Pat Kelly

Mr. Speaker, earlier today Al Gore stated, “The Kinder Morgan pipeline carrying dirty tar sands oil would be a step backward...”. Does the government agree with Al Gore, who calls our natural resources dirty and wants to kill the Trans Mountain expansion?

Madam Speaker, last week the Minister of Natural Resources questioned the intelligence of anyone who thinks that it was the Liberals who killed northern gateway. Of course it was the Liberals. They killed it with a shipping ban and a ministerial order. The Prime Minister always opposed northern gateway in opposition, and when he became Prime Minister, he killed it. Now the Liberals want to kill all future pipelines with the no-more-pipelines bill, Bill C-69. Will the minister apologize for questioning people's intelligence and kill Bill C-69?

Mr. Speaker, if there were no changes, then why are 80% being denied now? Another week and it is another tax grab by the Liberals. It was bad enough that the minister's department started to reject the medical advice of doctors who treat type 1 diabetics, but now there are reports that people who are mentally ill, people who have qualified for years, are suddenly being denied.With the Liberals raising taxes and threatening benefits on the mentally ill, one can only ask this. Who is next?

Mr. Speaker, everyone knows that the Prime Minister has been misleading Canadians now for over two months. He said that the SNC story was false, that no one raised concerns and that he did it for jobs, yet each one of these statements is a proven falsehood. Then he foolishly tried to bully the opposition leader into silence by threatening to sue, but the opposition leader has now called this ridiculous bluff.It is the Prime Minister's move. When will we see him in court?

Madam Speaker, taxpayers now report that the Liberals are withholding benefit payments to seniors and applying them to taxes owing before the April 30 deadline.The revenue minister has attacked diabetics, single moms and dads, and employee lunches, and now she is targeting seniors. These seniors were just following the rules, and the Liberals are now treating them like cheaters before the taxes are even due.Will the Liberals stop attacking vulnerable Canadians?

Madam Speaker, the Liberals' “no more pipelines” bill was passed by this House with the shameful support of three Alberta Liberals. However, it is not too late to stop it.Last week, the Alberta Chamber of Commerce told the finance committee that any pipeline company under Bill C-69 would be foolish to even apply for any type of pipeline, while the Alberta crude differential hit $50 last week.Will the minister from Alberta do the right thing and kill this bill before it becomes the “no more pipelines” law?

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Prime Minister patted himself on the back for the money he claimed was going toward fighting offshore tax evasion. We know that most of the $24.5 billion that the CRA says it plans to find will mostly be domestic, and will probably never be collected. Meanwhile, millions of dollars of mystery money are pouring into Liberal connected marijuana companies.Is this what taking organized crime out of marijuana looks like?

Mr. Speaker, the government promised a client-focused CRA, and all we have so far are tax increases on type 1 diabetics, half-baked plans for taxes on retail employees, misinformation, and busy signals.Now there are reports that the CRA is auditing single moms and telling them to get expensive separation agreements, and then telling that it is not good enough, and withholding their child benefits.When will the minister stop attacking ordinary, honest Canadians who are just trying to comply, and receive the credits and benefits to which they are entitled?

Mr. Speaker, this is ridiculous. The Auditor General has never, until now, come out and said publicly that he cannot do his job for a lack of funds. At no time during the previous government did the Auditor General ever say he could not do his job. This is an unprecedented attack on our democracy. When will the Liberals give the Auditor General the funds that he needs to do his job and hold the government to account?

Mr. Speaker, for weeks now, we have demanded that the Liberals stop peddling cabinet access to their friends and lobbyists.Fresh off his trip to visit old family friends in Cuba, we learned that the Prime Minister was cosying up to Chinese Communist Party officials who attended a cash for access fundraiser in May. These same officials then made a large payment to the Trudeau Foundation.Has this Prime Minister no shame? I know he admires dictatorships from Havana to Beijing, but this goes too far. Will he stop selling influence to foreign powers?

Mr. Speaker, I grew up in Calgary during Pierre Trudeau's national energy program and 36 years later, we have another made-in-Canada energy crisis. The Prime Minister has killed northern gateway, brought in a tanker ban, killed energy east by changing the application process and spectacularly failed on Trans Mountain. Canada is practically giving away its energy under the government. When will the Liberals finally stop making things worse and will they kill the “no more pipelines” bill, Bill C-69?

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance's mortgage rule changes are failing to fix the problems in Vancouver and Toronto and are hurting markets in Atlantic Canada, which are already depressed. Sherry Donovan, of the Nova Scotia Home Builders' Association, told the finance committee that the Atlantic provinces are “still in deep recovery mode from the weak economy.... These new mortgage rules are exacerbating the problem by hurting the entire economy”. Will the minister stop kicking the Atlantic provinces when they are down and reverse his ill-advised decision? Why will the 32 Liberal MPs from the region not stand for Atlantic Canada?

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals really have lost touch completely with Canadians. They are wasting money left, right, and centre: limos, moving expenses, cash payments to staff, and the Prime Minister's ongoing international junkets.They are increasing taxes on hard-working Canadians with payroll tax increases, a carbon tax, and a small business tax increase. Canadian families are struggling, and the Prime Minister is spending all this time with billionaires and celebrities.When will the Prime Minister start hearing the pleas of regular Canadians and stop making their hard situations worse?

Mr. Speaker, yesterday in question period, the revenue minister continued to pat herself on the back by saying “Our government is fully committed to ensuring that everyone receives the tax credits to which they are entitled”.These words are cold comfort to those who suffer from type 1 diabetes, mental illness, or autism who are suddenly being denied disability tax credits, all because these Liberals need more money to fund their out-of-control spending. Is the denial of the disability tax credit on a massive scale this minister's idea of ensuring that all Canadians get the tax credits to which they are entitled?

Mr. Speaker, the government has been targeting small businesses and people with disabilities while patting itself on the back for supposedly recovering $25 billion from cheaters, including from offshore shelters. We now know that the government's $25-billion claim is false, that it will never collect the money, and that it does not even know how much of that is from offshore evaders. When will the Liberals quit targeting disabled people, quit targeting the vulnerable, quit raising taxes, and stop misleading Canadians?

Mr. Speaker, The Globe and Mail reports that the Liberals took deliberate steps to keep their cash for access fundraisers secret and exclusive, using Internet protocols to keep them out of search engine results. Now the Minister of Finance is set to attend another fundraiser at the home of a registered lobbyist for Shaw Communications, and Google search produces no results. If these fundraisers are above board and ethical, why are the Liberals trying so hard to keep them secret and what other unethical behaviour are they covering up?

