44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 10, 2023 10:00AM
- Mar/10/23 11:49:04 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the chief of staff is the nexus for sensitive communications in the Prime Minister's office. She came to the finance committee to testify on the Prime Minister's WE Charity scandal. She came to the defence committee on former general Vance's sexual misconduct because the Prime Minister would not. Even if she missed the CSIS briefing on Beijing's interference into election scandals, she would have been advised by the national security advisor.
Will the Liberals end their filibuster and allow her to come to committee?
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- Mar/10/23 11:49:46 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is very clear that we have had apolitical, professional civil servants, who have made it very clear to all Canadians that the outcome of the 2019 and 2021 elections were not influenced in any way by international interference. In fact, if we take a look at what we have done, in contrast to what the Conservatives have done, we will find that the Conservative government failed in its responsibilities, while we continue to live up to ours.
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- Mar/10/23 11:50:22 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the cold winds of election interference have been blowing in Canada, and the Prime Minister has been caught up in their wintery blasts. The Greek storyteller, Aesop, tells about a contest between the wind and the sun. Who was stronger? Who could remove the traveller's cloak? In the end, the sun won and was able to expose the traveller.
The Prime Minister needs to open the shutters, allow the sun to remove the cloak of secrecy and to expose the truth of Beijing election interference. Will the Liberals end their filibuster and let the Prime Minister's chief of staff testify on Beijing election interference?
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- Mar/10/23 11:51:01 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have a fairy tale to talk about, as well, on this issue. This week, the Leader of the Opposition said that of course the previous Conservative government did nothing about foreign interference, because it was not to its partisan advantage to do anything about it.
While the Conservatives have clearly demonstrated that they want to play games and to not take this seriously, we feel that their actions are reckless, when it comes to national security. That is why we are going to do the serious work, at committee and in the House, to ensure our institutions are strengthened.
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- Mar/10/23 11:51:41 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, when it comes to interference in Canadian elections, this Prime Minister's trust is somewhat selective.
He says he trusts the parliamentarians sitting on the secret special committee that will prepare a secret report. However, when asked to let his chief of staff, Katie Telford, testify before a public parliamentary committee, he refuses outright.
Why is the Prime Minister refusing to let his chief of staff, Katie Telford, testify?
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- Mar/10/23 11:52:14 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would remind the House again that the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians is not a secret committee. I would also provide this House with a list of some of the things we have done.
We appointed an independent panel to review the 2019 and 2021 elections, and it found that both of those elections were free and fair.
The Prime Minister announced that he is going to appoint an independent expert as special rapporteur, to review the elections and to see if there were any gaps that we need to fix.
Today, we announced that we would have a foreign influence registry—
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- Mar/10/23 11:52:53 a.m.
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The hon. member for Jonquière.
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- Mar/10/23 11:52:54 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, on March 1, Paper Excellence got its hands on Resolute Forest Products, a forestry industry giant that controls 25% of Quebec forests.
If a buyer were to revitalize Resolute, which was investing very little in modernizing its facilities, that would be a good thing. However, an investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which includes CBC/Radio-Canada, gives us cause to doubt.
Paper Excellence has ties to Asia Pulp & Paper, a corporation with dubious practices that is financed by the Chinese government.
We want to know if the government did the necessary checks to ensure that the Chinese government is not indirectly controlling one-quarter of Quebec's forest resources.
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- Mar/10/23 11:53:39 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the member opposite knows full well that all foreign investments are reviewed under the Investment Canada Act, and this transaction is no different.
In the case of Paper Excellence's takeover of Resolute, it was subject to a national security review process. Not only that, the member will be pleased to know that, as part of that review process, the investors committed to maintaining existing Canadian patents, to maintaining facilities in Quebec and to adhering to Canadian employment and environmental laws.
Due to the confidentiality provisions of the Investment Canada Act, we cannot comment further.
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- Mar/10/23 11:54:14 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is not the issue, but all right.
Better forestry development, increased processing and new products to replace oil will be key to having a prosperous and renewable carbon-neutral economy.
