had a plan that will make life more affordable for Canadians. If the hon. member does not want to take my word for it, I would gladly point him to the Parliamentary Budget Officer's report, which confirms this to be a fact.
Mr. Speaker, when the Conservatives were in office, Canadian job creators generated one million jobs. The Conservative government did that with a balanced budget. The Liberals may be creating jobs, but they are also running massive deficits, even though they promised to run only small deficits and to balance the budget by 2019. They did exactly the opposite of what they promised.Are the Liberals aware that, in a few months, when they travel around Canada to tell Canadians how they plan to manage the public purse, they will not have any credibility because they lied to Canadians in 2015?
Mr. Speaker, if the Prime Minister did not have a grudge against Vice-Admiral Norman, he would have given the 73 names to the RCMP. He would not have prevented Mr. Norman's lawyers from getting the documents they requested. He ruined Vice-Admiral Norman's reputation and nearly succeeded in making Davie lose a large contract.Will the Prime Minister allow the Standing Committee on National Defence to shed light on this affair, or will he continue with his political obstruction?
Mr. Speaker, once again, the PPSC said that no other factors were considered in this decision, nor was there any outside contact or influence, including political influence, in either the initial decision to prosecute Mr. Norman or in the decision to stay the charge. Once again, any accusation to the contrary is absurd. As we said, general Vance will sit down and speak with Vice-Admiral Norman about what comes next at the appropriate time.
Mr. Speaker, all the various premises of that question are categorically false.The Department of Justice co-operated with the court in order to provide the requested documents. The documents that were requested were given, more than 8,000 of them from seven different agencies. Of course that takes time. The redaction was done independently of political bodies.The court itself cited the government and its co-operation in this matter.
Mr. Speaker, last week the Liberals dispatched one of their MPs to China, not to demand the release of Canadian citizens and not to fight for our exporters, but to suggest partnership in our Arctic with China. Days after the United States questioned our sovereignty and raised risks about Russia and China in the Arctic, the Liberal government rushes to partner with China.When will the Liberal government start getting serious with China?
Mr. Speaker, the committees operate independently of the government, and we will wait for the results of their deliberations. As for the legal process involving Vice-Admiral Norman, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada noted when it stayed the charge that no other factors were considered in that decision, nor was there any contact or influence from outside the PPSC, including political influence in either the initial decision to prosecute Mr. Norman or in the decision to stay the charge. Any accusation to the contrary is completely absurd.
Mr. Speaker, as the member is aware, since he sits on that committee, the committee operates independently from the government and we will wait for the results of their deliberations.As for the legal process involving Vice-Admiral Norman, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada noted when it stayed the charge, that no other factors were considered in this decision, nor was there any contact or influence from outside the PPSC, including political influence, in either the initial decision to prosecute Mr. Norman or in the decision to stay the charge. Any accusation to the contrary from the opposition is completely absurd.
Mr. Speaker, the UN report to which the hon. member refers paints a very stark picture of the challenge facing nature today. The fact is that since the 1970s the world has lost 60% of its wildlife. We also know that Canada is one of five countries that represent three-quarters of the world's remaining wilderness. There is time to do something about it if we pull together. Our government has made the single largest investment in protecting nature in the history of our country and has committed to doubling protected spaces. This is a statistic that should shock the conscience of all Canadians, but it is something we have time to turn around if we all just pull together for once.
Mr. Speaker, here is how the Liberal plan is working. The number of Canadians who are $200 or less away from not being able to pay their bills every month has climbed to 48%, while 26% cannot even cover their bills.What does the Prime Minister do? He imposes a carbon tax on the necessities of life, driving up the cost of everything for seniors and families who cannot afford it. Gas prices are skyrocketing and groceries are going up with this new carbon tax. Why does the Prime Minister not just admit that his plan is not an environmental plan? It is a tax plan that will do nothing to reduce emissions.
Mr. Speaker, the difference is this: We created a million jobs when the world was in economic crisis. We did it while raising middle-class incomes more than any government before or since. We did so by increasing the amount people had in their pockets and making it possible to pay their bills. Right now, half of Canadians are $200 away from insolvency while their government drowns in debt. Is that not really the Liberal agenda: more debt, lower incomes and a declining economy?
Mr. Speaker, I would point out to the hon. member that a majority of Canadians are similarly opposed to provincial governments wasting taxpayers' dollars to fight climate action instead of climate change. The fact is that we are moving forward with a plan that is going to reduce our emissions. Our climate is facing a crisis, but we can actually do something about it if we pull together. The Conservatives have not asked me a single question about what we can do to protect our environment, despite having been in this chamber for months. They would reverse course. We are bringing emissions down, and we are doing it in a way that is helping to grow the economy. We have added over a million jobs to the economy with the help of Canadians, put more money in the pockets of middle-class families, and done right by our environment, as well.
Mr. Speaker, we are taking unprecedented steps with respect to transportation, with respect to ships passing through not only the Juan de Fuca Strait, where they displace themselves, but also where they slow down when they are going through Boundary Pass and the Haro Strait. We have also put in place minimum distances from southern resident killer whales that are unprecedented and make us leaders in the world. We take this issue extremely seriously, and we are very proud of what we have done.
Mr. Speaker, once again the Conservatives continue the Harper era of turning their backs on the world. They should not be cheering. As a result of the types of policies that the Conservatives had, they had some of the lowest growth since the Great Depression.We on this side, with Canadians, have created over one million jobs, and that is because we know a strong global economy is good for Canada and good for Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, the investigation in question was led by the RCMP, an institution that we, in Canada, are very proud of. The RCMP turned the evidence it collected over to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, another institution that we are very proud of. This was a criminal prosecution led by the director of the Public Prosecution Service and she was the one who decided to stay the charges. There was no interference.
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals do not have an environmental plan; they have a tax plan. Since they put the carbon tax in place, the price of gas has gone up, the price of home heating has gone up, and Canadians are paying more for food as businesses raise their prices to cover the costs of the carbon tax.Why are the Liberals continuing to raise taxes on families and seniors who can least afford it?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister engaged in political interference in this case from the beginning. Vice-Admiral Norman's defence counsel said, No person in this country should ever walk into a courtroom and feel like they are fighting their elected government or any sort of political [interference]. She was talking about the Liberal government.Will the Liberals on the defence committee block the truth from coming out, or will they allow this to come before the committee, allow us to call witnesses, and get to the bottom of this, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, it is a curious question with an accusation that is baseless.In fact, in this particular case, the PPSC was acting independently of the federal government because the supervisory role in this case, under the Criminal Code, was actually held by the Attorney General for Ontario.The director of public prosecutions and the prosecutor in question have said that there was no contact or government interference in this case.
Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear. The process that unfolded did so completely independent of our government. The investigation, the decision to stay proceedings and, in fact, the prosecution itself were handled by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada.Canadians can be very confident in the independence of our judicial system.
Mr. Speaker, let me reiterate that the Liberals are the only ones who do not think there was any interference in Vice-Admiral Norman's case.Today, the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities was on Montreal's north shore to make an announcement about an infrastructure project in Quebec, but there was a big problem. The Government of Quebec was not even there. It is an infrastructure project in Quebec, a federal provincial-partnership that did not seem to include Quebec.My question for the Prime Minister is simple: Why was the Government of Quebec not there for the federal-provincial announcement?
Mr. Speaker, the denial story is not working. The Liberal government does not get to decide to uphold the rule of law when it benefits only the Liberals.The Prime Minister promised he would do things differently, but his office has now been involved in two different cases of potentially interfering in our independent justice system. Mark Norman's lawyer clearly said the PMO was counselling witnesses as to what they could and could not say.Our independent justice system does not belong to the Liberals. When will they get out of the way and allow Canadians to know what happened?
Mr. Speaker, we are working hard every day to reduce pollution, create good jobs for the middle class, keep life affordable and build a prosperous future for our children and grandchildren.We have a plan to fight climate change and strengthen the economy for everyone. Our plan includes 50 measures, including investing in renewable energy to have 90% more clean electricity, supporting more than 1,000 public transit projects across the country and phasing out coal.We will continue to work hard to ensure that we reduce pollution in Canada.
Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear. Canada remains absolutely committed to a fair and compassionate refugee protection system, and everyone who comes to this country will be afforded a hearing.We have been equally clear that any individual who is determined to be in need of protection will receive Canada's protection.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are confident in the director of public prosecutions, but the Minister of Public Services and Procurement stated that the Prime Minister's saying Vice-Admiral Norman would be in court before he was even charged was not the best framing of words.It was also not the best framing when the Prime Minister refused to provide court-ordered documents and tampered with witnesses, or when the Minister of National Defence refused to pay Norman's legal fees, stating he was guilty. Clearly, the only one being framed was Vice-Admiral Norman. When will the Prime Minister apologize for what his government has done to Mark Norman?
Mr. Speaker, the low-carbon economy fund had an open application process, and we tasked officials to identify the most effective projects they could find in terms of dollars spent to have emissions come down. This was one of 54 projects. However, I would like to point out that this is just one of over 50 measures we have implemented. We are putting a price on pollution, which is making life more affordable. We are investing in public transit, and yes, we are investing in energy efficiency. The fact is that we are able to do this at the same time that the Canadian economy has added over one million jobs.The Conservatives have no plan for the environment, and no plan for the economy. They seem content with turning back the clock to the days of Stephen Harper.
Mr. Speaker, I am thrilled to answer this question from my hon. colleague. Let us talk about our record: a million new jobs created by Canadians, the best growth we have seen in decades, unemployment rates down, lifting 300,000 children out of poverty and giving more benefits to Canadian seniors. I am not surprised it has taken them this long to ask a question about the budget, because when we look at the Conservatives' record, we see they are failures. This Prime Minister and this Minister of Finance have delivered for Canadians, and that is precisely what we are going to continue.
Mr. Speaker, when the government asks regular folks to pay their taxes but gives tax breaks to billion-dollar companies, there is clearly something wrong.Canada is the only G7 nation that applies sales tax as if the Internet did not exist.The NDP will shortly be introducing a bill that will finally extend tax compliance to Facebook, Google and Netflix. Multinational web corporations need to follow the same rules as Canadian companies; otherwise, the playing field will not be level.Will the government finally join the 21st century and support the NDP's bill to adapt our tax laws to the digital economy?
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to have the opportunity to direct the member opposite to take a look at budget 2019, where our government has made significant new investments in increasing law enforcement capacity and brought forward new regulatory changes in the budget implementation act, which I urge them to support.These new regulations will provide for greater transparency for federal organizations in determining beneficial ownership. They also create a new offence of recklessness, which will facilitate both investigations and successful prosecutions. As well, we are making significant investments in enhancing the capability of FINTRAC and the RCMP to work collaboratively with our provincial and territorial partners.
Mr. Speaker, we are not questioning the independence of the public prosecutor. We know that the decision to stay the trial was theirs, but as Norman's lawyer said very directly, the decision to stay the charges was made independently, despite the attempts of the Liberals to interferenot because of but despite their attempts.Here we are five days later and still no answers from the Prime Minister. Will he get up today and answer this question, or will he appear before the defence committee and start answering some questions on this?
Mr. Speaker, in Canada and around the world, women are rising. Global women's marches, #MeToo and other movements like it remind us of the progress made, the work remaining and the need to push back against the push-back.This June, in Vancouver, we will be hosting Women Deliver, an opportunity to raise awareness and build momentum to achieve the sustainable development goals by 2030. Our government believes that advancing gender equality is the right thing to do. It is also about tapping into the $150-billion economy in Canada and the $12-trillion economy around the world. Our approach is working. A million jobs have been created in Canada since we were elected.
Mr. Speaker, our government knows that international students contribute immensely to our economy, our culture and our society, with economic spinoffs worth about $15 billion annually.International students are welcome in Canada. We have made changes to the post-graduate work permit to allow them to work and stay in Canada, and immigrate permanently to our country, for those who wish to do so. It is important for all applicants to live up to the requirements of the immigration system in this stream. We are attracting the best and the brightest from around the world to contribute to our economic growth.
Mr. Speaker, we work very hard every day to reduce pollution, create good middle-class jobs, keep life affordable and build a clean and prosperous future for our kids and grandkids. We have a serious plan that was built, with Canadians, to tackle climate change and to make the clean economy affordable for everyone, with more than 50 measures that include investing in renewables to get 90% cleaner electricity, supporting a thousand projects across the country when it comes to transportation, and also phasing out coal. We will work tirelessly to make sure we reduce pollution.
Mr. Speaker, the government realizes the importance of maintaining a fair and equitable housing market for all Canadians. That is why the Canada Revenue Agency increased audits on real estate transactions in British Columbia and Ontario. Since October 2015, these audits have brought in more than $794 million. The $50-million investment allocated in budget 2019 will help the Canada Revenue Agency step up its efforts by creating four new teams dedicated to real estate audits.Let me be clear: tax cheats can no longer hide.
Mr. Speaker, people are paying the price for climate change. If we do not act now, the cost will be enormous. The Liberals' policies are sending the country in the wrong direction. They bought a pipeline, and they continue to subsidize the oil sector and exempt big polluters. We have to make different choices if we want better results.Will the Liberals have the courage to support our motion to declare a climate emergency?
Mr. Speaker, let me start by addressing the question of the Northwest Passage to which the hon. member has alluded. It is important to state very clearly in the House and for all Canadians who are listening Canada's absolute claim to the Northwest Passage. This is a claim based on geography. It is a claim based on history. It is a claim based on who we are as Canadians, and we are very clear on that, as I was in my meeting with Secretary Pompeo in Finland last week.
Mr. Speaker, it is great to have foreign students come to Canada to learn from our world-class educational institutions. It is good for the world, and it is good for Canada. While these students are learning in school, they are also working and contributing to our economy. However, I read an article today about a student named Jobandeep Sandhu, who is facing deportation for working too much. This is sad, and it is not right. Will the Minister of Immigration consider raising the number of hours that an international student can legally work in Canada?
Mr. Speaker, there were requests from the court, and we provided the court with more than 8,000 documents from seven different government agencies. In fact, the court complimented us on our co-operation in this matter. The decision to redact those documents was made not by the government but by an apolitical agency.Canadians can be assured that our judicial system, our prosecution system, operates completely independent of government, and we can be proud of this.
Mr. Speaker, the government recognizes the importance of ensuring a fair housing market for all Canadians. That is why the Canada Revenue Agency has increased audits of real estate transactions in British Columbia and Ontario. Since October 2015, these audits have resulted in more than $794 million in unreported assessed income. Budget 2019 announced a $50-million investment that will help the CRA step up its efforts by creating four new dedicated real estate audit teams. Let me be very clear that tax cheats cannot hide anymore.
Mr. Speaker, small business owners in both Newmarket and Aurora have told me how important it is for them to export to new markets. Reaching global markets not only helps their businesses find new clients, but it also means better-paying jobs right here at home. How is the Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion helping our best and most promising small businesses prepare to export to these new markets?
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for raising this issue, which is central to the mandate we received from Canadians to work for middle-class families and for those families who find it difficult to join the middle class for all sorts of reasons, including the loss of employment. Terrible health problems affect families' incomes and their confidence in the future. We have made substantial improvements to the employment insurance regime. We enhanced the five special benefits that already existed in 2015. We added two other special benefits, but it is clear that there is still much work to be done.
Mr. Speaker, in June, Vancouver will host Women Deliver, the world's largest conference on gender equality and the health, rights and well-being of women and girls around the world. Women Deliver brings together people from over 160 countries with a common goal of activating and mobilizing communities across the globe to push the needle toward progress.Can the Minister of International Development and Minister for Women and Gender Equality tell this House how Canadians can join this movement, promote gender equality and change the narrative worldwide?
Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to ensuring that Canada's tax system is fair and creates a strong middle class, but the issue of how to appropriately tax web giants is not uniquely Canadian. In fact, it is a global issue. That is precisely why Canada is working with our international partners, including the OECD, to come up with a consensus-based approach, one that ensures every company pays its fair share but that also fosters in the country a space of innovation in digital technology.
Mr. Speaker, the member knows that the minister and the department have been in constant conversation with the producers, and that the commitment was made a very long time ago. The commitment will be delivered, and there will be full and fair compensation to an industry that is so important to the Canadian economy.
Mr. Speaker, I am even more delighted to talk about the Canadian government's investments in the Quebec City region.Working in collaboration with major partners in the Quebec City region, we developed a modern, defining transit infrastructure project for my city, Quebec City, and the surrounding region. This project will reduce congestion and let families spend less time driving to work or day care. It will reduce pollution, increase families' quality of life and boost economic growth. We are very proud of this project.
Mr. Speaker, I am thrilled to have this opportunity to talk about the Government of Canada's $187-billion, 10-year infrastructure plan. Our historic plan is not only changing the way our country works and will work in the future, it is also making significant investments in middle-class families, investments that achieve both environmental and economic goals, investments that will bring about major change across Quebec.
Mr. Speaker, the member knows that throughout our conversations internationally we have steadfastly supported the supply management system in Canada. We believe that it is important, not only for those regions where it has been important for a long time, but for the Canadian agricultural economy. The promise was made that there would be full and fair compensation, and that is a promise that will be delivered.
Mr. Speaker, as my colleague is aware, since he sits on that committee, the committee operates independently
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Mr. Speaker, William Morissette lives in New Brunswick and has a cancer that makes it impossible for him to work. He has used up his 15 weeks of sickness benefits and does not have access to disability benefits.In addition to fighting cancer, William has to fight the Liberal government, even though there are 32 Liberal members in Atlantic Canada. William, like thousands of others, believed the Prime Minister and the minister responsible for this file when they promised to enhance the EI's unfair sickness benefits.When will they keep this promise to William and thousands of other sick people who cannot work and do not have a dime?
Mr. Speaker, Loblaws is one of the richest companies in Canada. Canadians were outraged when they found out that the Liberals gave the company $12 million to buy new fridges, even though Loblaws did not need or deserve that money. This is the same company that ripped off Canadians by rigging bread prices for over a decade. Is this the Liberals' idea of a climate change plan? Which other well-connected companies are getting handouts from the government's low-carbon economy fund?
Mr. Speaker, I am always astonished that my colleague from Louis-Saint-Laurent is able to keep a straight face when he says that the Conservatives balanced the budget, since they actually added $150 billion to the national debt.What was the result? The Conservatives had the worst export growth since the Second World War, along with the worst job growth. Canada's growth was anemic for 10 years. It was a decade of economic failure. I will say this next part slowly so that he understands. Since we took office three and a half years ago, we have created one million jobs in Canada and 20%
Mr. Speaker, last week the Liberals dispatched one of their MPs to China, not to demand the release of Canadian citizens and not to fight for our exporters, but to suggest partnership in our Arctic with China. Days after the United States questioned our sovereignty and raised risks about Russia and China in the Arctic, the Liberal government rushes to partner with China.When will the Liberal government start getting serious with China?