Mr. Speaker, provinces, municipalities, police services, and health authorities are all struggling with unanswered questions to meet the Prime Minister's deadline for the legalization of marijuana. Meanwhile, Quebec media reports say hundreds of millions of dollars are flowing anonymously into Canadian marijuana companies from tax havens, and by companies connected to Liberal insiders.What steps is the Prime Minister taking to ensure that the legal marijuana trade does not start off being financed by dirty money laundered by Liberal insiders?

Madam Speaker, both the Minister of Finance and the Prime Minister held cash for access fundraisers in obvious violation of the Prime Minister's code of ethics. They claim that they are complying with the Ethics Commissioner, yet the commissioner told The Globe and Mail that she cannot tell whether the rules were breached because the Prime Minister gave that power to the Privy Council Office. Who does the Privy Council Office answer to? Guess who? It is the Prime Minister. Is this what he calls open and accountable government?When will the Prime Minister actually start being transparent with Canadians?

Madam Speaker, the Minister of National Revenue keeps claiming that service is her priority, yet under her watch, service continues to get even worse, despite the budget increase. She has been picking on single parents, she has not reviewed all of the disability tax credits she took away, she has taken no meaningful action on offshore tax avoidance and evasion, wait times are getting longer and the call centre is still a disaster.Will the minister stop claiming that service is her priority and start delivering service to Canadians?

Mr. Speaker, when Canadians fill out their taxes, they only have to fill out one form unless they live in Quebec. In Quebec, the system is so complicated that most Quebeckers have to hire an accountant to do the paperwork. The Prime Minister can afford an accountant due to his vast family fortune, but for everyone else this is a waste of money and extra bureaucracy. A single tax return would simplify life for Quebeckers. Why will the Prime Minister not actually listen to Quebeckers and give them a single tax return?

Mr. Speaker, it is just embarrassing to listen to this parliamentary secretary repeat the same sophomoric drivel over and over again.The Ethics Commissioner is investigating the Prime Minister. The Lobbying Commissioner is investigating cash for access fundraising. The Liberals made a shambles of watchdog appointments when they botched the official languages commissioner appointment through obvious patronage.Will the Prime Minister agree, and guarantee, that as they search for an Ethics Commissioner, the Liberals will not simply recruit another Liberal insider?

Mr. Speaker, when the Prime Minister's family travelled to billionaire island for a vacation, they spent $1,700 on food and drink on a three-hour flight and stuck taxpayers with the bill. Of course, that does not include the cost of the first-ever ethics investigation of a sitting prime minister for violating the Conflict of Interest Act.Everyone agrees that prime ministers can take vacations and need to travel securely. However, taxpayers need to know why they are paying more for food for a three-hour flight than most families of five spend in a month. Could the Prime Minister not have packed his own lunch?

Madam Speaker, when the Liberals took office, there were four viable private sector pipelines, and now there are none. Crushing regulations, a tanker ban, anti-energy rhetoric, a carbon tax, and an unwillingness to assert the rule of law have chased the private sector out of Canada to other energy-producing places, such as Texas and Kazakhstan.With a track record of failure like this, how can the Liberals possibly rebuild investor confidence in the Canadian energy industry?

Mr. Speaker, for months, this department has been going after type 1 diabetics, and today this minister has told us how proud she is of her department.Is she proud of targeting disabled Canadians? Is she proud of targeting low-wage earning retail employees? Is she proud of going after small businesses? When will the Liberal government get its priorities straight, back off of vulnerable Canadians, and go after real tax avoiders, including Liberal insiders?

Mr. Speaker, last year's assault by the revenue minister on disabled Canadians has jeopardized registered disability savings plans for many Canadian families that saved their money and received matching grants from the government. Disability tax credit rejections mean that some families that received the credit for 10 years or more will lose their savings plans for the future care of their disabled children. What is the minister doing to ensure that families of disabled children are not losing their savings plans because of this minister's attack on the disabled?

Madam Speaker, when their $10.5-million payout to a convicted terrorist was leaked, the Liberals immediately launched an investigation that spanned six departments and agencies. When another leak smearing a judge came out, the new Attorney General just put out a tweet. This leak was obviously another damage control exercise to spin the former attorney general's resignation and to generate Liberal backbench support for her eventual caucus expulsion.Will the Attorney General investigate this leak, or is he too afraid of where it will end?

Mr. Speaker, a few weeks ago, the Minister of Finance started fiddling with the mortgage rules because he was concerned that too many Canadians would be tempted to borrow money now while interest rates were low.Could the minister explain why he thinks low interest rates make it a dangerous time for Canadians to buy homes for their families, but a great time for Liberals to borrow all they want to fund their out-of-control spending?

Mr. Speaker, earlier this year the courts awarded Mr. and Mrs. Samaroo of Nanaimo $1.7 million in damages for malicious prosecution by the Canada Revenue Agency. This malicious prosecution ruined this family's life and cost taxpayers nearly $3 million in damages and legal costs. The minister has refused to confirm whether or not the individuals singled out by the judge are still employed at the CRA. Is this the minister's idea of being more client-focused at the Canada Revenue Agency?

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister is borrowing ever increasing sums of money to fulfill the Liberals' tax-and-spend agenda while lecturing Canadians about the risk of using credit and excessive debt when they just want to buy a home.Why does he keep adding taxes and making it harder for young families to qualify for mortgages, instead of practising what he preaches and reining in his own out of control borrowing? He is the one mortgaging our children's future.

Mr. Speaker, earlier in question period, the Prime Minister claimed that the Liberals would never take away a benefit from a vulnerable Canadian. However, we have a letter dated May 10 that confirms that this is exactly what they have done. The Liberals changed the process, resulting in an 80% denial rate for applicants suffering from type 1 diabetes.Does the Prime Minister really think that this latest tax grab on vulnerable Canadians is helping the middle class, or is it just a desperate attempt to raise additional money to fund an out-of-control spending problem?

Mr. Speaker, the problem is getting worse under the current government. She has been the minister for three years. It is time for her to take responsibility for her own track record. This week's report that says unauthorized snooping is on the rise does nothing to give Canadians confidence in the government.Given the thousands of compromised files at the Canada Revenue Agency, will the government finally tell Statistics Canada that it cannot have Canadians' financial information without their consent?

Mr. Speaker, the CBC has reported that the “files of at least 10,000 Canadians were compromised” at the Canada Revenue Agency, including cases where employees kept files on neighbours, family members and even fellow employees.The report also said that data snooping is getting worse under the Liberal government, and yet the Liberals cannot understand why the majority of Canadians oppose being required to give their bank statements to Statistics Canada.When will the Liberal government end its unauthorized surveillance of Canadians?

