Joyce Murray

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for giving me the opportunity to remind the House of the record of cuts, muzzling and obstruction of the previous government. This is just another officer of Parliament who the Conservatives do not respect. They have told the PBO that they will not allow him to audit their platform. That is probably because they know their climate non-plan will cost more than ours. Just ask Doug Ford in Ontario.Where was that member when her party was thinking of burning the AG's budget—

Mr. Speaker, first permit me to reconfirm our deep appreciation and respect for the work of the Auditor General and his staff. I have to ask if the Conservatives are gluttons for punishment. Let us look at the accounts. They cut the budget of the Auditor General. The Liberals voted against that. We added $41 million to the budget of the Auditor General. The Conservatives voted against that. What is so difficult to understand? We support the Auditor General.

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative member opposite probably understands that, so far, over 70% of the Auditor General's reports have been based on failed Conservative policies. I know we are coming through that era. I have confidence in the Auditor General and his work, but this is just another officer that the Conservatives do not respect. Canadians remember when they told the Parliamentary Budget Officer that they would not allow him to audit their platform. Why? What did the Conservatives have to hide in their platform, the lack of a climate plan?

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that the Conservatives are finally taking an interest in officers of Parliament. After all, it was their party that cut $6.4 million from the OAG's budget and fired the auditor general.We increased the OAG's budget by $41 million, something the Conservatives voted against. Why?

Mr. Speaker, of all the reports written by the Auditor General in this mandate, over 70% were directly related to the failures of Conservative policy, and we will be through that batch soon. I want to thank the member for giving us multiple opportunities to remind this House of the muzzling of scientists, the cutting of the long-form census and the obstruction during the previous government. Where was this member when his party voted to cut the budget of the AG?

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to supporting the important work of the Auditor General.The Conservatives have me perplexed. They are the ones who cut the RCMP's budget by $500 million and the Canada Revenue Agency's by $1 billion. They cut funding for officers of Parliament.Why—

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to supporting the important work of the Auditor General. When an officer of Parliament, such as the Auditor General, makes a request for additional budget, we take that request very seriously. My question for the member of the NDP is this: Where was he when the Conservatives cut 10% out of the Auditor General's budget, as well as cutting half a billion dollars out of the RCMP, millions out of the CRA and so many other things that they did to undermine our democracy and accountability?

Mr. Speaker, the Harper Conservatives' decision to sell off Atomic Energy of Canada Limited's nuclear laboratories has had lasting effects on employees.We recognize the situation that CNL employees now find themselves in, thanks to the Conservatives, and we are doing everything possible to offer pension protection for employees who have been impacted by the divestiture.

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to supporting the Auditor General. When the Conservatives were in power, they slashed his budget by 10%.Why did they do that? Why did they not reinstate the AG's funding, which is what we, the Liberals, have done?We will continue to support the very important work of this officer of Parliament.

Mr. Speaker, this government is committed to accountability and transparency. That the member opposite believes that by cutting the Auditor General's budget by 10% when they were in government the Conservatives were enabling him to do his job is completely unbelievable.We consider these requests. We will ensure that the office can continue to do its important work for Canadians efficiently and effectively.

Mr. Speaker, our government has always been guided by the view that parliamentarians have the right to know where public funds are going and how they are being spent. For the very first time, parliamentarians have at their disposal a detailed reconciliation between the budget and the main estimates. They never had that before. That means when they are studying the main estimates, parliamentarians will now be able to study a document that is relevant and complete for that year. This is a major improvement over previous years, when the main estimates were rendered obsolete soon after they were tabled because they did not reconcile with the budget.

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to supporting the ongoing and important work of the Auditor General. Where an officer of Parliament, such as the AG, identifies a need for additional resources, we consider that very carefully.I would like to mention to the member opposite that it was the Conservatives who cut 10% out of the Auditor General's budget, and it was the Liberals who reinstated that funding.

Mr. Speaker, our government took another step to making government more open and transparent and accountable by delivering on our commitment to eliminate partisan advertising and to modernize its communications. We now have a process in place for conducting independent reviews of paid government advertising to ensure that it is non-partisan. In addition to that, we have reduced our advertising budget by 50% compared to the previous Conservative government with its partisan advertising.We are proud of what we are doing, and we appreciate the work of the committee in looking at the advertising budget for the future years.

Madam Speaker, it has been decades since the pay system was modernized. Our government is working to have a pay system that supports the hard-working members of the civil service. There are a few glitches on the way. They are being attended to as quickly as possible, and we will have a system that pays accurately and effectively in short order.