Mr. Speaker, the UN report to which the hon. member refers paints a very stark picture of the challenge facing nature today. The fact is that since the 1970s the world has lost 60% of its wildlife. We also know that Canada is one of five countries that represent three-quarters of the world's remaining wilderness. There is time to do something about it if we pull together. Our government has made the single largest investment in protecting nature in the history of our country and has committed to doubling protected spaces. This is a statistic that should shock the conscience of all Canadians, but it is something we have time to turn around if we all just pull together for once.
Mr. Speaker, I am sorry that the hon. member has not been paying closer attention to the file. If he had been paying closer attention to the file, he would know that there has been continuous engagement and that we seek to be invited to China to talk to the scientists about the accusation that there is impurity in our canola.Second, had he been paying attention to the generous support for producers, which has been called a very important
Mr. Speaker, in June, Vancouver will host Women Deliver, the world's largest conference on gender equality and the health, rights and well-being of women and girls around the world. Women Deliver brings together people from over 160 countries with a common goal of activating and mobilizing communities across the globe to push the needle toward progress.Can the Minister of International Development and Minister for Women and Gender Equality tell this House how Canadians can join this movement, promote gender equality and change the narrative worldwide?
Mr. Speaker, the fact is that the Liberals are protecting the web giants from paying taxes, and that is irresponsible.Now a B.C. report estimates that money laundering in Canada under the Liberals now reaches close to $50 billion annually. Money laundering is not a victimless crime, and it has caused a major increase in home prices in the Lower Mainland and elsewhere. The Liberal government refuses to crack down on rampant money laundering. It failed to allocate staffing and resources; it refused the necessary tools.Why is the government refusing to take these actions, and who are they protecting now?
Mr. Speaker, I do not have the stomach to imagine what the Conservatives would continue to do with our economy after the disastrous 10 years they had. I am glad that they also recognize now the importance
Mr. Speaker, our government works hard for small businesses. We have cut over 400 regulatory irritants for small businesses. We have cut more red tape in the last three and a half years than the Conservatives did in the last 10 years. That is working hard for small businesses in this country.
Mr. Speaker, a loan guarantee is no substitute for weak trade policy.The Conservative leader has outlined three concrete steps to stand up for canola farmers: appoint an ambassador to China, launch a WTO trade complaint against China, and pull funds from the Chinese-run Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Instead of taking our advice, the Prime Minister sent the agriculture minister to the G20, where she could not even be bothered to raise this issue once with the Chinese.Will the Liberals ever stand up to China and take action?
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Services and Procurement says the government cannot be apologizing for the public prosecution doing its job in the Vice-Admiral Norman case. However, let us be clear. The public prosecution protected the rule of law and requires no apology. It is the Prime Minister and the Liberals who politically interfered to tip the scales of justice and punish Vice-Admiral Norman.When will the Prime Minister admit to Canadians that what he did was wrong and apologize to Vice-Admiral Norman?
Mr. Speaker, Canadians from coast to coast are paying the price for the Liberals' inaction on money laundering. This inaction leads to higher housing prices, loss of public funds and an increase in organized crime. Instead of leading the charge, the Liberals refuse to act and are leaving the British Columbia government to fend for itself. The Liberals must strengthen our laws to ensure that the guilty parties are held accountable.Will they do it?
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for raising this issue, which is central to the mandate we received from Canadians to work for middle-class families and for those families who find it difficult to join the middle class for all sorts of reasons, including the loss of employment. Terrible health problems affect families' incomes and their confidence in the future. We have made substantial improvements to the employment insurance regime. We enhanced the five special benefits that already existed in 2015. We added two other special benefits, but it is clear that there is still much work to be done.
Mr. Speaker, it is a curious question with an accusation that is baseless.In fact, in this particular case, the PPSC was acting independently of the federal government because the supervisory role in this case, under the Criminal Code, was actually held by the Attorney General for Ontario.The director of public prosecutions and the prosecutor in question have said that there was no contact or government interference in this case.
Mr. Speaker, the committees operate independently of the government, and we will wait for the results of their deliberations. As for the legal process involving Vice-Admiral Norman, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada noted when it stayed the charge that no other factors were considered in that decision, nor was there any contact or influence from outside the PPSC, including political influence in either the initial decision to prosecute Mr. Norman or in the decision to stay the charge. Any accusation to the contrary is completely absurd.
Mr. Speaker, once again, my colleague knows that committees operate independently from the government. We will wait for the outcome of the deliberations. Once again, with respect to the legal process involving Vice-Admiral Norman, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada noted when it stayed the charge that no other factors were considered in this decision, nor was there any contact or influence from outside the PPSC, including political influence in either the initial decision to prosecute Mr. Norman or in the decision to stay the charge. Once again, any accusations otherwise from the opposition are completely absurd.
Mr. Speaker, once again, the PPSC said that no other factors were considered in this decision, nor was there any outside contact or influence, including political influence, in either the initial decision to prosecute Mr. Norman or in the decision to stay the charge. Once again, any accusation to the contrary is absurd. As we said, general Vance will sit down and speak with Vice-Admiral Norman about what comes next at the appropriate time.
Mr. Speaker, the member opposite just described the failed Conservative plan: more debt, lower wages for Canadians and less growth in the economy, but they did increase unemployment rates. We cannot take any lessons from the Conservatives. They just simply cannot stand it. Their plan does not work, and now they do not know what to do.However, on this side of the House, our plan is working. We have invested in the middle class, and as a result we have created over a million new jobs.
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to last week's decision, the charges brought against Vice-Admiral Norman were stayed. As confirmed by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada last week, every decision was made completely independently. No other factors were considered in this decision, nor was there any contact or influence from outside the PPSC, including political influence in either the initial decision to prosecute Mr. Norman or in the decision to stay the charge. Any accusation is completely absurd.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister engaged in political interference in this case from the beginning. Vice-Admiral Norman's defence counsel said, No person in this country should ever walk into a courtroom and feel like they are fighting their elected government or any sort of political [interference]. She was talking about the Liberal government.Will the Liberals on the defence committee block the truth from coming out, or will they allow this to come before the committee, allow us to call witnesses, and get to the bottom of this, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, let me reiterate that the Liberals are the only ones who do not think there was any interference in Vice-Admiral Norman's case.Today, the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities was on Montreal's north shore to make an announcement about an infrastructure project in Quebec, but there was a big problem. The Government of Quebec was not even there. It is an infrastructure project in Quebec, a federal provincial-partnership that did not seem to include Quebec.My question for the Prime Minister is simple: Why was the Government of Quebec not there for the federal-provincial announcement?
Mr. Speaker, people are paying the price for climate change. If we do not act now, the cost will be enormous. The Liberals' policies are sending the country in the wrong direction. They bought a pipeline, and they continue to subsidize the oil sector and exempt big polluters. We have to make different choices if we want better results.Will the Liberals have the courage to support our motion to declare a climate emergency?
Mr. Speaker, as the member is aware, since he sits on that committee, the committee operates independently from the government and we will wait for the results of their deliberations.As for the legal process involving Vice-Admiral Norman, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada noted when it stayed the charge, that no other factors were considered in this decision, nor was there any contact or influence from outside the PPSC, including political influence, in either the initial decision to prosecute Mr. Norman or in the decision to stay the charge. Any accusation to the contrary from the opposition is completely absurd.
Mr. Speaker, a majority of Canadians are really worried about the rising price of gas. In my riding, in my province, they are looking at tight budgets already and deciding what essentials need to be cut.The Liberals' handing out millions of dollars to their billionaire friends at Loblaws is doing nothing for affordability. Meanwhile, we have the Prime Minister and the environment minister jet-setting around the world with abandon.When will the Liberals finally admit that their carbon tax is hurting those who are the most vulnerable?
Mr. Speaker, when the Conservatives were in office, Canadian job creators generated one million jobs. The Conservative government did that with a balanced budget. The Liberals may be creating jobs, but they are also running massive deficits, even though they promised to run only small deficits and to balance the budget by 2019. They did exactly the opposite of what they promised.Are the Liberals aware that, in a few months, when they travel around Canada to tell Canadians how they plan to manage the public purse, they will not have any credibility because they lied to Canadians in 2015?
Mr. Speaker, when the government asks regular folks to pay their taxes but gives tax breaks to billion-dollar companies, there is clearly something wrong.Canada is the only G7 nation that applies sales tax as if the Internet did not exist.The NDP will shortly be introducing a bill that will finally extend tax compliance to Facebook, Google and Netflix. Multinational web corporations need to follow the same rules as Canadian companies; otherwise, the playing field will not be level.Will the government finally join the 21st century and support the NDP's bill to adapt our tax laws to the digital economy?
Mr. Speaker, the minister said at an event that he regrets the process Vice-Admiral Norman had to go through, but he seems to have forgotten that it was the Prime Minister who hung the Vice-Admiral out to dry in the first place. Now that Vice-Admiral Norman has been declared innocent, it is time for this corrupt Liberal government to explain why it obstructed justice, used code words to hide its actions and refused to turn over evidence. Will the Prime Minister allow the national defence committee to examine the politically motivated attack against Vice-Admiral Norman, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, the denial story is not working. The Liberal government does not get to decide to uphold the rule of law when it benefits only the Liberals.The Prime Minister promised he would do things differently, but his office has now been involved in two different cases of potentially interfering in our independent justice system. Mark Norman's lawyer clearly said the PMO was counselling witnesses as to what they could and could not say.Our independent justice system does not belong to the Liberals. When will they get out of the way and allow Canadians to know what happened?
Mr. Speaker, do the terms Kraken, C34 and The Boss mean anything to you? They are code names used to secretly identify Admiral Norman to prevent information about him from being released under access to information requests.What is more, the Privy Council Office confirmed that at least 73 people were aware of the Liberal cabinet discussion about taking the Asterix contract away from the Davie shipyard. However, the Prime Minister only gave the RCMP the name of Vice-Admiral Norman for investigation. That is political interference.When will the Liberals admit it and apologize?
Mr. Speaker, we are not questioning the independence of the public prosecutor. We know that the decision to stay the trial was theirs, but as Norman's lawyer said very directly, the decision to stay the charges was made independently, despite the attempts of the Liberals to interferenot because of but despite their attempts.Here we are five days later and still no answers from the Prime Minister. Will he get up today and answer this question, or will he appear before the defence committee and start answering some questions on this?
Mr. Speaker, the southern resident killer whales are under immediate threat of extinction, yet the Liberal government's recovery plan lacks urgency and fails to take on the major threat to these orcas: oil tankers and freighters. While the government has banned local small craft from the Swiftsure Bank, the most critical piece of habitat for the orcas, it will continue to allow more than 13,000 freighters and oil tankers to transit the bank each year. That makes no sense. In order to protect these endangered orcas, will the government act immediately to realign the commercial shipping lanes and move the major noise and pollution threats away from the Swiftsure Bank?
Mr. Speaker, in Canada and around the world, women are rising. Global women's marches, #MeToo and other movements like it remind us of the progress made, the work remaining and the need to push back against the push-back.This June, in Vancouver, we will be hosting Women Deliver, an opportunity to raise awareness and build momentum to achieve the sustainable development goals by 2030. Our government believes that advancing gender equality is the right thing to do. It is also about tapping into the $150-billion economy in Canada and the $12-trillion economy around the world. Our approach is working. A million jobs have been created in Canada since we were elected.
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government is at war with Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, British Columbia and Quebec. This weekend, the Minister of Families, who is from Quebec, and his colleague from Louis-Hébert directly and publicly attacked the Premier of Quebec and the Government of Quebec. Their attitude is disrespectful towards the Government of Quebec.I will repeat my question. Why did an announcement for a provincial-federal project, an infrastructure project for Quebec, take place without the Government of Quebec present?
Mr. Speaker, after two months of inaction on the canola crisis with China, the Prime Minister is finally realizing that this is a political crisis. His reaction, however, is surprising: he is going to continue to do nothing and wait. He did not file a complaint with the WTO and he has not appointed a new ambassador. He is doing absolutely nothing.The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food is returning from Japan after a two-day meeting of G20 agriculture ministers. Did she stand up for Canada's canola farmers? Did she demand that her Chinese counterparts set a firm date for us to send a delegation of scientists to China? Yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, what is absurd is the Prime Minister's own actions. While the Prime Minister claims the process was free from interference, Vice-Admiral Norman was vindicated in spite of the Liberals' attempt to obstruct justice and politically interfere in his case. The miscarriage of justice is yet another example of someone standing up to the Prime Minister and getting crushed for getting in his way. Will the Prime Minister apologize to Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, show Canadians what they have been hiding and give Vice-Admiral Norman his old job back?
Mr. Speaker, our relations with China are at an all-time low, and all the Prime Minister is willing to do is to blame the Americans.China has banned Canadian pork, banned Canadian canola and detained two Canadians.While China is bullying Canada, the Prime Minister is giving over a quarter of a billion dollars to China's Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.Will the Prime Minister quit blaming others for his failures, pull all funding to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, file a trade challenge at the WTO and immediately appoint a new ambassador?
Mr. Speaker, a tax system that is fair, efficient and modern is one of seven requests of over 200,000 Canadian businesses that just want the government to stop throwing up barriers and allow them to thrive and succeed. Instead, the Liberals have given Canadian businesses tax increases, like a job-killing carbon tax and higher payroll taxes, and complicated red tape that will hurt many small businesses. Will the Liberals accept the recommendations of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, or are they just going to keep calling Canadian small business owners tax cheats?
Mr. Speaker, the United Nations recently released its report on biodiversity. The headlines read, Natures Dangerous Decline Unprecedented; One million species face extinction; and How to fix nature to avoid human misery. Innumerable scientific studies have documented the human cost of climate change, yet many people and parties, even in this House, remain stuck in denial, with no plan to save nature and thus humanity. Will the parliamentary secretary please give us specifics with respect to the action that is being taken by our government to protect nature and thus humankind?
Mr. Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth. As we have said a number of times on this side of the House, we have full faith in our institutions in Canada. The charges in question were laid by the prosecution service by the director of public prosecutions. The process was managed by the prosecution service of Canada, and the stay was decided by the prosecution service of Canada. The evidence was gathered by the RCMP. It was turned over to the prosecution service of Canada.The director of public prosecutions as well as the prosecutor in this case have both stated that there was no government interference or contact.
Mr. Speaker, I would point out to the hon. member that a majority of Canadians are similarly opposed to provincial governments wasting taxpayers' dollars to fight climate action instead of climate change. The fact is that we are moving forward with a plan that is going to reduce our emissions. Our climate is facing a crisis, but we can actually do something about it if we pull together. The Conservatives have not asked me a single question about what we can do to protect our environment, despite having been in this chamber for months. They would reverse course. We are bringing emissions down, and we are doing it in a way that is helping to grow the economy. We have added over a million jobs to the economy with the help of Canadians, put more money in the pockets of middle-class families, and done right by our environment, as well.
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals do not have an environmental plan; they have a tax plan. Since they put the carbon tax in place, the price of gas has gone up, the price of home heating has gone up, and Canadians are paying more for food as businesses raise their prices to cover the costs of the carbon tax.Why are the Liberals continuing to raise taxes on families and seniors who can least afford it?
Mr. Speaker, across Canada we are hearing a powerful sense of urgency around fighting climate change. While Liberals and Conservatives use the issue to beat each other up, a closer look shows that they actually have the same emission targets and the same love of pipelines, and that both parties will exempt the biggest polluters from paying a price. New Democrats, though, are bringing people together with concrete action, ambitious targets and making sure no worker or community is left behind. Will the Liberals join us in declaring a climate emergency?
Mr. Speaker, Vice-Admiral Mark Norman and his defence team have been clear. The Prime Minister and his office tried to interfere in the case against the vice-admiral, both prior to the charges being laid and during the proceedings. In fact, Marie Henein said,you don't put your finger and try to weigh in on the scales of justice, that is not what should be happening. She was talking about the Liberals.Just exactly why did the Prime Minister try to weigh in on the scales of justice and interfere in the vice-admiral's court case?
Mr. Speaker, across this country, Canadians are struggling to buy a home, but it turns out that money laundering has directly increased the cost of housing. In fact, last year alone, there was $47 billion of money laundered in Canada.Conservative inaction got us into this mess. The Liberals have done little to fix it. Will the Liberals now commit to creating a registry for real owners, to making sure the money-laundering unit actually does its work and to ensuring that there are meaningful penalties imposed on criminals who break the law?
Mr. Speaker, all the various premises of that question are categorically false.The Department of Justice co-operated with the court in order to provide the requested documents. The documents that were requested were given, more than 8,000 of them from seven different agencies. Of course that takes time. The redaction was done independently of political bodies.The court itself cited the government and its co-operation in this matter.
Mr. Speaker, not a single penny has been budgeted to compensate supply-managed producers before the election. The Parliamentary Budget Officer has confirmed it.This means that the $3.9 billion promised by the Liberals has become an election promise. To those farmers, however, that money is not an election issue; it is crucial to keeping their businesses afloat.Dairy farmers are saying they want to see concrete action before the election, and that would include a cheque.When will they get their cheque?
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows that our plan to put a price on pollution is going to put more money in the pockets of eight out of 10 families in the province of Ontario. I am curious whether the hon. member is actually going to be claiming her climate action incentive this tax year.The fact is that the Conservatives were not concerned about affordability until it became politically convenient. When we put more money in the pockets of nine out of 10 Canadian families by improving the Canada child benefit, they voted against it. When we cut taxes for nine million middle-class Canadians and raised them on the wealthiest 1%, they voted against it. When we beefed up the guaranteed income supplement for low-income single seniors to make life more affordable for the most vulnerable Canadians, they voted against it.
Mr. Speaker, here is how the Liberal plan is working. The number of Canadians who are $200 or less away from not being able to pay their bills every month has climbed to 48%, while 26% cannot even cover their bills.What does the Prime Minister do? He imposes a carbon tax on the necessities of life, driving up the cost of everything for seniors and families who cannot afford it. Gas prices are skyrocketing and groceries are going up with this new carbon tax. Why does the Prime Minister not just admit that his plan is not an environmental plan? It is a tax plan that will do nothing to reduce emissions.
Mr. Speaker, small business owners in both Newmarket and Aurora have told me how important it is for them to export to new markets. Reaching global markets not only helps their businesses find new clients, but it also means better-paying jobs right here at home. How is the Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion helping our best and most promising small businesses prepare to export to these new markets?