Mr. Speaker, at no point in Canadian history has the Auditor General ever said that he could not do his job for lack of funding, until now.Under the previous government, he never cancelled audits. However, the Liberals have a track record of rewarding their friends and attacking those who would try to hold them to account. Canadians depend on the Auditor General to provide transparency and to tell us the truth. This is completely unprecedented, and it goes right to the heart of Parliament's responsibility for accountability.Why does the government hate accountability so much that it is willing to silence the Auditor General?

Mr. Speaker, for the first time in Canadian history, the Auditor General has stated publicly that he does not have the funds necessary to do his job. The Liberals have consistently rewarded their friends and silenced their critics and now they are targeting the Auditor General. This Liberal attack on the Auditor General has forced the office to cancel audits that would have been released right before the election. Why do the Liberals think they can get away with silencing the Auditor General?

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government thinks that small business owners, retail employees, and now people living with type 1 diabetes are not paying their fair share of taxes, while the Minister of Finance uses complex corporate structures to dodge conflict of interest disclosures and, presumably, to reduce his own taxes.Do the Liberals really think that people living with type 1 diabetes, who have been certified by a physician for the disability tax credit, are not paying their fair share?

Mr. Speaker, after accepting illegal travel and breaching the Conflict of Interest Act, the Prime Minister has a fiduciary duty to taxpayers to make them whole again. However, all week the Prime Minister and his house leader have recited sophomoric talking points about accepting the commissioner's recommendations. The report did not contain recommendations, only conclusions that the Prime Minister broke the law in four places.When will the Prime Minister actually take responsibility and repay Canadians?

Madam Speaker, the Auditor General has many new responsibilities now, including auditing the government's ill-considered Infrastructure Bank and the new Trans Mountain Crown corporation that resulted from it chasing Kinder Morgan out of Canada. Last summer, the Auditor General said that they needed more money to be able to keep doing performance audits, and last month, he told the public accounts committee that he cancelled audits, including on cybersecurity, because they did not have enough money. What is the government trying to hide from the Auditor General?

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General is sounding the alarm.For the first time in Canadian history, he will be unable to complete his audits because the Liberal government has refused to fund his important work, including audits on cybersecurity and Arctic sovereignty. The Liberals keep claiming that they support the Auditor General, but those are just empty words unless they give his office the funds he needs. We are running out of time.Will the Prime Minister reverse his position of starving the Auditor General's office and give him the funds he needs to do his job?

Mr. Speaker, when the Canada Revenue Agency changed its policy on the taxation of employee discounts, the minister denied responsibility. When it went after disabled Canadians and single parents, she also denied responsibility. When the Auditor General reported that the agency's call centre is an unmitigated disaster, she denied responsibility.We now know her executives received the highest average performance pay in the entire public sector. Will the minister, for once, accept responsibility for rewarding her executives for the failures of her agency, and explain why?

Mr. Speaker, on Thanksgiving weekend, a CRA employee told The Globe and Mail that the government was going to tax employee discounts. Then, after a full day of confused and contradictory messages from the Liberals, the minister backtracked and threw her own bureaucrats under the bus. The council of retailers knew this was coming and warned the finance committee in September.Why is the minister trying to tax the discounts of retail and restaurant workers and then blaming it all on her bureaucrats?

Mr. Speaker, an investigation by the Information Commissioner revealed an employee of Shared Services Canada deleted 398 pages of email documents after receiving an ATIP request for documents containing the words “Liberal Party”. It is a serious offence to destroy documents subject to an ATIP request.Will the Liberal Attorney General recuse herself from the decision to prosecute and avoid an obvious conflict of interest, yes or no?

Mr. Speaker, we will not have an Auditor General's report to look into it and see if the government has done its job or not. For weeks, the President of the Treasury Board has said that they always consider funding requests from officers of Parliament—this while denying the Office of the Auditor General the money that it has repeatedly requested. The Auditor General needs another $10.8 million to do his job, including audits on cybersecurity and Arctic sovereignty. This is less than the money the government gave to Loblaws for refrigerators. Why is giving money to their friends more important than transparency and accountability?

Mr. Speaker, I too join the President of the Treasury Board and rise to pay tribute to an extraordinary public servant who dedicated his entire professional working life to making Canada a better place. I offer my deepest condolences on the passing of Auditor General Michael Ferguson, who succumbed to cancer and passed away this past Saturday surrounded by his family.Michael Ferguson had a distinguished career, serving the Province of New Brunswick in several senior roles prior to being appointed Auditor General of Canada in 2011 by then prime minister Stephen Harper. Michael Ferguson quickly established his reputation for tough, thorough audits. Over successive governments, he never shied away from bringing the failures of government departments and agencies to Parliament's attention.When Michael Ferguson appeared as a witness at a committee meeting, Canadians knew that a very bright light was about to be shone into the corners of their government and that accountability would be demanded. He made no attempt to sugar-coat the facts. His reports and committee testimony were delivered without passion or rhetoric; the strong terms he used to describe failures of government were always presented factually, and he was never afraid to be exact and precise regardless of the topic or possible consequences for the government of the day. He leaves a legacy of forcing governments, and indeed all public servants, to constantly improve in order to serve Canadians. He will be missed by the thousands of public servants from across Canada who want to deliver the best service that they can to Canadians. He will be missed by the dedicated staff at the Office of the Auditor General. He will be missed by all parliamentarians, and in particular by my colleagues from the Standing Committee on Public Accounts. He will be missed by all Canadians who demand accountability from their government.To his wife and sons, I extend my deepest sympathies. On behalf of the Conservative opposition, our condolences, thoughts and prayers are with them.

Mr. Speaker, the government promised a client-focused Canada Revenue Agency and to crack down on offshore avoidance. It has failed spectacularly. Tax professionals and taxpayers across Canada say that compliance has become harder under the government and a single tax return would simplify life for Quebeckers. Why will the Prime Minister not listen to Quebeckers and give them a single tax return?

Mr. Speaker, the Commissioner of Lobbying repeatedly said that she is looking into cash for access fundraising involving lobbyists and Liberal cabinet ministers. She said that when a lobbyist organizes a fundraiser, a sense of obligation is created.It is time for the government House leader to stop reciting irrelevant talking points. Why does she defend cash for access when the practice is clearly under investigation?

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government needs to have more respect for Canadians and more respect for democracy.Recent polling shows us that two-thirds of Canadians expect a referendum to be held if the government wants to change the way MPs are elected. Canadians want a referendum, and they deserve one. The government can show that it respects both Canadians and democracy by holding a referendum on its plans to change the voting system.Why does the government have such a problem with democracy that it is denying Canadians the final say in a referendum on changes to their electoral system?

Mr. Speaker, Liam saved up the down payment for a home in Strathmore. He was pre-approved for a mortgage in his price range and was just waiting for his lease to expire so that he could move into a new home. Then the Minister of Finance changed the rules. Now Liam cannot qualify for anything in Strathmore, Chestermere, or Calgary. The Prime Minister is running a $30 billion deficit, and plans to borrow tens of millions more to revamp 24 Sussex. How can the Prime Minister do this, while telling Liam that he cannot have a mortgage?