Madam Speaker, we are consulting Canadians and parliamentarians on the renewal of the access to information system. The government has already eliminated the fees associated with access to information requests, except for the initial $5 fee.We also asked the departments to provide their answers to requests in an easy-to-use format. We look forward to continuing to work with all stakeholders and parliamentarians.

Mr. Speaker, our government takes guidance from the commissioners, the Ethics Commissioner, and not from the Conservative Party of Canada. The President of the Treasury Board has proactively disclosed the situation to the commissioner, and he has followed her guidance. All of his holdings have been placed in a blind trust, and the commissioner has decided it is not necessary to have an ethics screen in this situation. I would point out that the person in question has publicly said that no lobbying was done during that meeting.

Mr. Speaker, it is great to see the Conservatives finally taking an interest in officers of Parliament in this House. Actually, what they are really doing is reminding Canadians of the fact that the Conservatives are the ones who cut the Auditor General's budget by 10%. When our government reinstated the budget for the Auditor General, the Conservatives voted against it. We take the Auditor General's reports to us very seriously. We really respect and appreciate the work that the Auditor General does on behalf of parliamentarians and all Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, I cannot believe that the member opposite has just asked that question, when his government cut the Auditor General's budget by 10% and never built it back. Our government built that budget back, because we are committed to supporting the important and ongoing work of the Auditor General.

Mr. Speaker, our government takes our guidance on these matters from the Ethics Commissioner and the Lobbying Commissioner. The President of the Treasury Board proactively approached the commissioner's offices to disclose his situation and his holdings, which have been placed in a blind trust. The commissioner decides whether a conflict of interest screen is necessary, and based on the facts of the president's case and situation, she decided against the screen.

Mr. Speaker, we certainly are making progress. In fact, in this year's supplementary estimates (A), there was funding for 33 items that have been announced in this year's budget, and that's compared with 11 last year and six the year before. Therefore, this is just the beginning. We look forward to working with all parliamentarians to better align the budget and the estimates processes to provide Canadians with far greater transparency and openness in government spending.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member from Montarville for his question and his work on this topic. As a government, we have led by signing onto the Christchurch Call to Action and by announcing Canada's very first data charter.This week, Canada is co-chairing the Open Government Partnership Global Summit 2019.We are welcoming governments, civil society and thought leaders from around the world to come together and help us tackle threats to democracy and help chart a pathway forward together.I invite all members of the House to join us as we work with governments to make government more—

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member from Montarville for his question and his work on this topic. As a government, we have led by signing onto the Christchurch Call to Action and by announcing Canada's very first data charter.This week, Canada is co-chairing the Open Government Partnership Global Summit 2019.We are welcoming governments, civil society and thought leaders from around the world to come together and help us tackle threats to democracy and help chart a pathway forward together.I invite all members of the House to join us as we work with governments to make government more—

Madam Speaker, for the very first time since 1983, we are modernizing and updating access to information to ensure openness, transparency, and accountability in government. We are seeking ways to make sure information is more accessible to Canadians while balancing that with our responsibility to protect certain information in the public interest.The committee is studying just this as part of our extensive consultations with the public on access to information, and we look forward to its report.

Madam Speaker, Canadians deserve openness and transparency, and the Liberal Party has been a leader on that. In fact, it was a Liberal prime minister, Paul Martin, who was the first to proactively disclose the expenses of ministers. Then it was a Liberal leader, our Prime Minister, who in opposition led the charge on being the first party in the House of Commons to have open and transparent disclosure of MP's expenses, and other parties, sometimes reluctantly, followed suit. We will continue to disclose our expenses, because it is the right thing to do.

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to supporting the important and ongoing work of our Auditor General. When an officer of Parliament such as the Auditor General identifies the need for additional resources, we consider such requests very carefully to ensure that the office can continue its important work for Canadians efficiently and effectively.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle for her question and for her hard work.Empowering women and respecting their rights, including reproductive health rights, is what our government does. In the public service that means we are putting women and the health of women first, including their choice of contraceptives. I am very happy to announce that effective April 1, non-oral contraceptives will be covered under the public service health care plan. As promised, we worked hard and collaboratively with the unions to bring this about, and we have delivered.