Actually, Mr. Speaker, the cold hard facts delivered from Statistics Canada demonstrate the best middle-class income growth of any government, before or since, happened under the Conservatives: a million net new jobs, the lowest debt and deficit in the G7, the highest economic growth in the G7, the last in and first out of the great global recession. That is what we did in the hard global times. Imagine what we can do when times are good. We will eliminate their deficit, lower taxes and leave more money in the pockets of people who earned it. When will Liberals learn that their theory of trickle-down government does not work?
Mr. Speaker, we are signing trade agreements, which means 1.5 billion customers in Canada's free trade zone. Canada is the only G7 nation to have a free trade agreement with the other six. That sounds like a strong trade policy to me. How about an increase of 17% in Canadian exports to Japan after ratification of the CPTPP? I would call that a strong trade policy.What is weak is the Conservative opposition's understanding of what strength means in trade policy.
Mr. Speaker, let me start by addressing the question of the Northwest Passage to which the hon. member has alluded. It is important to state very clearly in the House and for all Canadians who are listening Canada's absolute claim to the Northwest Passage. This is a claim based on geography. It is a claim based on history. It is a claim based on who we are as Canadians, and we are very clear on that, as I was in my meeting with Secretary Pompeo in Finland last week.
Mr. Speaker, we are working hard every day to reduce pollution, create good jobs for the middle class, keep life affordable and build a prosperous future for our children and grandchildren.We have a plan to fight climate change and strengthen the economy for everyone. Our plan includes 50 measures, including investing in renewable energy to have 90% more clean electricity, supporting more than 1,000 public transit projects across the country and phasing out coal.We will continue to work hard to ensure that we reduce pollution in Canada.
Mr. Speaker, the difference is this: We created a million jobs when the world was in economic crisis. We did it while raising middle-class incomes more than any government before or since. We did so by increasing the amount people had in their pockets and making it possible to pay their bills. Right now, half of Canadians are $200 away from insolvency while their government drowns in debt. Is that not really the Liberal agenda: more debt, lower incomes and a declining economy?
Mr. Speaker, Canadians deserve a transparent and open legal system. The Norman case has been anything but.We know that the Prime Minister's Office, the Department of Defence and the Privy Council Office withheld important documents in this case. How is it that Gerald Butts got his old texts and emails within days of quitting, but Vice-Admiral Norman has waited a year and a half?Liberals have interfered with yet another judicial process. If they value the rule of law, why are Liberals blocking Canadians' access to this information?
Mr. Speaker, we are taking unprecedented steps with respect to transportation, with respect to ships passing through not only the Juan de Fuca Strait, where they displace themselves, but also where they slow down when they are going through Boundary Pass and the Haro Strait. We have also put in place minimum distances from southern resident killer whales that are unprecedented and make us leaders in the world. We take this issue extremely seriously, and we are very proud of what we have done.
Mr. Speaker, I am thrilled to have this opportunity to talk about the Government of Canada's $187-billion, 10-year infrastructure plan. Our historic plan is not only changing the way our country works and will work in the future, it is also making significant investments in middle-class families, investments that achieve both environmental and economic goals, investments that will bring about major change across Quebec.
Mr. Speaker, if the Prime Minister did not have a grudge against Vice-Admiral Norman, he would have given the 73 names to the RCMP. He would not have prevented Mr. Norman's lawyers from getting the documents they requested. He ruined Vice-Admiral Norman's reputation and nearly succeeded in making Davie lose a large contract.Will the Prime Minister allow the Standing Committee on National Defence to shed light on this affair, or will he continue with his political obstruction?
Mr. Speaker, the low-carbon economy fund had an open application process, and we tasked officials to identify the most effective projects they could find in terms of dollars spent to have emissions come down. This was one of 54 projects. However, I would like to point out that this is just one of over 50 measures we have implemented. We are putting a price on pollution, which is making life more affordable. We are investing in public transit, and yes, we are investing in energy efficiency. The fact is that we are able to do this at the same time that the Canadian economy has added over one million jobs.The Conservatives have no plan for the environment, and no plan for the economy. They seem content with turning back the clock to the days of Stephen Harper.
Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear. The process that unfolded did so completely independent of our government. The investigation, the decision to stay proceedings and, in fact, the prosecution itself were handled by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada.Canadians can be very confident in the independence of our judicial system.
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for NewmarketAurora is right. When small businesses export, they are more productive; they create more jobs; they grow and they scale at higher rates. Recently, I announced an investment of $6.7 million to help 1,000 Canadian SMEs grow their businesses, including SMEs in the northern communities in Ontario, so they can successfully put a plan together and successfully export.Canada's trade agreements give our businesses access to 1.5 billion customers in the global marketplace. Our government is going to work hard for small businesses, today and every day.
Mr. Speaker, it is great to have foreign students come to Canada to learn from our world-class educational institutions. It is good for the world, and it is good for Canada. While these students are learning in school, they are also working and contributing to our economy. However, I read an article today about a student named Jobandeep Sandhu, who is facing deportation for working too much. This is sad, and it is not right. Will the Minister of Immigration consider raising the number of hours that an international student can legally work in Canada?
Mr. Speaker, we work very hard every day to reduce pollution, create good middle-class jobs, keep life affordable and build a clean and prosperous future for our kids and grandkids. We have a serious plan that was built, with Canadians, to tackle climate change and to make the clean economy affordable for everyone, with more than 50 measures that include investing in renewables to get 90% cleaner electricity, supporting a thousand projects across the country when it comes to transportation, and also phasing out coal. We will work tirelessly to make sure we reduce pollution.
Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear. Canada remains absolutely committed to a fair and compassionate refugee protection system, and everyone who comes to this country will be afforded a hearing.We have been equally clear that any individual who is determined to be in need of protection will receive Canada's protection.
Mr. Speaker, the changes to the asylum system the Prime Minister tried to sneak through in the omnibus budget bill show his true colours.Despite Liberal promises, there was no gender-based analysis done. When experts pointed this out at the immigration committee, government members had no answers. The changes will disproportionately impact women and girls fleeing violence by denying their right to seek protection in Canada. Forty-six women's organizations from across Canada sent an open letter to the Prime Minister condemning these changes. Will the Prime Minister do what is right and withdraw these provisions, or is he just content that his version of feminism is just for show?
Mr. Speaker, I am quite sure that two hon. members over here could participate in this very important issue too.The Prime Minister said something particularly remarkable in December 2015. He said that his pledge to balance the budget in 2019 was very cast in stone. That is what the Prime Minister said. He said that a zero deficit in 2019 was cast in stone, but exactly the opposite is true.The Prime Minister's word on public finances is worthless.When the country is in a period of economic growth, particularly when that growth is due to American wealth, that is the time to pay off our debts, not rack up more. Are the Liberals aware of that?
Mr. Speaker, as my colleague is aware, since he sits on that committee, the committee operates independently
Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to ensuring that Canada's tax system is fair and creates a strong middle class, but the issue of how to appropriately tax web giants is not uniquely Canadian. In fact, it is a global issue. That is precisely why Canada is working with our international partners, including the OECD, to come up with a consensus-based approach, one that ensures every company pays its fair share but that also fosters in the country a space of innovation in digital technology.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are confident in the director of public prosecutions, but the Minister of Public Services and Procurement stated that the Prime Minister's saying Vice-Admiral Norman would be in court before he was even charged was not the best framing of words.It was also not the best framing when the Prime Minister refused to provide court-ordered documents and tampered with witnesses, or when the Minister of National Defence refused to pay Norman's legal fees, stating he was guilty. Clearly, the only one being framed was Vice-Admiral Norman. When will the Prime Minister apologize for what his government has done to Mark Norman?
Mr. Speaker, the government realizes the importance of maintaining a fair and equitable housing market for all Canadians. That is why the Canada Revenue Agency increased audits on real estate transactions in British Columbia and Ontario. Since October 2015, these audits have brought in more than $794 million. The $50-million investment allocated in budget 2019 will help the Canada Revenue Agency step up its efforts by creating four new teams dedicated to real estate audits.Let me be clear: tax cheats can no longer hide.
Mr. Speaker, the government recognizes the importance of ensuring a fair housing market for all Canadians. That is why the Canada Revenue Agency has increased audits of real estate transactions in British Columbia and Ontario. Since October 2015, these audits have resulted in more than $794 million in unreported assessed income. Budget 2019 announced a $50-million investment that will help the CRA step up its efforts by creating four new dedicated real estate audit teams. Let me be very clear that tax cheats cannot hide anymore.
Mr. Speaker, in the first month that our plan to put a price on pollution took effect, the hon. member's province added 45,000 jobs to the provincial economy. If he is claiming that this is going to be gloom and doom, I am curious as to why it is working so well.The fact is that, from day one, we have had a plan that is going to reduce emissions; from day one, we have had a plan that is going to grow the economy; and, most important, from day one we have had a plan that will make life more affordable for Canadians. If the hon. member does not want to take my word for it, I would gladly point him to the Parliamentary Budget Officer's report, which confirms this to be a fact.
Mr. Speaker, the member knows that throughout our conversations internationally we have steadfastly supported the supply management system in Canada. We believe that it is important, not only for those regions where it has been important for a long time, but for the Canadian agricultural economy. The promise was made that there would be full and fair compensation, and that is a promise that will be delivered.
Mr. Speaker, the member knows that the minister and the department have been in constant conversation with the producers, and that the commitment was made a very long time ago. The commitment will be delivered, and there will be full and fair compensation to an industry that is so important to the Canadian economy.
Mr. Speaker, the time for conversation is over. It is time to write a cheque.We are not asking the minister to reassure our farmers; we are asking him to compensate them. The Parliamentary Budget Officer said he would be worried if he were a farmer. The money the government promised is not there. It is not in the budget. The message to farmers is that they have to vote for the Liberal Party if they want to get their money.With the election right around the corner, instead of blackmailing our farmers, will the government send them a cheque before the end of this session of Parliament?
Mr. Speaker, I am thrilled to answer this question from my hon. colleague. Let us talk about our record: a million new jobs created by Canadians, the best growth we have seen in decades, unemployment rates down, lifting 300,000 children out of poverty and giving more benefits to Canadian seniors. I am not surprised it has taken them this long to ask a question about the budget, because when we look at the Conservatives' record, we see they are failures. This Prime Minister and this Minister of Finance have delivered for Canadians, and that is precisely what we are going to continue.
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to have the opportunity to direct the member opposite to take a look at budget 2019, where our government has made significant new investments in increasing law enforcement capacity and brought forward new regulatory changes in the budget implementation act, which I urge them to support.These new regulations will provide for greater transparency for federal organizations in determining beneficial ownership. They also create a new offence of recklessness, which will facilitate both investigations and successful prosecutions. As well, we are making significant investments in enhancing the capability of FINTRAC and the RCMP to work collaboratively with our provincial and territorial partners.
Mr. Speaker, the investigation in question was led by the RCMP, an institution that we, in Canada, are very proud of. The RCMP turned the evidence it collected over to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, another institution that we are very proud of. This was a criminal prosecution led by the director of the Public Prosecution Service and she was the one who decided to stay the charges. There was no interference.
Mr. Speaker, I am even more delighted to talk about the Canadian government's investments in the Quebec City region.Working in collaboration with major partners in the Quebec City region, we developed a modern, defining transit infrastructure project for my city, Quebec City, and the surrounding region. This project will reduce congestion and let families spend less time driving to work or day care. It will reduce pollution, increase families' quality of life and boost economic growth. We are very proud of this project.
Mr. Speaker, there were requests from the court, and we provided the court with more than 8,000 documents from seven different government agencies. In fact, the court complimented us on our co-operation in this matter. The decision to redact those documents was made not by the government but by an apolitical agency.Canadians can be assured that our judicial system, our prosecution system, operates completely independent of government, and we can be proud of this.
Mr. Speaker, our government knows that international students contribute immensely to our economy, our culture and our society, with economic spinoffs worth about $15 billion annually.International students are welcome in Canada. We have made changes to the post-graduate work permit to allow them to work and stay in Canada, and immigrate permanently to our country, for those who wish to do so. It is important for all applicants to live up to the requirements of the immigration system in this stream. We are attracting the best and the brightest from around the world to contribute to our economic growth.
Mr. Speaker, once again the Conservatives continue the Harper era of turning their backs on the world. They should not be cheering. As a result of the types of policies that the Conservatives had, they had some of the lowest growth since the Great Depression.We on this side, with Canadians, have created over one million jobs, and that is because we know a strong global economy is good for Canada and good for Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, the member is not paying attention to what the Premier of Saskatchewan has said, nor is he paying attention to the expansion of export markets, nor is he paying attention to the very interesting meeting that the Minister of Agriculture had in Japan with her counterpart. We will know more about that in a matter of days.
Mr. Speaker, at the end of the day, the Conservatives will continue the Ford government plan, which is cuts to Canadian families who need help and increased spending for millionaires. We are focused on Canadians, and as a result we have one of the best economies in the G7. We are going to keep working for Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, William Morissette lives in New Brunswick and has a cancer that makes it impossible for him to work. He has used up his 15 weeks of sickness benefits and does not have access to disability benefits.In addition to fighting cancer, William has to fight the Liberal government, even though there are 32 Liberal members in Atlantic Canada. William, like thousands of others, believed the Prime Minister and the minister responsible for this file when they promised to enhance the EI's unfair sickness benefits.When will they keep this promise to William and thousands of other sick people who cannot work and do not have a dime?
Mr. Speaker, Loblaws is one of the richest companies in Canada. Canadians were outraged when they found out that the Liberals gave the company $12 million to buy new fridges, even though Loblaws did not need or deserve that money. This is the same company that ripped off Canadians by rigging bread prices for over a decade. Is this the Liberals' idea of a climate change plan? Which other well-connected companies are getting handouts from the government's low-carbon economy fund?
Mr. Speaker, I am always astonished that my colleague from Louis-Saint-Laurent is able to keep a straight face when he says that the Conservatives balanced the budget, since they actually added $150 billion to the national debt.What was the result? The Conservatives had the worst export growth since the Second World War, along with the worst job growth. Canada's growth was anemic for 10 years. It was a decade of economic failure. I will say this next part slowly so that he understands. Since we took office three and a half years ago, we have created one million jobs in Canada and 20%
Mr. Speaker, last week the Liberals dispatched one of their MPs to China, not to demand the release of Canadian citizens and not to fight for our exporters, but to suggest partnership in our Arctic with China. Days after the United States questioned our sovereignty and raised risks about Russia and China in the Arctic, the Liberal government rushes to partner with China.When will the Liberal government start getting serious with China?
Mr. Speaker, the UN report to which the hon. member refers paints a very stark picture of the challenge facing nature today. The fact is that since the 1970s the world has lost 60% of its wildlife. We also know that Canada is one of five countries that represent three-quarters of the world's remaining wilderness. There is time to do something about it if we pull together. Our government has made the single largest investment in protecting nature in the history of our country and has committed to doubling protected spaces. This is a statistic that should shock the conscience of all Canadians, but it is something we have time to turn around if we all just pull together for once.
Mr. Speaker, I am sorry that the hon. member has not been paying closer attention to the file. If he had been paying closer attention to the file, he would know that there has been continuous engagement and that we seek to be invited to China to talk to the scientists about the accusation that there is impurity in our canola.Second, had he been paying attention to the generous support for producers, which has been called a very important
Mr. Speaker, in June, Vancouver will host Women Deliver, the world's largest conference on gender equality and the health, rights and well-being of women and girls around the world. Women Deliver brings together people from over 160 countries with a common goal of activating and mobilizing communities across the globe to push the needle toward progress.Can the Minister of International Development and Minister for Women and Gender Equality tell this House how Canadians can join this movement, promote gender equality and change the narrative worldwide?
Mr. Speaker, the fact is that the Liberals are protecting the web giants from paying taxes, and that is irresponsible.Now a B.C. report estimates that money laundering in Canada under the Liberals now reaches close to $50 billion annually. Money laundering is not a victimless crime, and it has caused a major increase in home prices in the Lower Mainland and elsewhere. The Liberal government refuses to crack down on rampant money laundering. It failed to allocate staffing and resources; it refused the necessary tools.Why is the government refusing to take these actions, and who are they protecting now?
Mr. Speaker, I do not have the stomach to imagine what the Conservatives would continue to do with our economy after the disastrous 10 years they had. I am glad that they also recognize now the importance
Mr. Speaker, our government works hard for small businesses. We have cut over 400 regulatory irritants for small businesses. We have cut more red tape in the last three and a half years than the Conservatives did in the last 10 years. That is working hard for small businesses in this country.
Mr. Speaker, a loan guarantee is no substitute for weak trade policy.The Conservative leader has outlined three concrete steps to stand up for canola farmers: appoint an ambassador to China, launch a WTO trade complaint against China, and pull funds from the Chinese-run Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Instead of taking our advice, the Prime Minister sent the agriculture minister to the G20, where she could not even be bothered to raise this issue once with the Chinese.Will the Liberals ever stand up to China and take action?
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Services and Procurement says the government cannot be apologizing for the public prosecution doing its job in the Vice-Admiral Norman case. However, let us be clear. The public prosecution protected the rule of law and requires no apology. It is the Prime Minister and the Liberals who politically interfered to tip the scales of justice and punish Vice-Admiral Norman.When will the Prime Minister admit to Canadians that what he did was wrong and apologize to Vice-Admiral Norman?
Mr. Speaker, Canadians from coast to coast are paying the price for the Liberals' inaction on money laundering. This inaction leads to higher housing prices, loss of public funds and an increase in organized crime. Instead of leading the charge, the Liberals refuse to act and are leaving the British Columbia government to fend for itself. The Liberals must strengthen our laws to ensure that the guilty parties are held accountable.Will they do it?
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for raising this issue, which is central to the mandate we received from Canadians to work for middle-class families and for those families who find it difficult to join the middle class for all sorts of reasons, including the loss of employment. Terrible health problems affect families' incomes and their confidence in the future. We have made substantial improvements to the employment insurance regime. We enhanced the five special benefits that already existed in 2015. We added two other special benefits, but it is clear that there is still much work to be done.
Mr. Speaker, it is a curious question with an accusation that is baseless.In fact, in this particular case, the PPSC was acting independently of the federal government because the supervisory role in this case, under the Criminal Code, was actually held by the Attorney General for Ontario.The director of public prosecutions and the prosecutor in question have said that there was no contact or government interference in this case.