Madam Speaker, one thing that never ever happened under the previous government was the Auditor General coming to the public accounts committee saying we do not have enough money to do our job. That never happened. On May 14, the Office of the Auditor General told public accounts, “had we received the $10.8 million.... We would have been able to do the work that was expected.” I said, “you are not adequately funded now.” They replied, “That's right.” What part of that testimony does the parliamentary secretary not understand, and why will they not—

Mr. Speaker, under the government's watch, the dream of home ownership has been slipping away from thousands of Canadians. High prices, new mortgage rules, and new regulations all make home ownership less affordable. Now media reports say that the Liberal government is planning a new national building code that will impose higher costs on new homebuyers and existing homeowners as well. When will the government realize that every time it adds a new regulation, it increases costs and reduces choices? When is the government going to stop punishing homebuyers?

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a similar point of order in that it involves the same member. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, in an answer to a question from the member for Markham—Unionville, questioned his intelligence. We have a long-standing policy in this House, and you have ruled on this many times, that we may not insult another member's intelligence. Therefore, through you, I invite the parliamentary secretary to withdraw his comments.

Mr. Speaker, everyone knows that the Prime Minister has been misleading Canadians now for over two months. He said that the SNC story was false, that no one raised concerns and that he did it for jobs, yet each one of these statements is a proven falsehood. Then he foolishly tried to bully the opposition leader into silence by threatening to sue, but the opposition leader has now called this ridiculous bluff.It is the Prime Minister's move. When will we see him in court?

Mr. Speaker, the CBC has reported that the “files of at least 10,000 Canadians were compromised” at the Canada Revenue Agency, including cases where employees kept files on neighbours, family members and even fellow employees.The report also said that data snooping is getting worse under the Liberal government, and yet the Liberals cannot understand why the majority of Canadians oppose being required to give their bank statements to Statistics Canada.When will the Liberal government end its unauthorized surveillance of Canadians?

Mr. Speaker, during the meeting with stakeholders on November 30, the minister insisted there was no evidence that there had been any change to the disability tax credit. During that same meeting, type 1 diabetics produced the evidence. They showed her documents that proved that the eligibility criteria had changed.This minister's treatment of diabetics has been terrible. Will she finally quit fighting type 1 diabetics and apologize for her appalling conduct?

Mr. Speaker, this week both the minister and the Prime Minister have insisted that neither the law nor its interpretation regarding the disability tax credit have changed in any way, but we know that the Liberals changed the application process in May to reduce tax credit approvals for type 1 diabetics. Will the Liberals finally admit that they are so desperate for cash that they are raising taxes on diabetics?

Mr. Speaker, misleading the House is a serious matter, which I know no member would do deliberately. Today the Minister of National Revenue again claimed that there had been no changes to the disability tax credit. I have in my hand a copy of an email obtained through an access to information request that contradicts the statements the minister has made today and in the past. I ask for unanimous consent to table this document.

Mr. Speaker, Mohammad Borna has been waiting since 2006 to find out if he can stay in Canada. His application has been completed for over 10 years, but the Department of Citizenship and Immigration has failed to give him an answer, including this past summer, when another promised decision date came and went. I repeatedly brought this to the attention of Minister McCallum and to the current minister. Will the minister today commit to a date by which a decision on Mr. Borna will be made? His family needs to know.

Mr. Speaker, disability tax credit applications for type 1 diabetics have gone from 80% approval to 80% rejection since May 2017. Yesterday, the minister denied that she had anything to do with this, but we have obtained a letter that she wrote in July defending these rejections and confirming that CRA changed the forms for doctors. She wrote that “adults who independently manage their insulin therapy...are unlikely to meet the 14-hours...requirement”.Why did the minister defend these rejections?

Mr. Speaker, I grew up in Calgary during Pierre Trudeau's national energy program and 36 years later, we have another made-in-Canada energy crisis. The Prime Minister has killed northern gateway, brought in a tanker ban, killed energy east by changing the application process and spectacularly failed on Trans Mountain. Canada is practically giving away its energy under the government. When will the Liberals finally stop making things worse and will they kill the “no more pipelines” bill, Bill C-69?

Mr. Speaker, if there were no changes, then why are 80% being denied now? Another week and it is another tax grab by the Liberals. It was bad enough that the minister's department started to reject the medical advice of doctors who treat type 1 diabetics, but now there are reports that people who are mentally ill, people who have qualified for years, are suddenly being denied.With the Liberals raising taxes and threatening benefits on the mentally ill, one can only ask this. Who is next?

Madam Speaker, the Liberals' “no more pipelines” bill was passed by this House with the shameful support of three Alberta Liberals. However, it is not too late to stop it.Last week, the Alberta Chamber of Commerce told the finance committee that any pipeline company under Bill C-69 would be foolish to even apply for any type of pipeline, while the Alberta crude differential hit $50 last week.Will the minister from Alberta do the right thing and kill this bill before it becomes the “no more pipelines” law?

Mr. Speaker, the Commissioner of Lobbying repeatedly said that she is looking into cash for access fundraising involving lobbyists and Liberal cabinet ministers. She said that when a lobbyist organizes a fundraiser, a sense of obligation is created.It is time for the government House leader to stop reciting irrelevant talking points. Why does she defend cash for access when the practice is clearly under investigation?

Mr. Speaker, the government has been targeting small businesses and people with disabilities while patting itself on the back for supposedly recovering $25 billion from cheaters, including from offshore shelters. We now know that the government's $25-billion claim is false, that it will never collect the money, and that it does not even know how much of that is from offshore evaders. When will the Liberals quit targeting disabled people, quit targeting the vulnerable, quit raising taxes, and stop misleading Canadians?

Madam Speaker, taxpayers now report that the Liberals are withholding benefit payments to seniors and applying them to taxes owing before the April 30 deadline.The revenue minister has attacked diabetics, single moms and dads, and employee lunches, and now she is targeting seniors. These seniors were just following the rules, and the Liberals are now treating them like cheaters before the taxes are even due.Will the Liberals stop attacking vulnerable Canadians?

Mr. Speaker, that sounded an awful lot like no.On Tuesday, we learned that the cancelled audits included cybercrime, Arctic sovereignty, public service training, heritage services and the government's travel system. The Auditor General said that these were important areas that needed to be audited. One can imagine what these audits would reveal if they were completed. We know that the government prefers cover-ups to accountability, but stopping the Auditor General from doing his job is inexcusable. Why are they so afraid to be accountable?