Mr. Speaker, we consulted the leaders of the recognized parties on the matter of appointments, including the appointment of the lobbying commissioner. Once her appointment is approved by Parliament, Ms. Bélanger will have a seven-year term.We welcome all ideas, proposals, and people from all parties in this process, which is truly open and transparent, something we are proud of.

Mr. Speaker, our government takes our guidance on these matters from the Ethics Commissioner and the Lobbying Commissioner. The President of the Treasury Board proactively approached the commissioner's offices to disclose his situation and his holdings, which have been placed in a blind trust. The commissioner decides whether a conflict of interest screen is necessary, and based on the facts of the president's case and situation, she decided against the screen.

Mr. Speaker, our government takes guidance from the commissioners, the Ethics Commissioner, and not from the Conservative Party of Canada. The President of the Treasury Board has proactively disclosed the situation to the commissioner, and he has followed her guidance. All of his holdings have been placed in a blind trust, and the commissioner has decided it is not necessary to have an ethics screen in this situation. I would point out that the person in question has publicly said that no lobbying was done during that meeting.

Mr. Speaker, of all the reports written by the Auditor General in this mandate, over 70% were directly related to the failures of Conservative policy, and we will be through that batch soon. I want to thank the member for giving us multiple opportunities to remind this House of the muzzling of scientists, the cutting of the long-form census and the obstruction during the previous government. Where was this member when his party voted to cut the budget of the AG?

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative member opposite probably understands that, so far, over 70% of the Auditor General's reports have been based on failed Conservative policies. I know we are coming through that era. I have confidence in the Auditor General and his work, but this is just another officer that the Conservatives do not respect. Canadians remember when they told the Parliamentary Budget Officer that they would not allow him to audit their platform. Why? What did the Conservatives have to hide in their platform, the lack of a climate plan?

Mr. Speaker, first permit me to reconfirm our deep appreciation and respect for the work of the Auditor General and his staff. I have to ask if the Conservatives are gluttons for punishment. Let us look at the accounts. They cut the budget of the Auditor General. The Liberals voted against that. We added $41 million to the budget of the Auditor General. The Conservatives voted against that. What is so difficult to understand? We support the Auditor General.

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to supporting the important work of the Auditor General. When an officer of Parliament, such as the Auditor General, makes a request for additional budget, we take that request very seriously. My question for the member of the NDP is this: Where was he when the Conservatives cut 10% out of the Auditor General's budget, as well as cutting half a billion dollars out of the RCMP, millions out of the CRA and so many other things that they did to undermine our democracy and accountability?

Mr. Speaker, we consulted the leaders of the recognized parties on the matter of appointments, including the appointment of the lobbying commissioner. Once her appointment is approved by Parliament, Ms. Bélanger will have a seven-year term.We welcome all ideas, proposals, and people from all parties in this process, which is truly open and transparent, something we are proud of.

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to supporting the important work of the Auditor General.The Conservatives have me perplexed. They are the ones who cut the RCMP's budget by $500 million and the Canada Revenue Agency's by $1 billion. They cut funding for officers of Parliament.Why—

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to supporting the Auditor General. When the Conservatives were in power, they slashed his budget by 10%.Why did they do that? Why did they not reinstate the AG's funding, which is what we, the Liberals, have done?We will continue to support the very important work of this officer of Parliament.

Mr. Speaker, we certainly are making progress. In fact, in this year's supplementary estimates (A), there was funding for 33 items that have been announced in this year's budget, and that's compared with 11 last year and six the year before. Therefore, this is just the beginning. We look forward to working with all parliamentarians to better align the budget and the estimates processes to provide Canadians with far greater transparency and openness in government spending.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that the Conservatives are finally taking an interest in officers of Parliament. After all, it was their party that cut $6.4 million from the OAG's budget and fired the auditor general.We increased the OAG's budget by $41 million, something the Conservatives voted against. Why?

Madam Speaker, for the very first time since 1983, we are modernizing and updating access to information to ensure openness, transparency, and accountability in government. We are seeking ways to make sure information is more accessible to Canadians while balancing that with our responsibility to protect certain information in the public interest.The committee is studying just this as part of our extensive consultations with the public on access to information, and we look forward to its report.

Mr. Speaker, our government took another step to making government more open and transparent and accountable by delivering on our commitment to eliminate partisan advertising and to modernize its communications. We now have a process in place for conducting independent reviews of paid government advertising to ensure that it is non-partisan. In addition to that, we have reduced our advertising budget by 50% compared to the previous Conservative government with its partisan advertising.We are proud of what we are doing, and we appreciate the work of the committee in looking at the advertising budget for the future years.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle for her question and for her hard work.Empowering women and respecting their rights, including reproductive health rights, is what our government does. In the public service that means we are putting women and the health of women first, including their choice of contraceptives. I am very happy to announce that effective April 1, non-oral contraceptives will be covered under the public service health care plan. As promised, we worked hard and collaboratively with the unions to bring this about, and we have delivered.