Mr. Speaker, the committees operate independently of the government, and we will wait for the results of their deliberations. As for the legal process involving Vice-Admiral Norman, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada noted when it stayed the charge that no other factors were considered in that decision, nor was there any contact or influence from outside the PPSC, including political influence in either the initial decision to prosecute Mr. Norman or in the decision to stay the charge. Any accusation to the contrary is completely absurd.
Mr. Speaker, once again, my colleague knows that committees operate independently from the government. We will wait for the outcome of the deliberations. Once again, with respect to the legal process involving Vice-Admiral Norman, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada noted when it stayed the charge that no other factors were considered in this decision, nor was there any contact or influence from outside the PPSC, including political influence in either the initial decision to prosecute Mr. Norman or in the decision to stay the charge. Once again, any accusations otherwise from the opposition are completely absurd.
Mr. Speaker, once again, the PPSC said that no other factors were considered in this decision, nor was there any outside contact or influence, including political influence, in either the initial decision to prosecute Mr. Norman or in the decision to stay the charge. Once again, any accusation to the contrary is absurd. As we said, general Vance will sit down and speak with Vice-Admiral Norman about what comes next at the appropriate time.
Mr. Speaker, the member opposite just described the failed Conservative plan: more debt, lower wages for Canadians and less growth in the economy, but they did increase unemployment rates. We cannot take any lessons from the Conservatives. They just simply cannot stand it. Their plan does not work, and now they do not know what to do.However, on this side of the House, our plan is working. We have invested in the middle class, and as a result we have created over a million new jobs.
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to last week's decision, the charges brought against Vice-Admiral Norman were stayed. As confirmed by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada last week, every decision was made completely independently. No other factors were considered in this decision, nor was there any contact or influence from outside the PPSC, including political influence in either the initial decision to prosecute Mr. Norman or in the decision to stay the charge. Any accusation is completely absurd.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister engaged in political interference in this case from the beginning. Vice-Admiral Norman's defence counsel said, No person in this country should ever walk into a courtroom and feel like they are fighting their elected government or any sort of political [interference]. She was talking about the Liberal government.Will the Liberals on the defence committee block the truth from coming out, or will they allow this to come before the committee, allow us to call witnesses, and get to the bottom of this, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, let me reiterate that the Liberals are the only ones who do not think there was any interference in Vice-Admiral Norman's case.Today, the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities was on Montreal's north shore to make an announcement about an infrastructure project in Quebec, but there was a big problem. The Government of Quebec was not even there. It is an infrastructure project in Quebec, a federal provincial-partnership that did not seem to include Quebec.My question for the Prime Minister is simple: Why was the Government of Quebec not there for the federal-provincial announcement?
Mr. Speaker, people are paying the price for climate change. If we do not act now, the cost will be enormous. The Liberals' policies are sending the country in the wrong direction. They bought a pipeline, and they continue to subsidize the oil sector and exempt big polluters. We have to make different choices if we want better results.Will the Liberals have the courage to support our motion to declare a climate emergency?
Mr. Speaker, as the member is aware, since he sits on that committee, the committee operates independently from the government and we will wait for the results of their deliberations.As for the legal process involving Vice-Admiral Norman, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada noted when it stayed the charge, that no other factors were considered in this decision, nor was there any contact or influence from outside the PPSC, including political influence, in either the initial decision to prosecute Mr. Norman or in the decision to stay the charge. Any accusation to the contrary from the opposition is completely absurd.
Mr. Speaker, a majority of Canadians are really worried about the rising price of gas. In my riding, in my province, they are looking at tight budgets already and deciding what essentials need to be cut.The Liberals' handing out millions of dollars to their billionaire friends at Loblaws is doing nothing for affordability. Meanwhile, we have the Prime Minister and the environment minister jet-setting around the world with abandon.When will the Liberals finally admit that their carbon tax is hurting those who are the most vulnerable?
Mr. Speaker, when the Conservatives were in office, Canadian job creators generated one million jobs. The Conservative government did that with a balanced budget. The Liberals may be creating jobs, but they are also running massive deficits, even though they promised to run only small deficits and to balance the budget by 2019. They did exactly the opposite of what they promised.Are the Liberals aware that, in a few months, when they travel around Canada to tell Canadians how they plan to manage the public purse, they will not have any credibility because they lied to Canadians in 2015?
Mr. Speaker, when the government asks regular folks to pay their taxes but gives tax breaks to billion-dollar companies, there is clearly something wrong.Canada is the only G7 nation that applies sales tax as if the Internet did not exist.The NDP will shortly be introducing a bill that will finally extend tax compliance to Facebook, Google and Netflix. Multinational web corporations need to follow the same rules as Canadian companies; otherwise, the playing field will not be level.Will the government finally join the 21st century and support the NDP's bill to adapt our tax laws to the digital economy?
Mr. Speaker, the minister said at an event that he regrets the process Vice-Admiral Norman had to go through, but he seems to have forgotten that it was the Prime Minister who hung the Vice-Admiral out to dry in the first place. Now that Vice-Admiral Norman has been declared innocent, it is time for this corrupt Liberal government to explain why it obstructed justice, used code words to hide its actions and refused to turn over evidence. Will the Prime Minister allow the national defence committee to examine the politically motivated attack against Vice-Admiral Norman, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, the denial story is not working. The Liberal government does not get to decide to uphold the rule of law when it benefits only the Liberals.The Prime Minister promised he would do things differently, but his office has now been involved in two different cases of potentially interfering in our independent justice system. Mark Norman's lawyer clearly said the PMO was counselling witnesses as to what they could and could not say.Our independent justice system does not belong to the Liberals. When will they get out of the way and allow Canadians to know what happened?
Mr. Speaker, do the terms Kraken, C34 and The Boss mean anything to you? They are code names used to secretly identify Admiral Norman to prevent information about him from being released under access to information requests.What is more, the Privy Council Office confirmed that at least 73 people were aware of the Liberal cabinet discussion about taking the Asterix contract away from the Davie shipyard. However, the Prime Minister only gave the RCMP the name of Vice-Admiral Norman for investigation. That is political interference.When will the Liberals admit it and apologize?
Mr. Speaker, we are not questioning the independence of the public prosecutor. We know that the decision to stay the trial was theirs, but as Norman's lawyer said very directly, the decision to stay the charges was made independently, despite the attempts of the Liberals to interferenot because of but despite their attempts.Here we are five days later and still no answers from the Prime Minister. Will he get up today and answer this question, or will he appear before the defence committee and start answering some questions on this?
Mr. Speaker, the southern resident killer whales are under immediate threat of extinction, yet the Liberal government's recovery plan lacks urgency and fails to take on the major threat to these orcas: oil tankers and freighters. While the government has banned local small craft from the Swiftsure Bank, the most critical piece of habitat for the orcas, it will continue to allow more than 13,000 freighters and oil tankers to transit the bank each year. That makes no sense. In order to protect these endangered orcas, will the government act immediately to realign the commercial shipping lanes and move the major noise and pollution threats away from the Swiftsure Bank?
Mr. Speaker, in Canada and around the world, women are rising. Global women's marches, #MeToo and other movements like it remind us of the progress made, the work remaining and the need to push back against the push-back.This June, in Vancouver, we will be hosting Women Deliver, an opportunity to raise awareness and build momentum to achieve the sustainable development goals by 2030. Our government believes that advancing gender equality is the right thing to do. It is also about tapping into the $150-billion economy in Canada and the $12-trillion economy around the world. Our approach is working. A million jobs have been created in Canada since we were elected.
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government is at war with Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, British Columbia and Quebec. This weekend, the Minister of Families, who is from Quebec, and his colleague from Louis-Hébert directly and publicly attacked the Premier of Quebec and the Government of Quebec. Their attitude is disrespectful towards the Government of Quebec.I will repeat my question. Why did an announcement for a provincial-federal project, an infrastructure project for Quebec, take place without the Government of Quebec present?
Mr. Speaker, after two months of inaction on the canola crisis with China, the Prime Minister is finally realizing that this is a political crisis. His reaction, however, is surprising: he is going to continue to do nothing and wait. He did not file a complaint with the WTO and he has not appointed a new ambassador. He is doing absolutely nothing.The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food is returning from Japan after a two-day meeting of G20 agriculture ministers. Did she stand up for Canada's canola farmers? Did she demand that her Chinese counterparts set a firm date for us to send a delegation of scientists to China? Yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, what is absurd is the Prime Minister's own actions. While the Prime Minister claims the process was free from interference, Vice-Admiral Norman was vindicated in spite of the Liberals' attempt to obstruct justice and politically interfere in his case. The miscarriage of justice is yet another example of someone standing up to the Prime Minister and getting crushed for getting in his way. Will the Prime Minister apologize to Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, show Canadians what they have been hiding and give Vice-Admiral Norman his old job back?
Mr. Speaker, our relations with China are at an all-time low, and all the Prime Minister is willing to do is to blame the Americans.China has banned Canadian pork, banned Canadian canola and detained two Canadians.While China is bullying Canada, the Prime Minister is giving over a quarter of a billion dollars to China's Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.Will the Prime Minister quit blaming others for his failures, pull all funding to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, file a trade challenge at the WTO and immediately appoint a new ambassador?
Mr. Speaker, a tax system that is fair, efficient and modern is one of seven requests of over 200,000 Canadian businesses that just want the government to stop throwing up barriers and allow them to thrive and succeed. Instead, the Liberals have given Canadian businesses tax increases, like a job-killing carbon tax and higher payroll taxes, and complicated red tape that will hurt many small businesses. Will the Liberals accept the recommendations of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, or are they just going to keep calling Canadian small business owners tax cheats?
Mr. Speaker, the United Nations recently released its report on biodiversity. The headlines read, Natures Dangerous Decline Unprecedented; One million species face extinction; and How to fix nature to avoid human misery. Innumerable scientific studies have documented the human cost of climate change, yet many people and parties, even in this House, remain stuck in denial, with no plan to save nature and thus humanity. Will the parliamentary secretary please give us specifics with respect to the action that is being taken by our government to protect nature and thus humankind?
Mr. Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth. As we have said a number of times on this side of the House, we have full faith in our institutions in Canada. The charges in question were laid by the prosecution service by the director of public prosecutions. The process was managed by the prosecution service of Canada, and the stay was decided by the prosecution service of Canada. The evidence was gathered by the RCMP. It was turned over to the prosecution service of Canada.The director of public prosecutions as well as the prosecutor in this case have both stated that there was no government interference or contact.
Mr. Speaker, I would point out to the hon. member that a majority of Canadians are similarly opposed to provincial governments wasting taxpayers' dollars to fight climate action instead of climate change. The fact is that we are moving forward with a plan that is going to reduce our emissions. Our climate is facing a crisis, but we can actually do something about it if we pull together. The Conservatives have not asked me a single question about what we can do to protect our environment, despite having been in this chamber for months. They would reverse course. We are bringing emissions down, and we are doing it in a way that is helping to grow the economy. We have added over a million jobs to the economy with the help of Canadians, put more money in the pockets of middle-class families, and done right by our environment, as well.
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals do not have an environmental plan; they have a tax plan. Since they put the carbon tax in place, the price of gas has gone up, the price of home heating has gone up, and Canadians are paying more for food as businesses raise their prices to cover the costs of the carbon tax.Why are the Liberals continuing to raise taxes on families and seniors who can least afford it?
Mr. Speaker, across Canada we are hearing a powerful sense of urgency around fighting climate change. While Liberals and Conservatives use the issue to beat each other up, a closer look shows that they actually have the same emission targets and the same love of pipelines, and that both parties will exempt the biggest polluters from paying a price. New Democrats, though, are bringing people together with concrete action, ambitious targets and making sure no worker or community is left behind. Will the Liberals join us in declaring a climate emergency?
Mr. Speaker, Vice-Admiral Mark Norman and his defence team have been clear. The Prime Minister and his office tried to interfere in the case against the vice-admiral, both prior to the charges being laid and during the proceedings. In fact, Marie Henein said,you don't put your finger and try to weigh in on the scales of justice, that is not what should be happening. She was talking about the Liberals.Just exactly why did the Prime Minister try to weigh in on the scales of justice and interfere in the vice-admiral's court case?
Mr. Speaker, across this country, Canadians are struggling to buy a home, but it turns out that money laundering has directly increased the cost of housing. In fact, last year alone, there was $47 billion of money laundered in Canada.Conservative inaction got us into this mess. The Liberals have done little to fix it. Will the Liberals now commit to creating a registry for real owners, to making sure the money-laundering unit actually does its work and to ensuring that there are meaningful penalties imposed on criminals who break the law?
Mr. Speaker, all the various premises of that question are categorically false.The Department of Justice co-operated with the court in order to provide the requested documents. The documents that were requested were given, more than 8,000 of them from seven different agencies. Of course that takes time. The redaction was done independently of political bodies.The court itself cited the government and its co-operation in this matter.
Mr. Speaker, not a single penny has been budgeted to compensate supply-managed producers before the election. The Parliamentary Budget Officer has confirmed it.This means that the $3.9 billion promised by the Liberals has become an election promise. To those farmers, however, that money is not an election issue; it is crucial to keeping their businesses afloat.Dairy farmers are saying they want to see concrete action before the election, and that would include a cheque.When will they get their cheque?
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows that our plan to put a price on pollution is going to put more money in the pockets of eight out of 10 families in the province of Ontario. I am curious whether the hon. member is actually going to be claiming her climate action incentive this tax year.The fact is that the Conservatives were not concerned about affordability until it became politically convenient. When we put more money in the pockets of nine out of 10 Canadian families by improving the Canada child benefit, they voted against it. When we cut taxes for nine million middle-class Canadians and raised them on the wealthiest 1%, they voted against it. When we beefed up the guaranteed income supplement for low-income single seniors to make life more affordable for the most vulnerable Canadians, they voted against it.
Mr. Speaker, here is how the Liberal plan is working. The number of Canadians who are $200 or less away from not being able to pay their bills every month has climbed to 48%, while 26% cannot even cover their bills.What does the Prime Minister do? He imposes a carbon tax on the necessities of life, driving up the cost of everything for seniors and families who cannot afford it. Gas prices are skyrocketing and groceries are going up with this new carbon tax. Why does the Prime Minister not just admit that his plan is not an environmental plan? It is a tax plan that will do nothing to reduce emissions.
Mr. Speaker, small business owners in both Newmarket and Aurora have told me how important it is for them to export to new markets. Reaching global markets not only helps their businesses find new clients, but it also means better-paying jobs right here at home. How is the Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion helping our best and most promising small businesses prepare to export to these new markets?
Actually, Mr. Speaker, the cold hard facts delivered from Statistics Canada demonstrate the best middle-class income growth of any government, before or since, happened under the Conservatives: a million net new jobs, the lowest debt and deficit in the G7, the highest economic growth in the G7, the last in and first out of the great global recession. That is what we did in the hard global times. Imagine what we can do when times are good. We will eliminate their deficit, lower taxes and leave more money in the pockets of people who earned it. When will Liberals learn that their theory of trickle-down government does not work?
Mr. Speaker, we are signing trade agreements, which means 1.5 billion customers in Canada's free trade zone. Canada is the only G7 nation to have a free trade agreement with the other six. That sounds like a strong trade policy to me. How about an increase of 17% in Canadian exports to Japan after ratification of the CPTPP? I would call that a strong trade policy.What is weak is the Conservative opposition's understanding of what strength means in trade policy.
Mr. Speaker, let me start by addressing the question of the Northwest Passage to which the hon. member has alluded. It is important to state very clearly in the House and for all Canadians who are listening Canada's absolute claim to the Northwest Passage. This is a claim based on geography. It is a claim based on history. It is a claim based on who we are as Canadians, and we are very clear on that, as I was in my meeting with Secretary Pompeo in Finland last week.
Mr. Speaker, we are working hard every day to reduce pollution, create good jobs for the middle class, keep life affordable and build a prosperous future for our children and grandchildren.We have a plan to fight climate change and strengthen the economy for everyone. Our plan includes 50 measures, including investing in renewable energy to have 90% more clean electricity, supporting more than 1,000 public transit projects across the country and phasing out coal.We will continue to work hard to ensure that we reduce pollution in Canada.
Mr. Speaker, the difference is this: We created a million jobs when the world was in economic crisis. We did it while raising middle-class incomes more than any government before or since. We did so by increasing the amount people had in their pockets and making it possible to pay their bills. Right now, half of Canadians are $200 away from insolvency while their government drowns in debt. Is that not really the Liberal agenda: more debt, lower incomes and a declining economy?
Mr. Speaker, Canadians deserve a transparent and open legal system. The Norman case has been anything but.We know that the Prime Minister's Office, the Department of Defence and the Privy Council Office withheld important documents in this case. How is it that Gerald Butts got his old texts and emails within days of quitting, but Vice-Admiral Norman has waited a year and a half?Liberals have interfered with yet another judicial process. If they value the rule of law, why are Liberals blocking Canadians' access to this information?
Mr. Speaker, we are taking unprecedented steps with respect to transportation, with respect to ships passing through not only the Juan de Fuca Strait, where they displace themselves, but also where they slow down when they are going through Boundary Pass and the Haro Strait. We have also put in place minimum distances from southern resident killer whales that are unprecedented and make us leaders in the world. We take this issue extremely seriously, and we are very proud of what we have done.
Mr. Speaker, I am thrilled to have this opportunity to talk about the Government of Canada's $187-billion, 10-year infrastructure plan. Our historic plan is not only changing the way our country works and will work in the future, it is also making significant investments in middle-class families, investments that achieve both environmental and economic goals, investments that will bring about major change across Quebec.
Mr. Speaker, if the Prime Minister did not have a grudge against Vice-Admiral Norman, he would have given the 73 names to the RCMP. He would not have prevented Mr. Norman's lawyers from getting the documents they requested. He ruined Vice-Admiral Norman's reputation and nearly succeeded in making Davie lose a large contract.Will the Prime Minister allow the Standing Committee on National Defence to shed light on this affair, or will he continue with his political obstruction?
Mr. Speaker, the low-carbon economy fund had an open application process, and we tasked officials to identify the most effective projects they could find in terms of dollars spent to have emissions come down. This was one of 54 projects. However, I would like to point out that this is just one of over 50 measures we have implemented. We are putting a price on pollution, which is making life more affordable. We are investing in public transit, and yes, we are investing in energy efficiency. The fact is that we are able to do this at the same time that the Canadian economy has added over one million jobs.The Conservatives have no plan for the environment, and no plan for the economy. They seem content with turning back the clock to the days of Stephen Harper.
Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear. The process that unfolded did so completely independent of our government. The investigation, the decision to stay proceedings and, in fact, the prosecution itself were handled by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada.Canadians can be very confident in the independence of our judicial system.