Mr. Speaker, earlier today Al Gore stated, “The Kinder Morgan pipeline carrying dirty tar sands oil would be a step backward...”. Does the government agree with Al Gore, who calls our natural resources dirty and wants to kill the Trans Mountain expansion?

Mr. Speaker, a generation ago, Pierre Trudeau's national energy program drove oil rigs and the jobs that went with them out of Alberta. Today, Alberta has dropped 18 ranks, into the bottom half of energy investment destinations in the world. Unemployment is at a 25-year high and rising, and the Liberals are making it worse by forcing a carbon tax on all Canadians and spending billions on hot air credits.Why is the Prime Minister helping Premier Notley kill jobs in Alberta with carbon taxes and bad policy?

Mr. Speaker, The Globe and Mail reports that the Liberals took deliberate steps to keep their cash for access fundraisers secret and exclusive, using Internet protocols to keep them out of search engine results. Now the Minister of Finance is set to attend another fundraiser at the home of a registered lobbyist for Shaw Communications, and Google search produces no results. If these fundraisers are above board and ethical, why are the Liberals trying so hard to keep them secret and what other unethical behaviour are they covering up?

Mr. Speaker, provinces, municipalities, police services, and health authorities are all struggling with unanswered questions to meet the Prime Minister's deadline for the legalization of marijuana. Meanwhile, Quebec media reports say hundreds of millions of dollars are flowing anonymously into Canadian marijuana companies from tax havens, and by companies connected to Liberal insiders.What steps is the Prime Minister taking to ensure that the legal marijuana trade does not start off being financed by dirty money laundered by Liberal insiders?

Madam Speaker, the Minister of National Revenue keeps claiming that service is her priority, yet under her watch, service continues to get even worse, despite the budget increase. She has been picking on single parents, she has not reviewed all of the disability tax credits she took away, she has taken no meaningful action on offshore tax avoidance and evasion, wait times are getting longer and the call centre is still a disaster.Will the minister stop claiming that service is her priority and start delivering service to Canadians?

Mr. Speaker, an investigation by the Information Commissioner revealed an employee of Shared Services Canada deleted 398 pages of email documents after receiving an ATIP request for documents containing the words “Liberal Party”. It is a serious offence to destroy documents subject to an ATIP request.Will the Liberal Attorney General recuse herself from the decision to prosecute and avoid an obvious conflict of interest, yes or no?

Mr. Speaker, after accepting illegal travel and breaching the Conflict of Interest Act, the Prime Minister has a fiduciary duty to taxpayers to make them whole again. However, all week the Prime Minister and his house leader have recited sophomoric talking points about accepting the commissioner's recommendations. The report did not contain recommendations, only conclusions that the Prime Minister broke the law in four places.When will the Prime Minister actually take responsibility and repay Canadians?

Madam Speaker, last week the Minister of Natural Resources questioned the intelligence of anyone who thinks that it was the Liberals who killed northern gateway. Of course it was the Liberals. They killed it with a shipping ban and a ministerial order. The Prime Minister always opposed northern gateway in opposition, and when he became Prime Minister, he killed it. Now the Liberals want to kill all future pipelines with the no-more-pipelines bill, Bill C-69. Will the minister apologize for questioning people's intelligence and kill Bill C-69?

Mr. Speaker, earlier in question period, the Prime Minister claimed that the Liberals would never take away a benefit from a vulnerable Canadian. However, we have a letter dated May 10 that confirms that this is exactly what they have done. The Liberals changed the process, resulting in an 80% denial rate for applicants suffering from type 1 diabetes.Does the Prime Minister really think that this latest tax grab on vulnerable Canadians is helping the middle class, or is it just a desperate attempt to raise additional money to fund an out-of-control spending problem?

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance's mortgage rule changes are failing to fix the problems in Vancouver and Toronto and are hurting markets in Atlantic Canada, which are already depressed. Sherry Donovan, of the Nova Scotia Home Builders' Association, told the finance committee that the Atlantic provinces are “still in deep recovery mode from the weak economy.... These new mortgage rules are exacerbating the problem by hurting the entire economy”. Will the minister stop kicking the Atlantic provinces when they are down and reverse his ill-advised decision? Why will the 32 Liberal MPs from the region not stand for Atlantic Canada?

Mr. Speaker, it is just embarrassing to listen to this parliamentary secretary repeat the same sophomoric drivel over and over again.The Ethics Commissioner is investigating the Prime Minister. The Lobbying Commissioner is investigating cash for access fundraising. The Liberals made a shambles of watchdog appointments when they botched the official languages commissioner appointment through obvious patronage.Will the Prime Minister agree, and guarantee, that as they search for an Ethics Commissioner, the Liberals will not simply recruit another Liberal insider?

Mr. Speaker, the government promised a client-focused Canada Revenue Agency and to crack down on offshore avoidance. It has failed spectacularly. Tax professionals and taxpayers across Canada say that compliance has become harder under the government and a single tax return would simplify life for Quebeckers. Why will the Prime Minister not listen to Quebeckers and give them a single tax return?

Mr. Speaker, the government promised a client-focused CRA, and all we have so far are tax increases on type 1 diabetics, half-baked plans for taxes on retail employees, misinformation, and busy signals.Now there are reports that the CRA is auditing single moms and telling them to get expensive separation agreements, and then telling that it is not good enough, and withholding their child benefits.When will the minister stop attacking ordinary, honest Canadians who are just trying to comply, and receive the credits and benefits to which they are entitled?

Madam Speaker, when their $10.5-million payout to a convicted terrorist was leaked, the Liberals immediately launched an investigation that spanned six departments and agencies. When another leak smearing a judge came out, the new Attorney General just put out a tweet. This leak was obviously another damage control exercise to spin the former attorney general's resignation and to generate Liberal backbench support for her eventual caucus expulsion.Will the Attorney General investigate this leak, or is he too afraid of where it will end?

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals really have lost touch completely with Canadians. They are wasting money left, right, and centre: limos, moving expenses, cash payments to staff, and the Prime Minister's ongoing international junkets.They are increasing taxes on hard-working Canadians with payroll tax increases, a carbon tax, and a small business tax increase. Canadian families are struggling, and the Prime Minister is spending all this time with billionaires and celebrities.When will the Prime Minister start hearing the pleas of regular Canadians and stop making their hard situations worse?

Mr. Speaker, yesterday in question period, the revenue minister continued to pat herself on the back by saying “Our government is fully committed to ensuring that everyone receives the tax credits to which they are entitled”.These words are cold comfort to those who suffer from type 1 diabetes, mental illness, or autism who are suddenly being denied disability tax credits, all because these Liberals need more money to fund their out-of-control spending. Is the denial of the disability tax credit on a massive scale this minister's idea of ensuring that all Canadians get the tax credits to which they are entitled?