However, that is not the business model of Asia Pulp & Paper. It does as little processing as possible and sends kraft pulp directly to China. The jobs and value added are in China.
What conditions did the government impose on Paper Excellence to protect our paper mills and to ensure that Quebec's forests generate profits in Quebec, and not in China?
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- Mar/10/23 11:54:55 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the acquisition of Resolute Forest Products by Paper Excellence was subject to the provisions of the law governing national security reviews of investments. As part of the review process, the investor made significant commitments to Canada, including guaranteeing high levels of investment in the facilities in Quebec, maintaining existing Canadian managers and complying with Canadian labour and environmental laws.
Because of—
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- Mar/10/23 11:55:32 a.m.
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The parliamentary secretary's time is up.
The hon. member for Louis-Saint-Laurent.
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- Mar/10/23 11:55:35 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, after eight years of Liberal governance, all Canadians are paying more for everything, especially the necessities of life. Take housing, for example. Renters are paying twice as much as they were eight years ago. Homeowners' mortgage rates have doubled in eight years. That is down to Liberal management. For eight years, the Liberals did absolutely nothing to control spending, and that led to the inflation we are experiencing now.
Will the government accept responsibility for this? Will the Prime Minister step aside so we can get on with fixing things?
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- Mar/10/23 11:56:23 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.
Inflation slowed in Canada last month.
Speaking of Canadians' rent, I cannot for the life of me figure out why the Conservatives voted against a direct benefit we offered Canadians specifically to help them make ends meet.
We are here to support Canadians.
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- Mar/10/23 11:56:55 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is not just about housing. Food is another thing all Canadians need in order to survive. Like many residents of Loretteville, I will be taking food to the community fridge on Racine Street. There are many of us doing this. I can say one thing: The food does not stay on the shelves long because people need it. I would guess that this is happening in the parliamentary secretary's riding as well. People who used to donate to the food bank are now the ones asking for food.
Is the government aware of the inflation issue it has created by not controlling spending for eight years?
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- Mar/10/23 11:57:36 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, my colleague knows very well that inflation is currently affecting every country in the world because of the war in Ukraine, supply chain issues and so on.
I volunteer at MultiCaf, a community cafeteria. As a side note, all the government members do volunteer work in their ridings too. We see what is happening on the ground. That is why we have a plan to help Canadians with affordability issues.
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- Mar/10/23 11:58:12 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, after eight years of the Liberal Prime Minister, his housing record spells double trouble. Average rent costs have doubled to $2,200 a month. Average mortgage costs have more than doubled to $3,500 a month.
After eight years of the Liberal Prime Minister, many Canadians are worried about keeping a roof over their heads. Here is my question: Will the Prime Minister take responsibility for this out-of-control inflation, or will he step aside and let us fix what he broke?
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- Mar/10/23 11:58:46 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to assure the hon. member that we take the issue of supporting Canadians with rent very seriously. That is why we introduced the Canada housing benefit and have recently topped it up with a one-time payment of $500.
The fact of the matter is that we have been there for Canadians, and we will continue to be there for Canadians.
The hon. member should have a conversation with his leader. It has been a year since his leader announced that he was running for that position, and he has not presented a plan to Canadians. The Conservatives have no plan and have no solutions to bring to this Parliament.
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- Mar/10/23 11:59:22 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, inflation in the food industry is indeed worrisome. I am very pleased that the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food is looking into this matter. The experts who testified had very positive things to say about a code of conduct that could reduce pressure on rising food prices. I know that, yesterday, the Conservatives were a bit confused about the issue.
Can the parliamentary secretary explain exactly what the advantages of having a code of conduct would be and how it would help consumers?
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- Mar/10/23 12:00:05 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from Pontiac, who advocates not only for agriculture, but also for rural issues that affect all Quebeckers and Canadians. The code of conduct is vital to ensure fair prices for consumers. It will ensure fair dealing between processors and retailers, the grocery stores. We saw that this week at the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food. We expect the industry to implement the code of conduct by the end of this year. This is good news for consumers.
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