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for NewmarketAurora is right. When small businesses export, they are more productive; they create more jobs; they grow and they scale at higher rates. Recently, I announced an investment of $6.7 million to help 1,000 Canadian SMEs grow their businesses, including SMEs in the northern communities in Ontario, so they can successfully put a plan together and successfully export.Canada's trade agreements give our businesses access to 1.5 billion customers in the global marketplace. Our government is going to work hard for small businesses, today and every day.
Mr. Speaker, it is great to have foreign students come to Canada to learn from our world-class educational institutions. It is good for the world, and it is good for Canada. While these students are learning in school, they are also working and contributing to our economy. However, I read an article today about a student named Jobandeep Sandhu, who is facing deportation for working too much. This is sad, and it is not right. Will the Minister of Immigration consider raising the number of hours that an international student can legally work in Canada?
Mr. Speaker, we work very hard every day to reduce pollution, create good middle-class jobs, keep life affordable and build a clean and prosperous future for our kids and grandkids. We have a serious plan that was built, with Canadians, to tackle climate change and to make the clean economy affordable for everyone, with more than 50 measures that include investing in renewables to get 90% cleaner electricity, supporting a thousand projects across the country when it comes to transportation, and also phasing out coal. We will work tirelessly to make sure we reduce pollution.
Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear. Canada remains absolutely committed to a fair and compassionate refugee protection system, and everyone who comes to this country will be afforded a hearing.We have been equally clear that any individual who is determined to be in need of protection will receive Canada's protection.
Mr. Speaker, the changes to the asylum system the Prime Minister tried to sneak through in the omnibus budget bill show his true colours.Despite Liberal promises, there was no gender-based analysis done. When experts pointed this out at the immigration committee, government members had no answers. The changes will disproportionately impact women and girls fleeing violence by denying their right to seek protection in Canada. Forty-six women's organizations from across Canada sent an open letter to the Prime Minister condemning these changes. Will the Prime Minister do what is right and withdraw these provisions, or is he just content that his version of feminism is just for show?
Mr. Speaker, I am quite sure that two hon. members over here could participate in this very important issue too.The Prime Minister said something particularly remarkable in December 2015. He said that his pledge to balance the budget in 2019 was very cast in stone. That is what the Prime Minister said. He said that a zero deficit in 2019 was cast in stone, but exactly the opposite is true.The Prime Minister's word on public finances is worthless.When the country is in a period of economic growth, particularly when that growth is due to American wealth, that is the time to pay off our debts, not rack up more. Are the Liberals aware of that?
Mr. Speaker, as my colleague is aware, since he sits on that committee, the committee operates independently
Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to ensuring that Canada's tax system is fair and creates a strong middle class, but the issue of how to appropriately tax web giants is not uniquely Canadian. In fact, it is a global issue. That is precisely why Canada is working with our international partners, including the OECD, to come up with a consensus-based approach, one that ensures every company pays its fair share but that also fosters in the country a space of innovation in digital technology.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are confident in the director of public prosecutions, but the Minister of Public Services and Procurement stated that the Prime Minister's saying Vice-Admiral Norman would be in court before he was even charged was not the best framing of words.It was also not the best framing when the Prime Minister refused to provide court-ordered documents and tampered with witnesses, or when the Minister of National Defence refused to pay Norman's legal fees, stating he was guilty. Clearly, the only one being framed was Vice-Admiral Norman. When will the Prime Minister apologize for what his government has done to Mark Norman?
Mr. Speaker, the government realizes the importance of maintaining a fair and equitable housing market for all Canadians. That is why the Canada Revenue Agency increased audits on real estate transactions in British Columbia and Ontario. Since October 2015, these audits have brought in more than $794 million. The $50-million investment allocated in budget 2019 will help the Canada Revenue Agency step up its efforts by creating four new teams dedicated to real estate audits.Let me be clear: tax cheats can no longer hide.
Mr. Speaker, the government recognizes the importance of ensuring a fair housing market for all Canadians. That is why the Canada Revenue Agency has increased audits of real estate transactions in British Columbia and Ontario. Since October 2015, these audits have resulted in more than $794 million in unreported assessed income. Budget 2019 announced a $50-million investment that will help the CRA step up its efforts by creating four new dedicated real estate audit teams. Let me be very clear that tax cheats cannot hide anymore.
Mr. Speaker, in the first month that our plan to put a price on pollution took effect, the hon. member's province added 45,000 jobs to the provincial economy. If he is claiming that this is going to be gloom and doom, I am curious as to why it is working so well.The fact is that, from day one, we have had a plan that is going to reduce emissions; from day one, we have had a plan that is going to grow the economy; and, most important, from day one we have had a plan that will make life more affordable for Canadians. If the hon. member does not want to take my word for it, I would gladly point him to the Parliamentary Budget Officer's report, which confirms this to be a fact.
Mr. Speaker, the member knows that throughout our conversations internationally we have steadfastly supported the supply management system in Canada. We believe that it is important, not only for those regions where it has been important for a long time, but for the Canadian agricultural economy. The promise was made that there would be full and fair compensation, and that is a promise that will be delivered.
Mr. Speaker, the member knows that the minister and the department have been in constant conversation with the producers, and that the commitment was made a very long time ago. The commitment will be delivered, and there will be full and fair compensation to an industry that is so important to the Canadian economy.
Mr. Speaker, the time for conversation is over. It is time to write a cheque.We are not asking the minister to reassure our farmers; we are asking him to compensate them. The Parliamentary Budget Officer said he would be worried if he were a farmer. The money the government promised is not there. It is not in the budget. The message to farmers is that they have to vote for the Liberal Party if they want to get their money.With the election right around the corner, instead of blackmailing our farmers, will the government send them a cheque before the end of this session of Parliament?
Mr. Speaker, I am thrilled to answer this question from my hon. colleague. Let us talk about our record: a million new jobs created by Canadians, the best growth we have seen in decades, unemployment rates down, lifting 300,000 children out of poverty and giving more benefits to Canadian seniors. I am not surprised it has taken them this long to ask a question about the budget, because when we look at the Conservatives' record, we see they are failures. This Prime Minister and this Minister of Finance have delivered for Canadians, and that is precisely what we are going to continue.
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to have the opportunity to direct the member opposite to take a look at budget 2019, where our government has made significant new investments in increasing law enforcement capacity and brought forward new regulatory changes in the budget implementation act, which I urge them to support.These new regulations will provide for greater transparency for federal organizations in determining beneficial ownership. They also create a new offence of recklessness, which will facilitate both investigations and successful prosecutions. As well, we are making significant investments in enhancing the capability of FINTRAC and the RCMP to work collaboratively with our provincial and territorial partners.
Mr. Speaker, the investigation in question was led by the RCMP, an institution that we, in Canada, are very proud of. The RCMP turned the evidence it collected over to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, another institution that we are very proud of. This was a criminal prosecution led by the director of the Public Prosecution Service and she was the one who decided to stay the charges. There was no interference.
Mr. Speaker, I am even more delighted to talk about the Canadian government's investments in the Quebec City region.Working in collaboration with major partners in the Quebec City region, we developed a modern, defining transit infrastructure project for my city, Quebec City, and the surrounding region. This project will reduce congestion and let families spend less time driving to work or day care. It will reduce pollution, increase families' quality of life and boost economic growth. We are very proud of this project.
Mr. Speaker, there were requests from the court, and we provided the court with more than 8,000 documents from seven different government agencies. In fact, the court complimented us on our co-operation in this matter. The decision to redact those documents was made not by the government but by an apolitical agency.Canadians can be assured that our judicial system, our prosecution system, operates completely independent of government, and we can be proud of this.
Mr. Speaker, our government knows that international students contribute immensely to our economy, our culture and our society, with economic spinoffs worth about $15 billion annually.International students are welcome in Canada. We have made changes to the post-graduate work permit to allow them to work and stay in Canada, and immigrate permanently to our country, for those who wish to do so. It is important for all applicants to live up to the requirements of the immigration system in this stream. We are attracting the best and the brightest from around the world to contribute to our economic growth.
Mr. Speaker, once again the Conservatives continue the Harper era of turning their backs on the world. They should not be cheering. As a result of the types of policies that the Conservatives had, they had some of the lowest growth since the Great Depression.We on this side, with Canadians, have created over one million jobs, and that is because we know a strong global economy is good for Canada and good for Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, the member is not paying attention to what the Premier of Saskatchewan has said, nor is he paying attention to the expansion of export markets, nor is he paying attention to the very interesting meeting that the Minister of Agriculture had in Japan with her counterpart. We will know more about that in a matter of days.
Mr. Speaker, at the end of the day, the Conservatives will continue the Ford government plan, which is cuts to Canadian families who need help and increased spending for millionaires. We are focused on Canadians, and as a result we have one of the best economies in the G7. We are going to keep working for Canadians.
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Mr. Speaker, at the end of the day, the Conservatives will continue the Ford government plan, which is cuts to Canadian families who need help and increased spending for millionaires. We are focused on Canadians, and as a result we have one of the best economies in the G7. We are going to keep working for Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, the member is not paying attention to what the Premier of Saskatchewan has said, nor is he paying attention to the expansion of export markets, nor is he paying attention to the very interesting meeting that the Minister of Agriculture had in Japan with her counterpart. We will know more about that in a matter of days.
Mr. Speaker, once again the Conservatives continue the Harper era of turning their backs on the world. They should not be cheering. As a result of the types of policies that the Conservatives had, they had some of the lowest growth since the Great Depression.We on this side, with Canadians, have created over one million jobs, and that is because we know a strong global economy is good for Canada and good for Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, our government knows that international students contribute immensely to our economy, our culture and our society, with economic spinoffs worth about $15 billion annually.International students are welcome in Canada. We have made changes to the post-graduate work permit to allow them to work and stay in Canada, and immigrate permanently to our country, for those who wish to do so. It is important for all applicants to live up to the requirements of the immigration system in this stream. We are attracting the best and the brightest from around the world to contribute to our economic growth.
Mr. Speaker, there were requests from the court, and we provided the court with more than 8,000 documents from seven different government agencies. In fact, the court complimented us on our co-operation in this matter. The decision to redact those documents was made not by the government but by an apolitical agency.Canadians can be assured that our judicial system, our prosecution system, operates completely independent of government, and we can be proud of this.
Mr. Speaker, I am even more delighted to talk about the Canadian government's investments in the Quebec City region.Working in collaboration with major partners in the Quebec City region, we developed a modern, defining transit infrastructure project for my city, Quebec City, and the surrounding region. This project will reduce congestion and let families spend less time driving to work or day care. It will reduce pollution, increase families' quality of life and boost economic growth. We are very proud of this project.
Mr. Speaker, the investigation in question was led by the RCMP, an institution that we, in Canada, are very proud of. The RCMP turned the evidence it collected over to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, another institution that we are very proud of. This was a criminal prosecution led by the director of the Public Prosecution Service and she was the one who decided to stay the charges. There was no interference.
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to have the opportunity to direct the member opposite to take a look at budget 2019, where our government has made significant new investments in increasing law enforcement capacity and brought forward new regulatory changes in the budget implementation act, which I urge them to support.These new regulations will provide for greater transparency for federal organizations in determining beneficial ownership. They also create a new offence of recklessness, which will facilitate both investigations and successful prosecutions. As well, we are making significant investments in enhancing the capability of FINTRAC and the RCMP to work collaboratively with our provincial and territorial partners.
Mr. Speaker, I am thrilled to answer this question from my hon. colleague. Let us talk about our record: a million new jobs created by Canadians, the best growth we have seen in decades, unemployment rates down, lifting 300,000 children out of poverty and giving more benefits to Canadian seniors. I am not surprised it has taken them this long to ask a question about the budget, because when we look at the Conservatives' record, we see they are failures. This Prime Minister and this Minister of Finance have delivered for Canadians, and that is precisely what we are going to continue.
Mr. Speaker, the time for conversation is over. It is time to write a cheque.We are not asking the minister to reassure our farmers; we are asking him to compensate them. The Parliamentary Budget Officer said he would be worried if he were a farmer. The money the government promised is not there. It is not in the budget. The message to farmers is that they have to vote for the Liberal Party if they want to get their money.With the election right around the corner, instead of blackmailing our farmers, will the government send them a cheque before the end of this session of Parliament?
Mr. Speaker, the member knows that the minister and the department have been in constant conversation with the producers, and that the commitment was made a very long time ago. The commitment will be delivered, and there will be full and fair compensation to an industry that is so important to the Canadian economy.
Mr. Speaker, the member knows that throughout our conversations internationally we have steadfastly supported the supply management system in Canada. We believe that it is important, not only for those regions where it has been important for a long time, but for the Canadian agricultural economy. The promise was made that there would be full and fair compensation, and that is a promise that will be delivered.
Mr. Speaker, in the first month that our plan to put a price on pollution took effect, the hon. member's province added 45,000 jobs to the provincial economy. If he is claiming that this is going to be gloom and doom, I am curious as to why it is working so well.The fact is that, from day one, we have had a plan that is going to reduce emissions; from day one, we have had a plan that is going to grow the economy; and, most important, from day one we have had a plan that will make life more affordable for Canadians. If the hon. member does not want to take my word for it, I would gladly point him to the Parliamentary Budget Officer's report, which confirms this to be a fact.
Mr. Speaker, the government recognizes the importance of ensuring a fair housing market for all Canadians. That is why the Canada Revenue Agency has increased audits of real estate transactions in British Columbia and Ontario. Since October 2015, these audits have resulted in more than $794 million in unreported assessed income. Budget 2019 announced a $50-million investment that will help the CRA step up its efforts by creating four new dedicated real estate audit teams. Let me be very clear that tax cheats cannot hide anymore.
Mr. Speaker, the government realizes the importance of maintaining a fair and equitable housing market for all Canadians. That is why the Canada Revenue Agency increased audits on real estate transactions in British Columbia and Ontario. Since October 2015, these audits have brought in more than $794 million. The $50-million investment allocated in budget 2019 will help the Canada Revenue Agency step up its efforts by creating four new teams dedicated to real estate audits.Let me be clear: tax cheats can no longer hide.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are confident in the director of public prosecutions, but the Minister of Public Services and Procurement stated that the Prime Minister's saying Vice-Admiral Norman would be in court before he was even charged was not the best framing of words.It was also not the best framing when the Prime Minister refused to provide court-ordered documents and tampered with witnesses, or when the Minister of National Defence refused to pay Norman's legal fees, stating he was guilty. Clearly, the only one being framed was Vice-Admiral Norman. When will the Prime Minister apologize for what his government has done to Mark Norman?
Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to ensuring that Canada's tax system is fair and creates a strong middle class, but the issue of how to appropriately tax web giants is not uniquely Canadian. In fact, it is a global issue. That is precisely why Canada is working with our international partners, including the OECD, to come up with a consensus-based approach, one that ensures every company pays its fair share but that also fosters in the country a space of innovation in digital technology.
Mr. Speaker, as my colleague is aware, since he sits on that committee, the committee operates independently
Mr. Speaker, I am quite sure that two hon. members over here could participate in this very important issue too.The Prime Minister said something particularly remarkable in December 2015. He said that his pledge to balance the budget in 2019 was very cast in stone. That is what the Prime Minister said. He said that a zero deficit in 2019 was cast in stone, but exactly the opposite is true.The Prime Minister's word on public finances is worthless.When the country is in a period of economic growth, particularly when that growth is due to American wealth, that is the time to pay off our debts, not rack up more. Are the Liberals aware of that?
Mr. Speaker, the changes to the asylum system the Prime Minister tried to sneak through in the omnibus budget bill show his true colours.Despite Liberal promises, there was no gender-based analysis done. When experts pointed this out at the immigration committee, government members had no answers. The changes will disproportionately impact women and girls fleeing violence by denying their right to seek protection in Canada. Forty-six women's organizations from across Canada sent an open letter to the Prime Minister condemning these changes. Will the Prime Minister do what is right and withdraw these provisions, or is he just content that his version of feminism is just for show?
Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear. Canada remains absolutely committed to a fair and compassionate refugee protection system, and everyone who comes to this country will be afforded a hearing.We have been equally clear that any individual who is determined to be in need of protection will receive Canada's protection.
Mr. Speaker, we work very hard every day to reduce pollution, create good middle-class jobs, keep life affordable and build a clean and prosperous future for our kids and grandkids. We have a serious plan that was built, with Canadians, to tackle climate change and to make the clean economy affordable for everyone, with more than 50 measures that include investing in renewables to get 90% cleaner electricity, supporting a thousand projects across the country when it comes to transportation, and also phasing out coal. We will work tirelessly to make sure we reduce pollution.
Mr. Speaker, it is great to have foreign students come to Canada to learn from our world-class educational institutions. It is good for the world, and it is good for Canada. While these students are learning in school, they are also working and contributing to our economy. However, I read an article today about a student named Jobandeep Sandhu, who is facing deportation for working too much. This is sad, and it is not right. Will the Minister of Immigration consider raising the number of hours that an international student can legally work in Canada?
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for NewmarketAurora is right. When small businesses export, they are more productive; they create more jobs; they grow and they scale at higher rates. Recently, I announced an investment of $6.7 million to help 1,000 Canadian SMEs grow their businesses, including SMEs in the northern communities in Ontario, so they can successfully put a plan together and successfully export.Canada's trade agreements give our businesses access to 1.5 billion customers in the global marketplace. Our government is going to work hard for small businesses, today and every day.
Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear. The process that unfolded did so completely independent of our government. The investigation, the decision to stay proceedings and, in fact, the prosecution itself were handled by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada.Canadians can be very confident in the independence of our judicial system.
Mr. Speaker, the low-carbon economy fund had an open application process, and we tasked officials to identify the most effective projects they could find in terms of dollars spent to have emissions come down. This was one of 54 projects. However, I would like to point out that this is just one of over 50 measures we have implemented. We are putting a price on pollution, which is making life more affordable. We are investing in public transit, and yes, we are investing in energy efficiency. The fact is that we are able to do this at the same time that the Canadian economy has added over one million jobs.The Conservatives have no plan for the environment, and no plan for the economy. They seem content with turning back the clock to the days of Stephen Harper.
Mr. Speaker, if the Prime Minister did not have a grudge against Vice-Admiral Norman, he would have given the 73 names to the RCMP. He would not have prevented Mr. Norman's lawyers from getting the documents they requested. He ruined Vice-Admiral Norman's reputation and nearly succeeded in making Davie lose a large contract.Will the Prime Minister allow the Standing Committee on National Defence to shed light on this affair, or will he continue with his political obstruction?