Mr. Speaker, when Canadians fill out their taxes, they only have to fill out one form unless they live in Quebec. In Quebec, the system is so complicated that most Quebeckers have to hire an accountant to do the paperwork. The Prime Minister can afford an accountant due to his vast family fortune, but for everyone else this is a waste of money and extra bureaucracy. A single tax return would simplify life for Quebeckers. Why will the Prime Minister not actually listen to Quebeckers and give them a single tax return?

Mr. Speaker, for weeks the Minister of Revenue has told the House that nothing has changed for type 1 diabetics applying for the disability tax credit, but we know that this is not true. This morning, Diabetes Canada produced an internal CRA email detailing a new Liberal policy to automatically deny the tax credit, including to those who have received it for years. Will the minister apologize for the misleading answers that she has given the House and reverse this heartless decision before Christmas?

Mr. Speaker, the revenue minister acts like she was the last one to know that the CRA wants to tax employee discounts. When the plan become public, she blamed the agency and accepted no responsibility.With the finance minister attacking small businesses and hiding his assets while concealing his conflicts of interest, and the revenue minister wanting to tax the benefits of some of the lowest-paid workers in Canada, when will these ministers stand up and take responsibility for their actions instead of just blaming others?

Mr. Speaker, last year's assault by the revenue minister on disabled Canadians has jeopardized registered disability savings plans for many Canadian families that saved their money and received matching grants from the government. Disability tax credit rejections mean that some families that received the credit for 10 years or more will lose their savings plans for the future care of their disabled children. What is the minister doing to ensure that families of disabled children are not losing their savings plans because of this minister's attack on the disabled?

Madam Speaker, when the Liberals took office, there were four viable private sector pipelines, and now there are none. Crushing regulations, a tanker ban, anti-energy rhetoric, a carbon tax, and an unwillingness to assert the rule of law have chased the private sector out of Canada to other energy-producing places, such as Texas and Kazakhstan.With a track record of failure like this, how can the Liberals possibly rebuild investor confidence in the Canadian energy industry?

Mr. Speaker, on May 2, a memo was sent to all tax collectors who assessed applications for disability tax credits. The memo told them to reject all type 1 diabetics for the disability tax credit, unless there were exceptional circumstances. This was done, despite the fact there is no requirement in the Income Tax Act that Canadians with diabetes must have exceptional circumstances to meet the criteria. I have a simple question. Did the minister approve this memo, yes or no?

Mr. Speaker, when the Prime Minister's family travelled to billionaire island for a vacation, they spent $1,700 on food and drink on a three-hour flight and stuck taxpayers with the bill. Of course, that does not include the cost of the first-ever ethics investigation of a sitting prime minister for violating the Conflict of Interest Act.Everyone agrees that prime ministers can take vacations and need to travel securely. However, taxpayers need to know why they are paying more for food for a three-hour flight than most families of five spend in a month. Could the Prime Minister not have packed his own lunch?

Mr. Speaker, it is the dream of most young families to own their own home, but the millionaire Minister of Finance is putting that dream out of reach by making it harder to qualify for a mortgage and by introducing a carbon tax to make everything more expensive.What does the minister have against young families and why is he making it harder for them to get by?

Mr. Speaker, for months, this department has been going after type 1 diabetics, and today this minister has told us how proud she is of her department.Is she proud of targeting disabled Canadians? Is she proud of targeting low-wage earning retail employees? Is she proud of going after small businesses? When will the Liberal government get its priorities straight, back off of vulnerable Canadians, and go after real tax avoiders, including Liberal insiders?

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government needs to have more respect for Canadians and more respect for democracy.Recent polling shows us that two-thirds of Canadians expect a referendum to be held if the government wants to change the way MPs are elected. Canadians want a referendum, and they deserve one. The government can show that it respects both Canadians and democracy by holding a referendum on its plans to change the voting system.Why does the government have such a problem with democracy that it is denying Canadians the final say in a referendum on changes to their electoral system?

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government thinks that small business owners, retail employees, and now people living with type 1 diabetes are not paying their fair share of taxes, while the Minister of Finance uses complex corporate structures to dodge conflict of interest disclosures and, presumably, to reduce his own taxes.Do the Liberals really think that people living with type 1 diabetes, who have been certified by a physician for the disability tax credit, are not paying their fair share?

Mr. Speaker, the Ethics Commissioner is currently investigating the Prime Minister for breaking the law. She has expressed concern that she might not be able to conclude her investigation by the time her term ends in July, meaning that her successor will start with a conflict of interest, because the next commissioner will be appointed by the very same Prime Minister he or she will be investigating.Will the Prime Minister do the right thing and completely recuse himself from this appointment, or will he appoint a good Liberal who might just let him off the hook?

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General confirmed what Canadians have known for years, that tax rules are not applied fairly. He said: ....the Canada Revenue Agency did not consistently apply tax rules....even though the Taxpayer Bill of Rights includes the right to have the law applied consistently. The report also said that those with offshore transactions were given special breaks that were denied to ordinary Canadians.Why is there one set of rules for regular Canadians and another set of rules for people like the Prime Minister's rich Liberal friends?

Mr. Speaker, earlier this year the courts awarded Mr. and Mrs. Samaroo of Nanaimo $1.7 million in damages for malicious prosecution by the Canada Revenue Agency. This malicious prosecution ruined this family's life and cost taxpayers nearly $3 million in damages and legal costs. The minister has refused to confirm whether or not the individuals singled out by the judge are still employed at the CRA. Is this the minister's idea of being more client-focused at the Canada Revenue Agency?

Mr. Speaker, last week I asked if the Prime Minister would recuse himself from the appointment procedure for the new ethics commissioner, who may inherit the investigation into the Prime Minister's conduct, or whether he would just appoint a good Liberal to help get him off the hook.Perhaps signalling what is to come, last week he appointed a former provincial Liberal cabinet minister as official languages commissioner. If he likes to reward Liberals, may I suggest the Minister of National Defence as the new ethics commissioner? I hear he might be available soon.

Mr. Speaker, on Thanksgiving weekend, a CRA employee told The Globe and Mail that the government was going to tax employee discounts. Then, after a full day of confused and contradictory messages from the Liberals, the minister backtracked and threw her own bureaucrats under the bus. The council of retailers knew this was coming and warned the finance committee in September.Why is the minister trying to tax the discounts of retail and restaurant workers and then blaming it all on her bureaucrats?