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to supporting the important and ongoing work of our Auditor General. When an officer of Parliament such as the Auditor General identifies the need for additional resources, we consider such requests very carefully to ensure that the office can continue its important work for Canadians efficiently and effectively.

Mr. Speaker, our government has always been guided by the view that parliamentarians have the right to know where public funds are going and how they are being spent. For the very first time, parliamentarians have at their disposal a detailed reconciliation between the budget and the main estimates. They never had that before. That means when they are studying the main estimates, parliamentarians will now be able to study a document that is relevant and complete for that year. This is a major improvement over previous years, when the main estimates were rendered obsolete soon after they were tabled because they did not reconcile with the budget.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for giving me the opportunity to remind the House of the record of cuts, muzzling and obstruction of the previous government. This is just another officer of Parliament who the Conservatives do not respect. They have told the PBO that they will not allow him to audit their platform. That is probably because they know their climate non-plan will cost more than ours. Just ask Doug Ford in Ontario.Where was that member when her party was thinking of burning the AG's budget—

Mr. Speaker, it is great to see the Conservatives finally taking an interest in officers of Parliament in this House. Actually, what they are really doing is reminding Canadians of the fact that the Conservatives are the ones who cut the Auditor General's budget by 10%. When our government reinstated the budget for the Auditor General, the Conservatives voted against it. We take the Auditor General's reports to us very seriously. We really respect and appreciate the work that the Auditor General does on behalf of parliamentarians and all Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to supporting the ongoing and important work of the Auditor General. Where an officer of Parliament, such as the AG, identifies a need for additional resources, we consider that very carefully.I would like to mention to the member opposite that it was the Conservatives who cut 10% out of the Auditor General's budget, and it was the Liberals who reinstated that funding.

Madam Speaker, Canadians deserve openness and transparency, and the Liberal Party has been a leader on that. In fact, it was a Liberal prime minister, Paul Martin, who was the first to proactively disclose the expenses of ministers. Then it was a Liberal leader, our Prime Minister, who in opposition led the charge on being the first party in the House of Commons to have open and transparent disclosure of MP's expenses, and other parties, sometimes reluctantly, followed suit. We will continue to disclose our expenses, because it is the right thing to do.

Mr. Speaker, I cannot believe that the member opposite has just asked that question, when his government cut the Auditor General's budget by 10% and never built it back. Our government built that budget back, because we are committed to supporting the important and ongoing work of the Auditor General.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member from Montarville for his question and his work on this topic. As a government, we have led by signing onto the Christchurch Call to Action and by announcing Canada's very first data charter.This week, Canada is co-chairing the Open Government Partnership Global Summit 2019.We are welcoming governments, civil society and thought leaders from around the world to come together and help us tackle threats to democracy and help chart a pathway forward together.I invite all members of the House to join us as we work with governments to make government more—

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member from Montarville for his question and his work on this topic. As a government, we have led by signing onto the Christchurch Call to Action and by announcing Canada's very first data charter.This week, Canada is co-chairing the Open Government Partnership Global Summit 2019.We are welcoming governments, civil society and thought leaders from around the world to come together and help us tackle threats to democracy and help chart a pathway forward together.I invite all members of the House to join us as we work with governments to make government more—

Mr. Speaker, this government is committed to accountability and transparency. That the member opposite believes that by cutting the Auditor General's budget by 10% when they were in government the Conservatives were enabling him to do his job is completely unbelievable.We consider these requests. We will ensure that the office can continue to do its important work for Canadians efficiently and effectively.

Madam Speaker, it has been decades since the pay system was modernized. Our government is working to have a pay system that supports the hard-working members of the civil service. There are a few glitches on the way. They are being attended to as quickly as possible, and we will have a system that pays accurately and effectively in short order.

Mr. Speaker, the Harper Conservatives' decision to sell off Atomic Energy of Canada Limited's nuclear laboratories has had lasting effects on employees.We recognize the situation that CNL employees now find themselves in, thanks to the Conservatives, and we are doing everything possible to offer pension protection for employees who have been impacted by the divestiture.