Mr. Speaker, I am thrilled to have this opportunity to talk about the Government of Canada's $187-billion, 10-year infrastructure plan. Our historic plan is not only changing the way our country works and will work in the future, it is also making significant investments in middle-class families, investments that achieve both environmental and economic goals, investments that will bring about major change across Quebec.
Mr. Speaker, we are taking unprecedented steps with respect to transportation, with respect to ships passing through not only the Juan de Fuca Strait, where they displace themselves, but also where they slow down when they are going through Boundary Pass and the Haro Strait. We have also put in place minimum distances from southern resident killer whales that are unprecedented and make us leaders in the world. We take this issue extremely seriously, and we are very proud of what we have done.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians deserve a transparent and open legal system. The Norman case has been anything but.We know that the Prime Minister's Office, the Department of Defence and the Privy Council Office withheld important documents in this case. How is it that Gerald Butts got his old texts and emails within days of quitting, but Vice-Admiral Norman has waited a year and a half?Liberals have interfered with yet another judicial process. If they value the rule of law, why are Liberals blocking Canadians' access to this information?
Mr. Speaker, the difference is this: We created a million jobs when the world was in economic crisis. We did it while raising middle-class incomes more than any government before or since. We did so by increasing the amount people had in their pockets and making it possible to pay their bills. Right now, half of Canadians are $200 away from insolvency while their government drowns in debt. Is that not really the Liberal agenda: more debt, lower incomes and a declining economy?
Mr. Speaker, we are working hard every day to reduce pollution, create good jobs for the middle class, keep life affordable and build a prosperous future for our children and grandchildren.We have a plan to fight climate change and strengthen the economy for everyone. Our plan includes 50 measures, including investing in renewable energy to have 90% more clean electricity, supporting more than 1,000 public transit projects across the country and phasing out coal.We will continue to work hard to ensure that we reduce pollution in Canada.
Mr. Speaker, let me start by addressing the question of the Northwest Passage to which the hon. member has alluded. It is important to state very clearly in the House and for all Canadians who are listening Canada's absolute claim to the Northwest Passage. This is a claim based on geography. It is a claim based on history. It is a claim based on who we are as Canadians, and we are very clear on that, as I was in my meeting with Secretary Pompeo in Finland last week.
Mr. Speaker, we are signing trade agreements, which means 1.5 billion customers in Canada's free trade zone. Canada is the only G7 nation to have a free trade agreement with the other six. That sounds like a strong trade policy to me. How about an increase of 17% in Canadian exports to Japan after ratification of the CPTPP? I would call that a strong trade policy.What is weak is the Conservative opposition's understanding of what strength means in trade policy.
Actually, Mr. Speaker, the cold hard facts delivered from Statistics Canada demonstrate the best middle-class income growth of any government, before or since, happened under the Conservatives: a million net new jobs, the lowest debt and deficit in the G7, the highest economic growth in the G7, the last in and first out of the great global recession. That is what we did in the hard global times. Imagine what we can do when times are good. We will eliminate their deficit, lower taxes and leave more money in the pockets of people who earned it. When will Liberals learn that their theory of trickle-down government does not work?
Mr. Speaker, small business owners in both Newmarket and Aurora have told me how important it is for them to export to new markets. Reaching global markets not only helps their businesses find new clients, but it also means better-paying jobs right here at home. How is the Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion helping our best and most promising small businesses prepare to export to these new markets?
Mr. Speaker, here is how the Liberal plan is working. The number of Canadians who are $200 or less away from not being able to pay their bills every month has climbed to 48%, while 26% cannot even cover their bills.What does the Prime Minister do? He imposes a carbon tax on the necessities of life, driving up the cost of everything for seniors and families who cannot afford it. Gas prices are skyrocketing and groceries are going up with this new carbon tax. Why does the Prime Minister not just admit that his plan is not an environmental plan? It is a tax plan that will do nothing to reduce emissions.
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows that our plan to put a price on pollution is going to put more money in the pockets of eight out of 10 families in the province of Ontario. I am curious whether the hon. member is actually going to be claiming her climate action incentive this tax year.The fact is that the Conservatives were not concerned about affordability until it became politically convenient. When we put more money in the pockets of nine out of 10 Canadian families by improving the Canada child benefit, they voted against it. When we cut taxes for nine million middle-class Canadians and raised them on the wealthiest 1%, they voted against it. When we beefed up the guaranteed income supplement for low-income single seniors to make life more affordable for the most vulnerable Canadians, they voted against it.
Mr. Speaker, not a single penny has been budgeted to compensate supply-managed producers before the election. The Parliamentary Budget Officer has confirmed it.This means that the $3.9 billion promised by the Liberals has become an election promise. To those farmers, however, that money is not an election issue; it is crucial to keeping their businesses afloat.Dairy farmers are saying they want to see concrete action before the election, and that would include a cheque.When will they get their cheque?
Mr. Speaker, all the various premises of that question are categorically false.The Department of Justice co-operated with the court in order to provide the requested documents. The documents that were requested were given, more than 8,000 of them from seven different agencies. Of course that takes time. The redaction was done independently of political bodies.The court itself cited the government and its co-operation in this matter.
Mr. Speaker, across this country, Canadians are struggling to buy a home, but it turns out that money laundering has directly increased the cost of housing. In fact, last year alone, there was $47 billion of money laundered in Canada.Conservative inaction got us into this mess. The Liberals have done little to fix it. Will the Liberals now commit to creating a registry for real owners, to making sure the money-laundering unit actually does its work and to ensuring that there are meaningful penalties imposed on criminals who break the law?
Mr. Speaker, Vice-Admiral Mark Norman and his defence team have been clear. The Prime Minister and his office tried to interfere in the case against the vice-admiral, both prior to the charges being laid and during the proceedings. In fact, Marie Henein said,you don't put your finger and try to weigh in on the scales of justice, that is not what should be happening. She was talking about the Liberals.Just exactly why did the Prime Minister try to weigh in on the scales of justice and interfere in the vice-admiral's court case?
Mr. Speaker, across Canada we are hearing a powerful sense of urgency around fighting climate change. While Liberals and Conservatives use the issue to beat each other up, a closer look shows that they actually have the same emission targets and the same love of pipelines, and that both parties will exempt the biggest polluters from paying a price. New Democrats, though, are bringing people together with concrete action, ambitious targets and making sure no worker or community is left behind. Will the Liberals join us in declaring a climate emergency?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals do not have an environmental plan; they have a tax plan. Since they put the carbon tax in place, the price of gas has gone up, the price of home heating has gone up, and Canadians are paying more for food as businesses raise their prices to cover the costs of the carbon tax.Why are the Liberals continuing to raise taxes on families and seniors who can least afford it?
Mr. Speaker, I would point out to the hon. member that a majority of Canadians are similarly opposed to provincial governments wasting taxpayers' dollars to fight climate action instead of climate change. The fact is that we are moving forward with a plan that is going to reduce our emissions. Our climate is facing a crisis, but we can actually do something about it if we pull together. The Conservatives have not asked me a single question about what we can do to protect our environment, despite having been in this chamber for months. They would reverse course. We are bringing emissions down, and we are doing it in a way that is helping to grow the economy. We have added over a million jobs to the economy with the help of Canadians, put more money in the pockets of middle-class families, and done right by our environment, as well.
Mr. Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth. As we have said a number of times on this side of the House, we have full faith in our institutions in Canada. The charges in question were laid by the prosecution service by the director of public prosecutions. The process was managed by the prosecution service of Canada, and the stay was decided by the prosecution service of Canada. The evidence was gathered by the RCMP. It was turned over to the prosecution service of Canada.The director of public prosecutions as well as the prosecutor in this case have both stated that there was no government interference or contact.
Mr. Speaker, the United Nations recently released its report on biodiversity. The headlines read, Natures Dangerous Decline Unprecedented; One million species face extinction; and How to fix nature to avoid human misery. Innumerable scientific studies have documented the human cost of climate change, yet many people and parties, even in this House, remain stuck in denial, with no plan to save nature and thus humanity. Will the parliamentary secretary please give us specifics with respect to the action that is being taken by our government to protect nature and thus humankind?
Mr. Speaker, a tax system that is fair, efficient and modern is one of seven requests of over 200,000 Canadian businesses that just want the government to stop throwing up barriers and allow them to thrive and succeed. Instead, the Liberals have given Canadian businesses tax increases, like a job-killing carbon tax and higher payroll taxes, and complicated red tape that will hurt many small businesses. Will the Liberals accept the recommendations of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, or are they just going to keep calling Canadian small business owners tax cheats?
Mr. Speaker, our relations with China are at an all-time low, and all the Prime Minister is willing to do is to blame the Americans.China has banned Canadian pork, banned Canadian canola and detained two Canadians.While China is bullying Canada, the Prime Minister is giving over a quarter of a billion dollars to China's Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.Will the Prime Minister quit blaming others for his failures, pull all funding to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, file a trade challenge at the WTO and immediately appoint a new ambassador?
Mr. Speaker, what is absurd is the Prime Minister's own actions. While the Prime Minister claims the process was free from interference, Vice-Admiral Norman was vindicated in spite of the Liberals' attempt to obstruct justice and politically interfere in his case. The miscarriage of justice is yet another example of someone standing up to the Prime Minister and getting crushed for getting in his way. Will the Prime Minister apologize to Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, show Canadians what they have been hiding and give Vice-Admiral Norman his old job back?
Mr. Speaker, after two months of inaction on the canola crisis with China, the Prime Minister is finally realizing that this is a political crisis. His reaction, however, is surprising: he is going to continue to do nothing and wait. He did not file a complaint with the WTO and he has not appointed a new ambassador. He is doing absolutely nothing.The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food is returning from Japan after a two-day meeting of G20 agriculture ministers. Did she stand up for Canada's canola farmers? Did she demand that her Chinese counterparts set a firm date for us to send a delegation of scientists to China? Yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government is at war with Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, British Columbia and Quebec. This weekend, the Minister of Families, who is from Quebec, and his colleague from Louis-Hébert directly and publicly attacked the Premier of Quebec and the Government of Quebec. Their attitude is disrespectful towards the Government of Quebec.I will repeat my question. Why did an announcement for a provincial-federal project, an infrastructure project for Quebec, take place without the Government of Quebec present?
Mr. Speaker, in Canada and around the world, women are rising. Global women's marches, #MeToo and other movements like it remind us of the progress made, the work remaining and the need to push back against the push-back.This June, in Vancouver, we will be hosting Women Deliver, an opportunity to raise awareness and build momentum to achieve the sustainable development goals by 2030. Our government believes that advancing gender equality is the right thing to do. It is also about tapping into the $150-billion economy in Canada and the $12-trillion economy around the world. Our approach is working. A million jobs have been created in Canada since we were elected.
Mr. Speaker, the southern resident killer whales are under immediate threat of extinction, yet the Liberal government's recovery plan lacks urgency and fails to take on the major threat to these orcas: oil tankers and freighters. While the government has banned local small craft from the Swiftsure Bank, the most critical piece of habitat for the orcas, it will continue to allow more than 13,000 freighters and oil tankers to transit the bank each year. That makes no sense. In order to protect these endangered orcas, will the government act immediately to realign the commercial shipping lanes and move the major noise and pollution threats away from the Swiftsure Bank?
Mr. Speaker, we are not questioning the independence of the public prosecutor. We know that the decision to stay the trial was theirs, but as Norman's lawyer said very directly, the decision to stay the charges was made independently, despite the attempts of the Liberals to interferenot because of but despite their attempts.Here we are five days later and still no answers from the Prime Minister. Will he get up today and answer this question, or will he appear before the defence committee and start answering some questions on this?
Mr. Speaker, do the terms Kraken, C34 and The Boss mean anything to you? They are code names used to secretly identify Admiral Norman to prevent information about him from being released under access to information requests.What is more, the Privy Council Office confirmed that at least 73 people were aware of the Liberal cabinet discussion about taking the Asterix contract away from the Davie shipyard. However, the Prime Minister only gave the RCMP the name of Vice-Admiral Norman for investigation. That is political interference.When will the Liberals admit it and apologize?
Mr. Speaker, the denial story is not working. The Liberal government does not get to decide to uphold the rule of law when it benefits only the Liberals.The Prime Minister promised he would do things differently, but his office has now been involved in two different cases of potentially interfering in our independent justice system. Mark Norman's lawyer clearly said the PMO was counselling witnesses as to what they could and could not say.Our independent justice system does not belong to the Liberals. When will they get out of the way and allow Canadians to know what happened?
Mr. Speaker, the minister said at an event that he regrets the process Vice-Admiral Norman had to go through, but he seems to have forgotten that it was the Prime Minister who hung the Vice-Admiral out to dry in the first place. Now that Vice-Admiral Norman has been declared innocent, it is time for this corrupt Liberal government to explain why it obstructed justice, used code words to hide its actions and refused to turn over evidence. Will the Prime Minister allow the national defence committee to examine the politically motivated attack against Vice-Admiral Norman, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, when the government asks regular folks to pay their taxes but gives tax breaks to billion-dollar companies, there is clearly something wrong.Canada is the only G7 nation that applies sales tax as if the Internet did not exist.The NDP will shortly be introducing a bill that will finally extend tax compliance to Facebook, Google and Netflix. Multinational web corporations need to follow the same rules as Canadian companies; otherwise, the playing field will not be level.Will the government finally join the 21st century and support the NDP's bill to adapt our tax laws to the digital economy?
Mr. Speaker, when the Conservatives were in office, Canadian job creators generated one million jobs. The Conservative government did that with a balanced budget. The Liberals may be creating jobs, but they are also running massive deficits, even though they promised to run only small deficits and to balance the budget by 2019. They did exactly the opposite of what they promised.Are the Liberals aware that, in a few months, when they travel around Canada to tell Canadians how they plan to manage the public purse, they will not have any credibility because they lied to Canadians in 2015?
Mr. Speaker, a majority of Canadians are really worried about the rising price of gas. In my riding, in my province, they are looking at tight budgets already and deciding what essentials need to be cut.The Liberals' handing out millions of dollars to their billionaire friends at Loblaws is doing nothing for affordability. Meanwhile, we have the Prime Minister and the environment minister jet-setting around the world with abandon.When will the Liberals finally admit that their carbon tax is hurting those who are the most vulnerable?
Mr. Speaker, as the member is aware, since he sits on that committee, the committee operates independently from the government and we will wait for the results of their deliberations.As for the legal process involving Vice-Admiral Norman, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada noted when it stayed the charge, that no other factors were considered in this decision, nor was there any contact or influence from outside the PPSC, including political influence, in either the initial decision to prosecute Mr. Norman or in the decision to stay the charge. Any accusation to the contrary from the opposition is completely absurd.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister engaged in political interference in this case from the beginning. Vice-Admiral Norman's defence counsel said, No person in this country should ever walk into a courtroom and feel like they are fighting their elected government or any sort of political [interference]. She was talking about the Liberal government.Will the Liberals on the defence committee block the truth from coming out, or will they allow this to come before the committee, allow us to call witnesses, and get to the bottom of this, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, let me reiterate that the Liberals are the only ones who do not think there was any interference in Vice-Admiral Norman's case.Today, the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities was on Montreal's north shore to make an announcement about an infrastructure project in Quebec, but there was a big problem. The Government of Quebec was not even there. It is an infrastructure project in Quebec, a federal provincial-partnership that did not seem to include Quebec.My question for the Prime Minister is simple: Why was the Government of Quebec not there for the federal-provincial announcement?
Mr. Speaker, people are paying the price for climate change. If we do not act now, the cost will be enormous. The Liberals' policies are sending the country in the wrong direction. They bought a pipeline, and they continue to subsidize the oil sector and exempt big polluters. We have to make different choices if we want better results.Will the Liberals have the courage to support our motion to declare a climate emergency?
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to last week's decision, the charges brought against Vice-Admiral Norman were stayed. As confirmed by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada last week, every decision was made completely independently. No other factors were considered in this decision, nor was there any contact or influence from outside the PPSC, including political influence in either the initial decision to prosecute Mr. Norman or in the decision to stay the charge. Any accusation is completely absurd.
Mr. Speaker, the member opposite just described the failed Conservative plan: more debt, lower wages for Canadians and less growth in the economy, but they did increase unemployment rates. We cannot take any lessons from the Conservatives. They just simply cannot stand it. Their plan does not work, and now they do not know what to do.However, on this side of the House, our plan is working. We have invested in the middle class, and as a result we have created over a million new jobs.
Mr. Speaker, once again, the PPSC said that no other factors were considered in this decision, nor was there any outside contact or influence, including political influence, in either the initial decision to prosecute Mr. Norman or in the decision to stay the charge. Once again, any accusation to the contrary is absurd. As we said, general Vance will sit down and speak with Vice-Admiral Norman about what comes next at the appropriate time.
Mr. Speaker, the committees operate independently of the government, and we will wait for the results of their deliberations. As for the legal process involving Vice-Admiral Norman, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada noted when it stayed the charge that no other factors were considered in that decision, nor was there any contact or influence from outside the PPSC, including political influence in either the initial decision to prosecute Mr. Norman or in the decision to stay the charge. Any accusation to the contrary is completely absurd.
Mr. Speaker, once again, my colleague knows that committees operate independently from the government. We will wait for the outcome of the deliberations. Once again, with respect to the legal process involving Vice-Admiral Norman, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada noted when it stayed the charge that no other factors were considered in this decision, nor was there any contact or influence from outside the PPSC, including political influence in either the initial decision to prosecute Mr. Norman or in the decision to stay the charge. Once again, any accusations otherwise from the opposition are completely absurd.
Mr. Speaker, it is a curious question with an accusation that is baseless.In fact, in this particular case, the PPSC was acting independently of the federal government because the supervisory role in this case, under the Criminal Code, was actually held by the Attorney General for Ontario.The director of public prosecutions and the prosecutor in question have said that there was no contact or government interference in this case.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for raising this issue, which is central to the mandate we received from Canadians to work for middle-class families and for those families who find it difficult to join the middle class for all sorts of reasons, including the loss of employment. Terrible health problems affect families' incomes and their confidence in the future. We have made substantial improvements to the employment insurance regime. We enhanced the five special benefits that already existed in 2015. We added two other special benefits, but it is clear that there is still much work to be done.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians from coast to coast are paying the price for the Liberals' inaction on money laundering. This inaction leads to higher housing prices, loss of public funds and an increase in organized crime. Instead of leading the charge, the Liberals refuse to act and are leaving the British Columbia government to fend for itself. The Liberals must strengthen our laws to ensure that the guilty parties are held accountable.Will they do it?
