44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 23, 2022 10:00AM
- Jun/23/22 2:39:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the passport crisis comes as no surprise to anyone.
The union warned the government in January. This was foreseeable. Since 2018, the government has cut 450 jobs in passport offices. In the midst of a crisis, the 600 new hires the minister is talking about do not represent an increase in service. Those hires just bring the number of staff back up to prepandemic levels. We are in the midst of a crisis, and that requires crisis-level effort.
When will the minister deploy enough staff to keep the offices open seven days a week?
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- Jun/23/22 2:40:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, passport offices are open weekends in the busiest urban centres to make sure that people who urgently need their passport can get it.
We have hired 600 people since January and we are in the process of hiring 600 more. We are reassigning hundreds of employees from Service Canada and other organizations, including the Canada Revenue Agency, Statistics Canada and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
We are making every effort to resolve this situation, which is truly unacceptable for Canadians.
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- Jun/23/22 2:41:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is not what is happening; the union is looking for those 600 people. It found five at the Guy‑Favreau complex. So much for that.
The union projects a return to normal only in October. The chaos cannot last another four months. The minister can bring people out of retirement to help. She can transfer resources from other departments. She can create a training blitz for the new employees. At the very least she can let in the people who are sleeping outside and ensure that they are treated humanely, even if that means renting rooms. That is how to manage a crisis.
What is the minister waiting for?
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- Jun/23/22 2:41:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have already done all of those things that my hon. colleague is calling for. It takes 15 weeks to train a passport officer. This has already been going on for months. The first class of passport officers starts on Monday. This is not something that changes overnight. It is already in place.
The situation in Montreal improved today. In Laval and in Saint‑Laurent, everyone was given an appointment. At the Guy-Favreau complex, everyone is working to ensure that the hundreds of people there get their appointment.
We will continue to prepare and do everything we can to serve Canadians.
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- Jun/23/22 2:42:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there is a discrepancy between what we are hearing and what we are seeing. The passport crisis is not just an administrative fiasco. People are standing out in the rain at their wits' end. People are missing their parents' funerals. People are losing contracts. The minister's message to them? “Your call is important to us.”
When will the people standing in line truly feel their situation is being taken seriously?
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- Jun/23/22 2:43:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are taking the situation very seriously. That is exactly why we adjusted our approach in Montreal. The situation in Montreal is exceptional. It is not like anywhere else in the country.
Every day for the past seven days, between 1,500 and 2,000 people have lined up outside passport offices. Each person in line today got an appointment card for either today, tomorrow, Saturday or even Sunday, because we want to make sure they get their passport.
That is what we want, and that is what we are doing.
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- Jun/23/22 2:43:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Emergency Preparedness politically interfered in a mass murder investigation to advance his own party's political agenda. RCMP Superintendent Darren Campbell witnessed this interference first-hand, but the minister is claiming he made this all up. Former RCMP commissioner Paulson said Superintendent Darren Campbell “is one of the best investigators in the force and a highly reliable officer with tremendous integrity.”
Why should Canadians believe the minister over a well-respected RCMP officer?
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- Jun/23/22 2:44:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have absolutely no doubt Superintendent Campbell is in fact an exemplary officer and I have absolutely no intention of questioning his integrity. However, I also want to make it very clear that there was no interference in this case for any reason.
With respect to the prohibition of assault rifles, it was something we were deeply committed to. The vicious murder of 22 Canadians using firearms deepened our resolve to make Canadians safe and to keep our promise.
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- Jun/23/22 2:45:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is no surprise to hear that the minister and the Prime Minister pressured the RCMP commissioner into doing their bidding. Let us remember that the Ethics Commissioner found the Prime Minister guilty of political interference when he pressured former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould to do his bidding, but she got fired because she said no.
Now the minister is accusing Superintendent Darren Campbell, who has a stellar reputation, of just making up a story. How can the minister expect Canadians to believe his unethical, scandal-plagued government over a stellar RCMP officer?
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- Jun/23/22 2:45:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, the only thing being made up is his criticism of Superintendent Campbell; I offer none. I am absolutely certain the man is an exemplary police officer and a man of integrity, and I have no criticism of him. What I am advising this House, however, is that there was no interference in this case. There was no pressure brought upon the commissioner for any reason, and the commissioner has—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Jun/23/22 2:46:10 p.m.
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Order, please.
I am going to stop the member for a second, again.
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- Jun/23/22 2:46:22 p.m.
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I will follow the advice of the hon. member and let the hon. minister start again.
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- Jun/23/22 2:46:22 p.m.
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Let him start again; it's good.
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- Jun/23/22 2:46:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am happy for the opportunity to dispute a false statement, frankly, by my colleague across the aisle.
I have not, and will not, criticize. I offer no criticism whatsoever to Superintendent Campbell, who I believe to be, based on all of the evidence, an exemplary officer. I am not questioning his integrity.
However, it is important for me to be very clear: There was no interference in this case. There was no pressure brought to bear on the RCMP commissioner, and in fact the commissioner has confirmed that there was no pressure in a statement that she issued on Tuesday.
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- Jun/23/22 2:46:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Lia Scanlan, director of communications for the RCMP, said this of Commissioner Lucki: “She went out and did that. It was all political pressure. That is 100% [the] Minister...and the Prime Minister. And we have a Commissioner that does not push back.”
The minister has said that he trusts these RCMP members. He says he stands behind the commissioner. The question is this: Who is not telling the truth?
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- Jun/23/22 2:47:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, histrionics aside, I would direct the members to the commissioner's statement from Tuesday, in which she makes it very clear that there was no interference.
However, I remind this House that Canadians, including those who were directly impacted by this tragedy, expressed very serious concerns about how and when the RCMP shared information with the public. In response to the concerns expressed by the victims and families in this terrible tragedy, our government specified in the order of reference to the Mass Casualty Commission that it examine the communications approach taken both during and after this event. That commission will hear testimony under oath, and its findings will be important in providing accurate information to the families in this terrible tragedy.
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- Jun/23/22 2:48:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, families who lost loved ones in the worst mass shooting in Canadian history want answers. That a government would compromise this investigation is unacceptable. Nova Scotians have suffered enough. There are very serious allegations of interference in the RCMP's investigation for the Liberals' political gain.
Yesterday the minister questioned the accuracy of these allegations, but the integrity of the claims is supported by a former RCMP commissioner.
Will the minister be transparent in explaining what role the PMO played in this investigation?
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- Jun/23/22 2:49:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am happy for the opportunity to explain to the member that neither the Prime Minister's Office nor the Minister of Public Safety's office had any role in interfering or pressuring the RCMP to make any operational decisions with respect to the investigation or with respect to RCMP communications around the investigation.
We did hear very serious criticism and concern by the families of the victims of this terrible tragedy and by Nova Scotians across the province with respect to the communications that took place during this event and after, and that is precisely why we have tasked the Mass Casualty Commission with looking very specifically at the communications that took place both during and after this event, because those families deserve—
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- Jun/23/22 2:49:41 p.m.
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The hon. member for Vancouver Kingsway.
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- Jun/23/22 2:49:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, health experts are raising the alarm. According to the Canadian Medical Association, our health care system is collapsing around us. Health care workers are dealing with severe burnout and leaving the profession. Patients are being treated in cars. They wait months for diagnosis and are suffering without care. Despite this, the Liberals are missing in action.
Will the government call an immediate meeting with provinces and territories to address the health care staffing crisis and provide significant, stable and long-term federal funding for health care to Canadians?
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