Mr. Speaker, I too join the President of the Treasury Board and rise to pay tribute to an extraordinary public servant who dedicated his entire professional working life to making Canada a better place. I offer my deepest condolences on the passing of Auditor General Michael Ferguson, who succumbed to cancer and passed away this past Saturday surrounded by his family.Michael Ferguson had a distinguished career, serving the Province of New Brunswick in several senior roles prior to being appointed Auditor General of Canada in 2011 by then prime minister Stephen Harper. Michael Ferguson quickly established his reputation for tough, thorough audits. Over successive governments, he never shied away from bringing the failures of government departments and agencies to Parliament's attention.When Michael Ferguson appeared as a witness at a committee meeting, Canadians knew that a very bright light was about to be shone into the corners of their government and that accountability would be demanded. He made no attempt to sugar-coat the facts. His reports and committee testimony were delivered without passion or rhetoric; the strong terms he used to describe failures of government were always presented factually, and he was never afraid to be exact and precise regardless of the topic or possible consequences for the government of the day. He leaves a legacy of forcing governments, and indeed all public servants, to constantly improve in order to serve Canadians. He will be missed by the thousands of public servants from across Canada who want to deliver the best service that they can to Canadians. He will be missed by the dedicated staff at the Office of the Auditor General. He will be missed by all parliamentarians, and in particular by my colleagues from the Standing Committee on Public Accounts. He will be missed by all Canadians who demand accountability from their government.To his wife and sons, I extend my deepest sympathies. On behalf of the Conservative opposition, our condolences, thoughts and prayers are with them.

Mr. Speaker, Canada 2020, a Liberal think tank associated with Liberal lobbyists and good friends of the Liberal Prime Minister, recently introduced a donor agreement to prevent accusations of cash for access for events it holds with Liberal ministers.It is really sad that the Liberals' actions make such agreements necessary. In light of this revelation, why can the Prime Minister not see that even his friends are embarrassed by his fundraising techniques and fear for their own reputations?

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a similar point of order in that it involves the same member. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, in an answer to a question from the member for Markham—Unionville, questioned his intelligence. We have a long-standing policy in this House, and you have ruled on this many times, that we may not insult another member's intelligence. Therefore, through you, I invite the parliamentary secretary to withdraw his comments.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the finance committee learned that the wait time for a decision on the disability tax credit has recently gone from about three weeks to over 40 weeks and that since October 26, all applications have been frozen. We also heard that refunds are being delayed and that the application form was changed based on the minister's belief that most type 1 diabetics do not qualify. One simple question: When will the minister stop saying that nothing has changed?

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Prime Minister patted himself on the back for the money he claimed was going toward fighting offshore tax evasion. We know that most of the $24.5 billion that the CRA says it plans to find will mostly be domestic, and will probably never be collected. Meanwhile, millions of dollars of mystery money are pouring into Liberal connected marijuana companies.Is this what taking organized crime out of marijuana looks like?

Mr. Speaker, Liam saved up the down payment for a home in Strathmore. He was pre-approved for a mortgage in his price range and was just waiting for his lease to expire so that he could move into a new home. Then the Minister of Finance changed the rules. Now Liam cannot qualify for anything in Strathmore, Chestermere, or Calgary. The Prime Minister is running a $30 billion deficit, and plans to borrow tens of millions more to revamp 24 Sussex. How can the Prime Minister do this, while telling Liam that he cannot have a mortgage?

Madam Speaker, the Auditor General has many new responsibilities now, including auditing the government's ill-considered Infrastructure Bank and the new Trans Mountain Crown corporation that resulted from it chasing Kinder Morgan out of Canada. Last summer, the Auditor General said that they needed more money to be able to keep doing performance audits, and last month, he told the public accounts committee that he cancelled audits, including on cybersecurity, because they did not have enough money. What is the government trying to hide from the Auditor General?

Mr. Speaker, we will not have an Auditor General's report to look into it and see if the government has done its job or not. For weeks, the President of the Treasury Board has said that they always consider funding requests from officers of Parliament—this while denying the Office of the Auditor General the money that it has repeatedly requested. The Auditor General needs another $10.8 million to do his job, including audits on cybersecurity and Arctic sovereignty. This is less than the money the government gave to Loblaws for refrigerators. Why is giving money to their friends more important than transparency and accountability?

Mr. Speaker, on October 20, I asked the finance minister why he is making it harder for young families to buy homes through new mortgage rules.The parliamentary secretary agreed that buying a house is the most important investment most Canadian families will make. However, a few minutes later, when confronted on the Liberals' out-of-control spending and borrowing, the same member said that when interest rates are low, that's the time to invest.The finance minister cannot have it both ways. Why does the minister use low interest rates to justify huge deficits, while denying families the opportunity to buy homes?

Mr. Speaker, this government will do anything to avoid accountability. We have seen them try to cover up interference in prosecution in the case of SNC-Lavalin and Mark Norman. Now the Auditor General says that his office cannot fulfill its mandate because it did not receive the funds it needs. As a result, the Office of the Auditor General has cancelled five important audits. For 140 years, the Auditor General has helped hold governments accountable. Will the government commit today to end its culture of cover-ups and fully fund the Auditor General's office?

Mr. Speaker, I have met with countless small business owners to discuss the Liberals' plans to raise their taxes. Most of the people I have met have a small family-owned business; some have mortgaged their family home and taken huge risks that they share with their spouses. They contribute everything they have to the success of their dreams. They want to know how the minister intends to have bureaucrats determine the reasonableness of how they share income from the family business.When did it become the minister's job to tell families which spouse should receive what benefit for the risks that a family-owned business shares?

Mr. Speaker, at no point in Canadian history has the Auditor General ever said that he could not do his job for lack of funding, until now.Under the previous government, he never cancelled audits. However, the Liberals have a track record of rewarding their friends and attacking those who would try to hold them to account. Canadians depend on the Auditor General to provide transparency and to tell us the truth. This is completely unprecedented, and it goes right to the heart of Parliament's responsibility for accountability.Why does the government hate accountability so much that it is willing to silence the Auditor General?

Madam Speaker, the Minister of Finance recently attended a cash for access fundraiser. The Liberal House leader has repeated ad nauseam that this was within the rules. However, the Prime Minister's document, “Open and Accountable Government”, says that ministers “have an obligation to perform their official duties and arrange their private affairs in a manner that will bear the closest public scrutiny”, an obligation that “is not fully discharged merely by acting within the law”. When will the Prime Minister start enforcing his own code of ethics?

Mr. Speaker, a few weeks ago, the Minister of Finance started fiddling with the mortgage rules because he was concerned that too many Canadians would be tempted to borrow money now while interest rates were low.Could the minister explain why he thinks low interest rates make it a dangerous time for Canadians to buy homes for their families, but a great time for Liberals to borrow all they want to fund their out-of-control spending?

Mr. Speaker, like other charitable Canadians, the Unitarian Church of Calgary raised funds, collected donations of household goods, and completed paperwork to privately sponsor a refugee family fleeing Iraq. After doing all this work, the Liberals nullified their application by changing the mix to admit more government-sponsored refugees and fewer privately sponsored ones. Would the minister explain his thinking in frustrating generous Canadians who are volunteering their time and money to help refugees?