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Services and Procurement says the government cannot be apologizing for the public prosecution doing its job in the Vice-Admiral Norman case. However, let us be clear. The public prosecution protected the rule of law and requires no apology. It is the Prime Minister and the Liberals who politically interfered to tip the scales of justice and punish Vice-Admiral Norman.When will the Prime Minister admit to Canadians that what he did was wrong and apologize to Vice-Admiral Norman?
Mr. Speaker, a loan guarantee is no substitute for weak trade policy.The Conservative leader has outlined three concrete steps to stand up for canola farmers: appoint an ambassador to China, launch a WTO trade complaint against China, and pull funds from the Chinese-run Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Instead of taking our advice, the Prime Minister sent the agriculture minister to the G20, where she could not even be bothered to raise this issue once with the Chinese.Will the Liberals ever stand up to China and take action?
Mr. Speaker, I do not have the stomach to imagine what the Conservatives would continue to do with our economy after the disastrous 10 years they had. I am glad that they also recognize now the importance
Mr. Speaker, our government works hard for small businesses. We have cut over 400 regulatory irritants for small businesses. We have cut more red tape in the last three and a half years than the Conservatives did in the last 10 years. That is working hard for small businesses in this country.
Mr. Speaker, the fact is that the Liberals are protecting the web giants from paying taxes, and that is irresponsible.Now a B.C. report estimates that money laundering in Canada under the Liberals now reaches close to $50 billion annually. Money laundering is not a victimless crime, and it has caused a major increase in home prices in the Lower Mainland and elsewhere. The Liberal government refuses to crack down on rampant money laundering. It failed to allocate staffing and resources; it refused the necessary tools.Why is the government refusing to take these actions, and who are they protecting now?
Mr. Speaker, I am sorry that the hon. member has not been paying closer attention to the file. If he had been paying closer attention to the file, he would know that there has been continuous engagement and that we seek to be invited to China to talk to the scientists about the accusation that there is impurity in our canola.Second, had he been paying attention to the generous support for producers, which has been called a very important
Mr. Speaker, in June, Vancouver will host Women Deliver, the world's largest conference on gender equality and the health, rights and well-being of women and girls around the world. Women Deliver brings together people from over 160 countries with a common goal of activating and mobilizing communities across the globe to push the needle toward progress.Can the Minister of International Development and Minister for Women and Gender Equality tell this House how Canadians can join this movement, promote gender equality and change the narrative worldwide?
Mr. Speaker, the UN report to which the hon. member refers paints a very stark picture of the challenge facing nature today. The fact is that since the 1970s the world has lost 60% of its wildlife. We also know that Canada is one of five countries that represent three-quarters of the world's remaining wilderness. There is time to do something about it if we pull together. Our government has made the single largest investment in protecting nature in the history of our country and has committed to doubling protected spaces. This is a statistic that should shock the conscience of all Canadians, but it is something we have time to turn around if we all just pull together for once.
Mr. Speaker, last week the Liberals dispatched one of their MPs to China, not to demand the release of Canadian citizens and not to fight for our exporters, but to suggest partnership in our Arctic with China. Days after the United States questioned our sovereignty and raised risks about Russia and China in the Arctic, the Liberal government rushes to partner with China.When will the Liberal government start getting serious with China?
Mr. Speaker, I am always astonished that my colleague from Louis-Saint-Laurent is able to keep a straight face when he says that the Conservatives balanced the budget, since they actually added $150 billion to the national debt.What was the result? The Conservatives had the worst export growth since the Second World War, along with the worst job growth. Canada's growth was anemic for 10 years. It was a decade of economic failure. I will say this next part slowly so that he understands. Since we took office three and a half years ago, we have created one million jobs in Canada and 20%
Mr. Speaker, Loblaws is one of the richest companies in Canada. Canadians were outraged when they found out that the Liberals gave the company $12 million to buy new fridges, even though Loblaws did not need or deserve that money. This is the same company that ripped off Canadians by rigging bread prices for over a decade. Is this the Liberals' idea of a climate change plan? Which other well-connected companies are getting handouts from the government's low-carbon economy fund?
Mr. Speaker, William Morissette lives in New Brunswick and has a cancer that makes it impossible for him to work. He has used up his 15 weeks of sickness benefits and does not have access to disability benefits.In addition to fighting cancer, William has to fight the Liberal government, even though there are 32 Liberal members in Atlantic Canada. William, like thousands of others, believed the Prime Minister and the minister responsible for this file when they promised to enhance the EI's unfair sickness benefits.When will they keep this promise to William and thousands of other sick people who cannot work and do not have a dime?
Mr. Speaker, at the end of the day, the Conservatives will continue the Ford government plan, which is cuts to Canadian families who need help and increased spending for millionaires. We are focused on Canadians, and as a result we have one of the best economies in the G7. We are going to keep working for Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, the member is not paying attention to what the Premier of Saskatchewan has said, nor is he paying attention to the expansion of export markets, nor is he paying attention to the very interesting meeting that the Minister of Agriculture had in Japan with her counterpart. We will know more about that in a matter of days.
Mr. Speaker, once again the Conservatives continue the Harper era of turning their backs on the world. They should not be cheering. As a result of the types of policies that the Conservatives had, they had some of the lowest growth since the Great Depression.We on this side, with Canadians, have created over one million jobs, and that is because we know a strong global economy is good for Canada and good for Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, our government knows that international students contribute immensely to our economy, our culture and our society, with economic spinoffs worth about $15 billion annually.International students are welcome in Canada. We have made changes to the post-graduate work permit to allow them to work and stay in Canada, and immigrate permanently to our country, for those who wish to do so. It is important for all applicants to live up to the requirements of the immigration system in this stream. We are attracting the best and the brightest from around the world to contribute to our economic growth.
Mr. Speaker, there were requests from the court, and we provided the court with more than 8,000 documents from seven different government agencies. In fact, the court complimented us on our co-operation in this matter. The decision to redact those documents was made not by the government but by an apolitical agency.Canadians can be assured that our judicial system, our prosecution system, operates completely independent of government, and we can be proud of this.
Mr. Speaker, I am even more delighted to talk about the Canadian government's investments in the Quebec City region.Working in collaboration with major partners in the Quebec City region, we developed a modern, defining transit infrastructure project for my city, Quebec City, and the surrounding region. This project will reduce congestion and let families spend less time driving to work or day care. It will reduce pollution, increase families' quality of life and boost economic growth. We are very proud of this project.
Mr. Speaker, the investigation in question was led by the RCMP, an institution that we, in Canada, are very proud of. The RCMP turned the evidence it collected over to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, another institution that we are very proud of. This was a criminal prosecution led by the director of the Public Prosecution Service and she was the one who decided to stay the charges. There was no interference.
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to have the opportunity to direct the member opposite to take a look at budget 2019, where our government has made significant new investments in increasing law enforcement capacity and brought forward new regulatory changes in the budget implementation act, which I urge them to support.These new regulations will provide for greater transparency for federal organizations in determining beneficial ownership. They also create a new offence of recklessness, which will facilitate both investigations and successful prosecutions. As well, we are making significant investments in enhancing the capability of FINTRAC and the RCMP to work collaboratively with our provincial and territorial partners.
Mr. Speaker, I am thrilled to answer this question from my hon. colleague. Let us talk about our record: a million new jobs created by Canadians, the best growth we have seen in decades, unemployment rates down, lifting 300,000 children out of poverty and giving more benefits to Canadian seniors. I am not surprised it has taken them this long to ask a question about the budget, because when we look at the Conservatives' record, we see they are failures. This Prime Minister and this Minister of Finance have delivered for Canadians, and that is precisely what we are going to continue.
Mr. Speaker, the time for conversation is over. It is time to write a cheque.We are not asking the minister to reassure our farmers; we are asking him to compensate them. The Parliamentary Budget Officer said he would be worried if he were a farmer. The money the government promised is not there. It is not in the budget. The message to farmers is that they have to vote for the Liberal Party if they want to get their money.With the election right around the corner, instead of blackmailing our farmers, will the government send them a cheque before the end of this session of Parliament?
Mr. Speaker, the member knows that the minister and the department have been in constant conversation with the producers, and that the commitment was made a very long time ago. The commitment will be delivered, and there will be full and fair compensation to an industry that is so important to the Canadian economy.
Mr. Speaker, the member knows that throughout our conversations internationally we have steadfastly supported the supply management system in Canada. We believe that it is important, not only for those regions where it has been important for a long time, but for the Canadian agricultural economy. The promise was made that there would be full and fair compensation, and that is a promise that will be delivered.
Mr. Speaker, in the first month that our plan to put a price on pollution took effect, the hon. member's province added 45,000 jobs to the provincial economy. If he is claiming that this is going to be gloom and doom, I am curious as to why it is working so well.The fact is that, from day one, we have had a plan that is going to reduce emissions; from day one, we have had a plan that is going to grow the economy; and, most important, from day one we have had a plan that will make life more affordable for Canadians. If the hon. member does not want to take my word for it, I would gladly point him to the Parliamentary Budget Officer's report, which confirms this to be a fact.
Mr. Speaker, the government recognizes the importance of ensuring a fair housing market for all Canadians. That is why the Canada Revenue Agency has increased audits of real estate transactions in British Columbia and Ontario. Since October 2015, these audits have resulted in more than $794 million in unreported assessed income. Budget 2019 announced a $50-million investment that will help the CRA step up its efforts by creating four new dedicated real estate audit teams. Let me be very clear that tax cheats cannot hide anymore.
Mr. Speaker, the government realizes the importance of maintaining a fair and equitable housing market for all Canadians. That is why the Canada Revenue Agency increased audits on real estate transactions in British Columbia and Ontario. Since October 2015, these audits have brought in more than $794 million. The $50-million investment allocated in budget 2019 will help the Canada Revenue Agency step up its efforts by creating four new teams dedicated to real estate audits.Let me be clear: tax cheats can no longer hide.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are confident in the director of public prosecutions, but the Minister of Public Services and Procurement stated that the Prime Minister's saying Vice-Admiral Norman would be in court before he was even charged was not the best framing of words.It was also not the best framing when the Prime Minister refused to provide court-ordered documents and tampered with witnesses, or when the Minister of National Defence refused to pay Norman's legal fees, stating he was guilty. Clearly, the only one being framed was Vice-Admiral Norman. When will the Prime Minister apologize for what his government has done to Mark Norman?
Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to ensuring that Canada's tax system is fair and creates a strong middle class, but the issue of how to appropriately tax web giants is not uniquely Canadian. In fact, it is a global issue. That is precisely why Canada is working with our international partners, including the OECD, to come up with a consensus-based approach, one that ensures every company pays its fair share but that also fosters in the country a space of innovation in digital technology.
Mr. Speaker, as my colleague is aware, since he sits on that committee, the committee operates independently
Mr. Speaker, I am quite sure that two hon. members over here could participate in this very important issue too.The Prime Minister said something particularly remarkable in December 2015. He said that his pledge to balance the budget in 2019 was very cast in stone. That is what the Prime Minister said. He said that a zero deficit in 2019 was cast in stone, but exactly the opposite is true.The Prime Minister's word on public finances is worthless.When the country is in a period of economic growth, particularly when that growth is due to American wealth, that is the time to pay off our debts, not rack up more. Are the Liberals aware of that?
Mr. Speaker, the changes to the asylum system the Prime Minister tried to sneak through in the omnibus budget bill show his true colours.Despite Liberal promises, there was no gender-based analysis done. When experts pointed this out at the immigration committee, government members had no answers. The changes will disproportionately impact women and girls fleeing violence by denying their right to seek protection in Canada. Forty-six women's organizations from across Canada sent an open letter to the Prime Minister condemning these changes. Will the Prime Minister do what is right and withdraw these provisions, or is he just content that his version of feminism is just for show?
Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear. Canada remains absolutely committed to a fair and compassionate refugee protection system, and everyone who comes to this country will be afforded a hearing.We have been equally clear that any individual who is determined to be in need of protection will receive Canada's protection.
Mr. Speaker, we work very hard every day to reduce pollution, create good middle-class jobs, keep life affordable and build a clean and prosperous future for our kids and grandkids. We have a serious plan that was built, with Canadians, to tackle climate change and to make the clean economy affordable for everyone, with more than 50 measures that include investing in renewables to get 90% cleaner electricity, supporting a thousand projects across the country when it comes to transportation, and also phasing out coal. We will work tirelessly to make sure we reduce pollution.
Mr. Speaker, it is great to have foreign students come to Canada to learn from our world-class educational institutions. It is good for the world, and it is good for Canada. While these students are learning in school, they are also working and contributing to our economy. However, I read an article today about a student named Jobandeep Sandhu, who is facing deportation for working too much. This is sad, and it is not right. Will the Minister of Immigration consider raising the number of hours that an international student can legally work in Canada?
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for NewmarketAurora is right. When small businesses export, they are more productive; they create more jobs; they grow and they scale at higher rates. Recently, I announced an investment of $6.7 million to help 1,000 Canadian SMEs grow their businesses, including SMEs in the northern communities in Ontario, so they can successfully put a plan together and successfully export.Canada's trade agreements give our businesses access to 1.5 billion customers in the global marketplace. Our government is going to work hard for small businesses, today and every day.
Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear. The process that unfolded did so completely independent of our government. The investigation, the decision to stay proceedings and, in fact, the prosecution itself were handled by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada.Canadians can be very confident in the independence of our judicial system.
Mr. Speaker, the low-carbon economy fund had an open application process, and we tasked officials to identify the most effective projects they could find in terms of dollars spent to have emissions come down. This was one of 54 projects. However, I would like to point out that this is just one of over 50 measures we have implemented. We are putting a price on pollution, which is making life more affordable. We are investing in public transit, and yes, we are investing in energy efficiency. The fact is that we are able to do this at the same time that the Canadian economy has added over one million jobs.The Conservatives have no plan for the environment, and no plan for the economy. They seem content with turning back the clock to the days of Stephen Harper.
Mr. Speaker, if the Prime Minister did not have a grudge against Vice-Admiral Norman, he would have given the 73 names to the RCMP. He would not have prevented Mr. Norman's lawyers from getting the documents they requested. He ruined Vice-Admiral Norman's reputation and nearly succeeded in making Davie lose a large contract.Will the Prime Minister allow the Standing Committee on National Defence to shed light on this affair, or will he continue with his political obstruction?
Mr. Speaker, I am thrilled to have this opportunity to talk about the Government of Canada's $187-billion, 10-year infrastructure plan. Our historic plan is not only changing the way our country works and will work in the future, it is also making significant investments in middle-class families, investments that achieve both environmental and economic goals, investments that will bring about major change across Quebec.
Mr. Speaker, we are taking unprecedented steps with respect to transportation, with respect to ships passing through not only the Juan de Fuca Strait, where they displace themselves, but also where they slow down when they are going through Boundary Pass and the Haro Strait. We have also put in place minimum distances from southern resident killer whales that are unprecedented and make us leaders in the world. We take this issue extremely seriously, and we are very proud of what we have done.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians deserve a transparent and open legal system. The Norman case has been anything but.We know that the Prime Minister's Office, the Department of Defence and the Privy Council Office withheld important documents in this case. How is it that Gerald Butts got his old texts and emails within days of quitting, but Vice-Admiral Norman has waited a year and a half?Liberals have interfered with yet another judicial process. If they value the rule of law, why are Liberals blocking Canadians' access to this information?
Mr. Speaker, the difference is this: We created a million jobs when the world was in economic crisis. We did it while raising middle-class incomes more than any government before or since. We did so by increasing the amount people had in their pockets and making it possible to pay their bills. Right now, half of Canadians are $200 away from insolvency while their government drowns in debt. Is that not really the Liberal agenda: more debt, lower incomes and a declining economy?
Mr. Speaker, we are working hard every day to reduce pollution, create good jobs for the middle class, keep life affordable and build a prosperous future for our children and grandchildren.We have a plan to fight climate change and strengthen the economy for everyone. Our plan includes 50 measures, including investing in renewable energy to have 90% more clean electricity, supporting more than 1,000 public transit projects across the country and phasing out coal.We will continue to work hard to ensure that we reduce pollution in Canada.
Mr. Speaker, let me start by addressing the question of the Northwest Passage to which the hon. member has alluded. It is important to state very clearly in the House and for all Canadians who are listening Canada's absolute claim to the Northwest Passage. This is a claim based on geography. It is a claim based on history. It is a claim based on who we are as Canadians, and we are very clear on that, as I was in my meeting with Secretary Pompeo in Finland last week.
Mr. Speaker, we are signing trade agreements, which means 1.5 billion customers in Canada's free trade zone. Canada is the only G7 nation to have a free trade agreement with the other six. That sounds like a strong trade policy to me. How about an increase of 17% in Canadian exports to Japan after ratification of the CPTPP? I would call that a strong trade policy.What is weak is the Conservative opposition's understanding of what strength means in trade policy.
Actually, Mr. Speaker, the cold hard facts delivered from Statistics Canada demonstrate the best middle-class income growth of any government, before or since, happened under the Conservatives: a million net new jobs, the lowest debt and deficit in the G7, the highest economic growth in the G7, the last in and first out of the great global recession. That is what we did in the hard global times. Imagine what we can do when times are good. We will eliminate their deficit, lower taxes and leave more money in the pockets of people who earned it. When will Liberals learn that their theory of trickle-down government does not work?
Mr. Speaker, small business owners in both Newmarket and Aurora have told me how important it is for them to export to new markets. Reaching global markets not only helps their businesses find new clients, but it also means better-paying jobs right here at home. How is the Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion helping our best and most promising small businesses prepare to export to these new markets?
Mr. Speaker, here is how the Liberal plan is working. The number of Canadians who are $200 or less away from not being able to pay their bills every month has climbed to 48%, while 26% cannot even cover their bills.What does the Prime Minister do? He imposes a carbon tax on the necessities of life, driving up the cost of everything for seniors and families who cannot afford it. Gas prices are skyrocketing and groceries are going up with this new carbon tax. Why does the Prime Minister not just admit that his plan is not an environmental plan? It is a tax plan that will do nothing to reduce emissions.
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows that our plan to put a price on pollution is going to put more money in the pockets of eight out of 10 families in the province of Ontario. I am curious whether the hon. member is actually going to be claiming her climate action incentive this tax year.The fact is that the Conservatives were not concerned about affordability until it became politically convenient. When we put more money in the pockets of nine out of 10 Canadian families by improving the Canada child benefit, they voted against it. When we cut taxes for nine million middle-class Canadians and raised them on the wealthiest 1%, they voted against it. When we beefed up the guaranteed income supplement for low-income single seniors to make life more affordable for the most vulnerable Canadians, they voted against it.
Mr. Speaker, not a single penny has been budgeted to compensate supply-managed producers before the election. The Parliamentary Budget Officer has confirmed it.This means that the $3.9 billion promised by the Liberals has become an election promise. To those farmers, however, that money is not an election issue; it is crucial to keeping their businesses afloat.Dairy farmers are saying they want to see concrete action before the election, and that would include a cheque.When will they get their cheque?
Mr. Speaker, all the various premises of that question are categorically false.The Department of Justice co-operated with the court in order to provide the requested documents. The documents that were requested were given, more than 8,000 of them from seven different agencies. Of course that takes time. The redaction was done independently of political bodies.The court itself cited the government and its co-operation in this matter.
Mr. Speaker, across this country, Canadians are struggling to buy a home, but it turns out that money laundering has directly increased the cost of housing. In fact, last year alone, there was $47 billion of money laundered in Canada.Conservative inaction got us into this mess. The Liberals have done little to fix it. Will the Liberals now commit to creating a registry for real owners, to making sure the money-laundering unit actually does its work and to ensuring that there are meaningful penalties imposed on criminals who break the law?
Mr. Speaker, Vice-Admiral Mark Norman and his defence team have been clear. The Prime Minister and his office tried to interfere in the case against the vice-admiral, both prior to the charges being laid and during the proceedings. In fact, Marie Henein said,you don't put your finger and try to weigh in on the scales of justice, that is not what should be happening. She was talking about the Liberals.Just exactly why did the Prime Minister try to weigh in on the scales of justice and interfere in the vice-admiral's court case?
Mr. Speaker, across Canada we are hearing a powerful sense of urgency around fighting climate change. While Liberals and Conservatives use the issue to beat each other up, a closer look shows that they actually have the same emission targets and the same love of pipelines, and that both parties will exempt the biggest polluters from paying a price. New Democrats, though, are bringing people together with concrete action, ambitious targets and making sure no worker or community is left behind. Will the Liberals join us in declaring a climate emergency?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals do not have an environmental plan; they have a tax plan. Since they put the carbon tax in place, the price of gas has gone up, the price of home heating has gone up, and Canadians are paying more for food as businesses raise their prices to cover the costs of the carbon tax.Why are the Liberals continuing to raise taxes on families and seniors who can least afford it?
Mr. Speaker, I would point out to the hon. member that a majority of Canadians are similarly opposed to provincial governments wasting taxpayers' dollars to fight climate action instead of climate change. The fact is that we are moving forward with a plan that is going to reduce our emissions. Our climate is facing a crisis, but we can actually do something about it if we pull together. The Conservatives have not asked me a single question about what we can do to protect our environment, despite having been in this chamber for months. They would reverse course. We are bringing emissions down, and we are doing it in a way that is helping to grow the economy. We have added over a million jobs to the economy with the help of Canadians, put more money in the pockets of middle-class families, and done right by our environment, as well.
Mr. Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth. As we have said a number of times on this side of the House, we have full faith in our institutions in Canada. The charges in question were laid by the prosecution service by the director of public prosecutions. The process was managed by the prosecution service of Canada, and the stay was decided by the prosecution service of Canada. The evidence was gathered by the RCMP. It was turned over to the prosecution service of Canada.The director of public prosecutions as well as the prosecutor in this case have both stated that there was no government interference or contact.
Mr. Speaker, the United Nations recently released its report on biodiversity. The headlines read, Natures Dangerous Decline Unprecedented; One million species face extinction; and How to fix nature to avoid human misery. Innumerable scientific studies have documented the human cost of climate change, yet many people and parties, even in this House, remain stuck in denial, with no plan to save nature and thus humanity. Will the parliamentary secretary please give us specifics with respect to the action that is being taken by our government to protect nature and thus humankind?
Mr. Speaker, a tax system that is fair, efficient and modern is one of seven requests of over 200,000 Canadian businesses that just want the government to stop throwing up barriers and allow them to thrive and succeed. Instead, the Liberals have given Canadian businesses tax increases, like a job-killing carbon tax and higher payroll taxes, and complicated red tape that will hurt many small businesses. Will the Liberals accept the recommendations of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, or are they just going to keep calling Canadian small business owners tax cheats?
Mr. Speaker, our relations with China are at an all-time low, and all the Prime Minister is willing to do is to blame the Americans.China has banned Canadian pork, banned Canadian canola and detained two Canadians.While China is bullying Canada, the Prime Minister is giving over a quarter of a billion dollars to China's Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.Will the Prime Minister quit blaming others for his failures, pull all funding to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, file a trade challenge at the WTO and immediately appoint a new ambassador?
Mr. Speaker, what is absurd is the Prime Minister's own actions. While the Prime Minister claims the process was free from interference, Vice-Admiral Norman was vindicated in spite of the Liberals' attempt to obstruct justice and politically interfere in his case. The miscarriage of justice is yet another example of someone standing up to the Prime Minister and getting crushed for getting in his way. Will the Prime Minister apologize to Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, show Canadians what they have been hiding and give Vice-Admiral Norman his old job back?
Mr. Speaker, after two months of inaction on the canola crisis with China, the Prime Minister is finally realizing that this is a political crisis. His reaction, however, is surprising: he is going to continue to do nothing and wait. He did not file a complaint with the WTO and he has not appointed a new ambassador. He is doing absolutely nothing.The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food is returning from Japan after a two-day meeting of G20 agriculture ministers. Did she stand up for Canada's canola farmers? Did she demand that her Chinese counterparts set a firm date for us to send a delegation of scientists to China? Yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government is at war with Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, British Columbia and Quebec. This weekend, the Minister of Families, who is from Quebec, and his colleague from Louis-Hébert directly and publicly attacked the Premier of Quebec and the Government of Quebec. Their attitude is disrespectful towards the Government of Quebec.I will repeat my question. Why did an announcement for a provincial-federal project, an infrastructure project for Quebec, take place without the Government of Quebec present?
Mr. Speaker, in Canada and around the world, women are rising. Global women's marches, #MeToo and other movements like it remind us of the progress made, the work remaining and the need to push back against the push-back.This June, in Vancouver, we will be hosting Women Deliver, an opportunity to raise awareness and build momentum to achieve the sustainable development goals by 2030. Our government believes that advancing gender equality is the right thing to do. It is also about tapping into the $150-billion economy in Canada and the $12-trillion economy around the world. Our approach is working. A million jobs have been created in Canada since we were elected.
Mr. Speaker, the southern resident killer whales are under immediate threat of extinction, yet the Liberal government's recovery plan lacks urgency and fails to take on the major threat to these orcas: oil tankers and freighters. While the government has banned local small craft from the Swiftsure Bank, the most critical piece of habitat for the orcas, it will continue to allow more than 13,000 freighters and oil tankers to transit the bank each year. That makes no sense. In order to protect these endangered orcas, will the government act immediately to realign the commercial shipping lanes and move the major noise and pollution threats away from the Swiftsure Bank?
Mr. Speaker, we are not questioning the independence of the public prosecutor. We know that the decision to stay the trial was theirs, but as Norman's lawyer said very directly, the decision to stay the charges was made independently, despite the attempts of the Liberals to interferenot because of but despite their attempts.Here we are five days later and still no answers from the Prime Minister. Will he get up today and answer this question, or will he appear before the defence committee and start answering some questions on this?
Mr. Speaker, do the terms Kraken, C34 and The Boss mean anything to you? They are code names used to secretly identify Admiral Norman to prevent information about him from being released under access to information requests.What is more, the Privy Council Office confirmed that at least 73 people were aware of the Liberal cabinet discussion about taking the Asterix contract away from the Davie shipyard. However, the Prime Minister only gave the RCMP the name of Vice-Admiral Norman for investigation. That is political interference.When will the Liberals admit it and apologize?
Mr. Speaker, the denial story is not working. The Liberal government does not get to decide to uphold the rule of law when it benefits only the Liberals.The Prime Minister promised he would do things differently, but his office has now been involved in two different cases of potentially interfering in our independent justice system. Mark Norman's lawyer clearly said the PMO was counselling witnesses as to what they could and could not say.Our independent justice system does not belong to the Liberals. When will they get out of the way and allow Canadians to know what happened?
Mr. Speaker, the minister said at an event that he regrets the process Vice-Admiral Norman had to go through, but he seems to have forgotten that it was the Prime Minister who hung the Vice-Admiral out to dry in the first place. Now that Vice-Admiral Norman has been declared innocent, it is time for this corrupt Liberal government to explain why it obstructed justice, used code words to hide its actions and refused to turn over evidence. Will the Prime Minister allow the national defence committee to examine the politically motivated attack against Vice-Admiral Norman, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, when the government asks regular folks to pay their taxes but gives tax breaks to billion-dollar companies, there is clearly something wrong.Canada is the only G7 nation that applies sales tax as if the Internet did not exist.The NDP will shortly be introducing a bill that will finally extend tax compliance to Facebook, Google and Netflix. Multinational web corporations need to follow the same rules as Canadian companies; otherwise, the playing field will not be level.Will the government finally join the 21st century and support the NDP's bill to adapt our tax laws to the digital economy?
Mr. Speaker, when the Conservatives were in office, Canadian job creators generated one million jobs. The Conservative government did that with a balanced budget. The Liberals may be creating jobs, but they are also running massive deficits, even though they promised to run only small deficits and to balance the budget by 2019. They did exactly the opposite of what they promised.Are the Liberals aware that, in a few months, when they travel around Canada to tell Canadians how they plan to manage the public purse, they will not have any credibility because they lied to Canadians in 2015?
Mr. Speaker, a majority of Canadians are really worried about the rising price of gas. In my riding, in my province, they are looking at tight budgets already and deciding what essentials need to be cut.The Liberals' handing out millions of dollars to their billionaire friends at Loblaws is doing nothing for affordability. Meanwhile, we have the Prime Minister and the environment minister jet-setting around the world with abandon.When will the Liberals finally admit that their carbon tax is hurting those who are the most vulnerable?
Mr. Speaker, as the member is aware, since he sits on that committee, the committee operates independently from the government and we will wait for the results of their deliberations.As for the legal process involving Vice-Admiral Norman, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada noted when it stayed the charge, that no other factors were considered in this decision, nor was there any contact or influence from outside the PPSC, including political influence, in either the initial decision to prosecute Mr. Norman or in the decision to stay the charge. Any accusation to the contrary from the opposition is completely absurd.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister engaged in political interference in this case from the beginning. Vice-Admiral Norman's defence counsel said, No person in this country should ever walk into a courtroom and feel like they are fighting their elected government or any sort of political [interference]. She was talking about the Liberal government.Will the Liberals on the defence committee block the truth from coming out, or will they allow this to come before the committee, allow us to call witnesses, and get to the bottom of this, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, let me reiterate that the Liberals are the only ones who do not think there was any interference in Vice-Admiral Norman's case.Today, the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities was on Montreal's north shore to make an announcement about an infrastructure project in Quebec, but there was a big problem. The Government of Quebec was not even there. It is an infrastructure project in Quebec, a federal provincial-partnership that did not seem to include Quebec.My question for the Prime Minister is simple: Why was the Government of Quebec not there for the federal-provincial announcement?
Mr. Speaker, people are paying the price for climate change. If we do not act now, the cost will be enormous. The Liberals' policies are sending the country in the wrong direction. They bought a pipeline, and they continue to subsidize the oil sector and exempt big polluters. We have to make different choices if we want better results.Will the Liberals have the courage to support our motion to declare a climate emergency?
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to last week's decision, the charges brought against Vice-Admiral Norman were stayed. As confirmed by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada last week, every decision was made completely independently. No other factors were considered in this decision, nor was there any contact or influence from outside the PPSC, including political influence in either the initial decision to prosecute Mr. Norman or in the decision to stay the charge. Any accusation is completely absurd.
Mr. Speaker, the member opposite just described the failed Conservative plan: more debt, lower wages for Canadians and less growth in the economy, but they did increase unemployment rates. We cannot take any lessons from the Conservatives. They just simply cannot stand it. Their plan does not work, and now they do not know what to do.However, on this side of the House, our plan is working. We have invested in the middle class, and as a result we have created over a million new jobs.
Mr. Speaker, once again, the PPSC said that no other factors were considered in this decision, nor was there any outside contact or influence, including political influence, in either the initial decision to prosecute Mr. Norman or in the decision to stay the charge. Once again, any accusation to the contrary is absurd. As we said, general Vance will sit down and speak with Vice-Admiral Norman about what comes next at the appropriate time.
Mr. Speaker, the committees operate independently of the government, and we will wait for the results of their deliberations. As for the legal process involving Vice-Admiral Norman, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada noted when it stayed the charge that no other factors were considered in that decision, nor was there any contact or influence from outside the PPSC, including political influence in either the initial decision to prosecute Mr. Norman or in the decision to stay the charge. Any accusation to the contrary is completely absurd.
Mr. Speaker, once again, my colleague knows that committees operate independently from the government. We will wait for the outcome of the deliberations. Once again, with respect to the legal process involving Vice-Admiral Norman, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada noted when it stayed the charge that no other factors were considered in this decision, nor was there any contact or influence from outside the PPSC, including political influence in either the initial decision to prosecute Mr. Norman or in the decision to stay the charge. Once again, any accusations otherwise from the opposition are completely absurd.
Mr. Speaker, it is a curious question with an accusation that is baseless.In fact, in this particular case, the PPSC was acting independently of the federal government because the supervisory role in this case, under the Criminal Code, was actually held by the Attorney General for Ontario.The director of public prosecutions and the prosecutor in question have said that there was no contact or government interference in this case.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for raising this issue, which is central to the mandate we received from Canadians to work for middle-class families and for those families who find it difficult to join the middle class for all sorts of reasons, including the loss of employment. Terrible health problems affect families' incomes and their confidence in the future. We have made substantial improvements to the employment insurance regime. We enhanced the five special benefits that already existed in 2015. We added two other special benefits, but it is clear that there is still much work to be done.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians from coast to coast are paying the price for the Liberals' inaction on money laundering. This inaction leads to higher housing prices, loss of public funds and an increase in organized crime. Instead of leading the charge, the Liberals refuse to act and are leaving the British Columbia government to fend for itself. The Liberals must strengthen our laws to ensure that the guilty parties are held accountable.Will they do it?
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Services and Procurement says the government cannot be apologizing for the public prosecution doing its job in the Vice-Admiral Norman case. However, let us be clear. The public prosecution protected the rule of law and requires no apology. It is the Prime Minister and the Liberals who politically interfered to tip the scales of justice and punish Vice-Admiral Norman.When will the Prime Minister admit to Canadians that what he did was wrong and apologize to Vice-Admiral Norman?
Mr. Speaker, a loan guarantee is no substitute for weak trade policy.The Conservative leader has outlined three concrete steps to stand up for canola farmers: appoint an ambassador to China, launch a WTO trade complaint against China, and pull funds from the Chinese-run Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Instead of taking our advice, the Prime Minister sent the agriculture minister to the G20, where she could not even be bothered to raise this issue once with the Chinese.Will the Liberals ever stand up to China and take action?
Mr. Speaker, I do not have the stomach to imagine what the Conservatives would continue to do with our economy after the disastrous 10 years they had. I am glad that they also recognize now the importance
Mr. Speaker, our government works hard for small businesses. We have cut over 400 regulatory irritants for small businesses. We have cut more red tape in the last three and a half years than the Conservatives did in the last 10 years. That is working hard for small businesses in this country.
Mr. Speaker, the fact is that the Liberals are protecting the web giants from paying taxes, and that is irresponsible.Now a B.C. report estimates that money laundering in Canada under the Liberals now reaches close to $50 billion annually. Money laundering is not a victimless crime, and it has caused a major increase in home prices in the Lower Mainland and elsewhere. The Liberal government refuses to crack down on rampant money laundering. It failed to allocate staffing and resources; it refused the necessary tools.Why is the government refusing to take these actions, and who are they protecting now?
Mr. Speaker, I am sorry that the hon. member has not been paying closer attention to the file. If he had been paying closer attention to the file, he would know that there has been continuous engagement and that we seek to be invited to China to talk to the scientists about the accusation that there is impurity in our canola.Second, had he been paying attention to the generous support for producers, which has been called a very important
Mr. Speaker, in June, Vancouver will host Women Deliver, the world's largest conference on gender equality and the health, rights and well-being of women and girls around the world. Women Deliver brings together people from over 160 countries with a common goal of activating and mobilizing communities across the globe to push the needle toward progress.Can the Minister of International Development and Minister for Women and Gender Equality tell this House how Canadians can join this movement, promote gender equality and change the narrative worldwide?
Mr. Speaker, the UN report to which the hon. member refers paints a very stark picture of the challenge facing nature today. The fact is that since the 1970s the world has lost 60% of its wildlife. We also know that Canada is one of five countries that represent three-quarters of the world's remaining wilderness. There is time to do something about it if we pull together. Our government has made the single largest investment in protecting nature in the history of our country and has committed to doubling protected spaces. This is a statistic that should shock the conscience of all Canadians, but it is something we have time to turn around if we all just pull together for once.
Mr. Speaker, last week the Liberals dispatched one of their MPs to China, not to demand the release of Canadian citizens and not to fight for our exporters, but to suggest partnership in our Arctic with China. Days after the United States questioned our sovereignty and raised risks about Russia and China in the Arctic, the Liberal government rushes to partner with China.When will the Liberal government start getting serious with China?
Mr. Speaker, I am always astonished that my colleague from Louis-Saint-Laurent is able to keep a straight face when he says that the Conservatives balanced the budget, since they actually added $150 billion to the national debt.What was the result? The Conservatives had the worst export growth since the Second World War, along with the worst job growth. Canada's growth was anemic for 10 years. It was a decade of economic failure. I will say this next part slowly so that he understands. Since we took office three and a half years ago, we have created one million jobs in Canada and 20%
Mr. Speaker, Loblaws is one of the richest companies in Canada. Canadians were outraged when they found out that the Liberals gave the company $12 million to buy new fridges, even though Loblaws did not need or deserve that money. This is the same company that ripped off Canadians by rigging bread prices for over a decade. Is this the Liberals' idea of a climate change plan? Which other well-connected companies are getting handouts from the government's low-carbon economy fund?
Mr. Speaker, William Morissette lives in New Brunswick and has a cancer that makes it impossible for him to work. He has used up his 15 weeks of sickness benefits and does not have access to disability benefits.In addition to fighting cancer, William has to fight the Liberal government, even though there are 32 Liberal members in Atlantic Canada. William, like thousands of others, believed the Prime Minister and the minister responsible for this file when they promised to enhance the EI's unfair sickness benefits.When will they keep this promise to William and thousands of other sick people who cannot work and do not have a dime?