Madam Speaker, we have demanded answers about the Prime Minister's illegal use of private aircraft. The government House leader keeps telling us that he will answer the Ethics Commissioner's questions. Well, he did answer her preliminary questions, and she must not have liked his answers, because she escalated the matter to an unprecedented full investigation.When will the Prime Minister admit to Canadians that his conduct was unethical and illegal? Will he do it now or does he really want to wait for the Ethics Commissioner to do it for him later?

Mr. Speaker, is the minister even aware of what has been happening in her own department since May? For seven months the CRA has been denying the disability tax credit to vulnerable Canadians, and the minister just shrugs her shoulders and says that nothing has changed. We know that is not true and the proof is right here. Will the minister apologize for this heartless attack on type 1 diabetics and reverse this tax hike?

Mr. Speaker, under the government's watch, the dream of home ownership has been slipping away from thousands of Canadians. High prices, new mortgage rules, and new regulations all make home ownership less affordable. Now media reports say that the Liberal government is planning a new national building code that will impose higher costs on new homebuyers and existing homeowners as well. When will the government realize that every time it adds a new regulation, it increases costs and reduces choices? When is the government going to stop punishing homebuyers?

Mr. Speaker, at last Thursday's ethics committee meeting, I asked the Commissioner of Lobbying what she thought of cash for access fundraising involving lobbyists. Her answer was pretty clear. She said: ...I think we're seeing in the media and so on that this is an issue that's potentially creating real or apparent conflicts of interest, which is why I'm looking into it. If cash for access fundraising with lobbyists does not break any rules, then why is the Commissioner of Lobbying investigating them?

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister is borrowing ever increasing sums of money to fulfill the Liberals' tax-and-spend agenda while lecturing Canadians about the risk of using credit and excessive debt when they just want to buy a home.Why does he keep adding taxes and making it harder for young families to qualify for mortgages, instead of practising what he preaches and reining in his own out of control borrowing? He is the one mortgaging our children's future.

Mr. Speaker, for the first time in Canadian history, the Auditor General has stated publicly that he does not have the funds necessary to do his job. The Liberals have consistently rewarded their friends and silenced their critics and now they are targeting the Auditor General. This Liberal attack on the Auditor General has forced the office to cancel audits that would have been released right before the election. Why do the Liberals think they can get away with silencing the Auditor General?

Mr. Speaker, after two months of questions by the opposition and pressure from Diabetes Canada, the Liberals have finally said they will revert to their pre-May 2 policy. The strange thing is that even while the minister reverses her policy, she continues to deny she ever made a change in the first place.Will the minister finally admit that she made a choice to deny the credit she is now trying to cover her tracks in regard to, and will she apologize to type 1 diabetics?

Mr. Speaker, for weeks now, we have demanded that the Liberals stop peddling cabinet access to their friends and lobbyists.Fresh off his trip to visit old family friends in Cuba, we learned that the Prime Minister was cosying up to Chinese Communist Party officials who attended a cash for access fundraiser in May. These same officials then made a large payment to the Trudeau Foundation.Has this Prime Minister no shame? I know he admires dictatorships from Havana to Beijing, but this goes too far. Will he stop selling influence to foreign powers?

Madam Speaker, one thing that never ever happened under the previous government was the Auditor General coming to the public accounts committee saying we do not have enough money to do our job. That never happened. On May 14, the Office of the Auditor General told public accounts, “had we received the $10.8 million.... We would have been able to do the work that was expected.” I said, “you are not adequately funded now.” They replied, “That's right.” What part of that testimony does the parliamentary secretary not understand, and why will they not—

Mr. Speaker, the problem is getting worse under the current government. She has been the minister for three years. It is time for her to take responsibility for her own track record. This week's report that says unauthorized snooping is on the rise does nothing to give Canadians confidence in the government.Given the thousands of compromised files at the Canada Revenue Agency, will the government finally tell Statistics Canada that it cannot have Canadians' financial information without their consent?

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General is sounding the alarm.For the first time in Canadian history, he will be unable to complete his audits because the Liberal government has refused to fund his important work, including audits on cybersecurity and Arctic sovereignty. The Liberals keep claiming that they support the Auditor General, but those are just empty words unless they give his office the funds he needs. We are running out of time.Will the Prime Minister reverse his position of starving the Auditor General's office and give him the funds he needs to do his job?

Mr. Speaker, this is ridiculous. The Auditor General has never, until now, come out and said publicly that he cannot do his job for a lack of funds. At no time during the previous government did the Auditor General ever say he could not do his job. This is an unprecedented attack on our democracy. When will the Liberals give the Auditor General the funds that he needs to do his job and hold the government to account?

Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, the Auditor General told the public accounts committee that as a result of inadequate funding “we have no choice but to decrease the number of performance audits”.Yesterday the President of the Treasury Board refused to commit to provide the necessary resources to the Auditor General so that he could do his job, so I will give her another chance today. Will she commit today, now, to provide the Office of the Auditor General the $10.8 million it requested, yes or no?

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General said regular Canadians will automatically lose their credits or benefits if they cannot give the Canada Revenue Agency a document within 90 days, but for offshore tax dodgers, the agency will give them months or maybe even years to comply, or they will simply close the file without collecting any taxes.The minister promised a client-focused CRA and action on offshore evasion, so why is she protecting offshore tax dodgers and failing to provide basic service to regular Canadians?

This, Mr. Speaker, is from the former executive director of the Liberal Party.We now know that the Shared Services Canada employee who deleted 398 pages of email documents following an ATIP is a Liberal EDA president. The Elections Act requires the Attorney General to recuse herself from all of these types of conflicts of interest. Therefore, for the second time, will the minister recuse herself from this similar conflict, and refer this matter directly to the director of public prosecutions, yes or no?

Mr. Speaker, when the Canada Revenue Agency changed its policy on the taxation of employee discounts, the minister denied responsibility. When it went after disabled Canadians and single parents, she also denied responsibility. When the Auditor General reported that the agency's call centre is an unmitigated disaster, she denied responsibility.We now know her executives received the highest average performance pay in the entire public sector. Will the minister, for once, accept responsibility for rewarding her executives for the failures of her agency, and explain why?

Mr. Speaker, getting through to a real person at the CRA is notoriously difficult, unless of course someone is a personal friend and fundraiser for the Prime Minister. In that case, he just picks up the phone for them.The Auditor General reports that 64% of calls were blocked, given the busy signal, or told to call back and disconnected. The government is raising taxes on diabetics, small businesses, and middle-class families, and it will not even pick up the phone to answer questions.Why does the government only answer questions for wealthy Liberal insiders and hang up on everyone else?