44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 24, 2023 11:00AM
- Apr/24/23 2:39:08 p.m.
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Before we go to the next question, I would like to remind members that they must wait until they are called on by name to ask a question. Also, when referring to a member, we must use their riding name or title, but not their last or first name.
The hon. member for Trois-Rivières.
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- Apr/24/23 2:39:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, three years after the PM supposedly cut ties with the Trudeau Foundation, we learn that said foundation is holding a meeting at the Prime Minister's Office, directly in the Langevin Block, with five deputy ministers.
How many charitable organizations hold meetings at the Langevin Block with deputy ministers? None. Let us recap. The Prime Minister's Office calls the foundation about the donation from China. The Prime Minister's Office invites the foundation to the Langevin Block.
How are we to believe that the Prime Minister cut ties with the foundation 10 years ago when there are still ties between his office and the foundation?
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- Apr/24/23 2:40:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is a good conspiracy theory. It is interesting, but not factual. It has nothing to do with reality.
I am not sure how many times we have to say this, but it is absolutely clear that there have not been any ties between the foundation and the Prime Minister for more than 10 years. I understand that the Bloc Québécois really wants there to be a connection for partisan reasons, but no such connection exists.
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- Apr/24/23 2:40:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals think that the pursuit of truth is a conspiracy.
Obviously, this foundation, which was established in honour of the Prime Minister's father, is very influential. Given the meetings at the Prime Minister's office, the fundraising follow-up calls from the Prime Minister's employees and the ties with the Prime Minister's family and close friends, we get the distinct impression that China bet on the right horse when trying to get into the government's good graces. If one wants to get closer to the Prime Minister, one has to make a donation to his father's foundation.
We will no longer believe anything the Liberals say about this file. There is too much secrecy and never any truth. What are they waiting for? When will they set up an independent public commission of inquiry?
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- Apr/24/23 2:41:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, David Johnston, the former governor general who was appointed by Stephen Harper, is responsible for looking into the matter at this time.
I hope that the member opposite is not calling into question Mr. Johnston's character and who he is as a person. He is responsible for the matter. It is of the utmost importance, not just for the House of Commons but also for Canadians across the country, that this investigation be independent.
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- Apr/24/23 2:42:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this morning the Auditor General announced that she would not be investigating the Chinese regime's donation to the Trudeau Foundation.
This means that the only ongoing, supposedly neutral, investigation into Chinese interference is the one the Prime Minister personally asked David Johnston to conduct. He is a friend and a former member of the Trudeau Foundation who will report directly to the Prime Minister.
Who will shed light on Chinese interference, if not the commissioner of an independent public inquiry?
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- Apr/24/23 2:42:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Mr. Johnston is responsible for that.
I will state clearly that I fully understand that the Bloc Québécois wants to make a connection, but there is no connection to be made. I find their efforts odd, given that the Bloc Québécois knows full well that Parliament's institutions are the best in the world. They are very accountable, and they oversee our system and the integrity of our system.
The Bloc Québécois claims there is a problem because the Auditor General is saying there is no need for an investigation.
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- Apr/24/23 2:43:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after endless passport delays over the past year and $20 billion more spent on bureaucracy, along with the biggest public sector strike in more than a generation, the minister in charge of passports said, “My best advice to Canadians is not to make that application right now because it just simply won't be processed”. How low can the bar be set for customer service?
Canadians deserve better. They deserve competence. When will the Liberals fix what they broke? Most importantly, how much is it going to cost Canadian taxpayers?
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- Apr/24/23 2:44:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I understand that the Conservatives have an issue with the truth, but I am just going to tell it. The truth of the matter is that while there is a strike going on, I recommend that Canadians do not submit an application for a passport unless it is urgent. With the strike conditions, under law, those passports cannot be processed.
Unlike the Conservatives, I actually believe in telling the truth to Canadians.
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- Apr/24/23 2:44:36 p.m.
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I might have missed something, but I just want to say to everyone on both sides that they should be careful and judicious with their words.
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- Apr/24/23 2:45:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the truth is that the Liberals had two years to fix this before it happened. The chaos out on the streets, the misservice and the lack of customer service are on their backs, with 50% more bureaucracy and the worst customer service this country has ever experienced.
I ask one more time of the people across the aisle: When will they fix what they broke and how much is it going to cost Canadian taxpayers?
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- Apr/24/23 2:45:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I know the Conservatives have a short memory, but the public service was increased by 50% because we were delivering the Canadian emergency response benefit to eight and a half million Canadians. It is a fact that, at the greatest health and economic challenge of our time, this government was there for Canadians.
My big concern is not only that the Conservatives have forgotten this but also that they would not do the same thing to help Canadians in their time of need.
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- Apr/24/23 2:46:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, during the pandemic, Canadians had to wait hours in line to apply for passports. With the delays, it then took four or five months for Canadians to obtain those passports, and by last August, the backlog had reached 340,000 Canadians. The pandemic ended, and Canadians thought things would finally get back to normal. However, they failed to take into account the competence of the government's ministers. Despite the largest expansion of the public service in recent decades and tens of billions of dollars spent on consultants, the government has managed to oversee the largest strike in the public service in decades. What is the minister's response? She says not to apply for a passport.
What travel documents are Canadians supposed to use?
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- Apr/24/23 2:47:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, during a general strike, by law, passport services are not considered to be essential. If there are urgent or humanitarian cases, they will be processed. That information is available on the website.
However, I have grave concerns with the short-term memory loss of the Conservatives. They have forgotten that those investments that were made were there to help eight and a half million Canadians get through the biggest health and economic challenge of our time. Canadians understand that when they are in need, the government has their backs. We just do not know where the—
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- Apr/24/23 2:47:45 p.m.
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The hon. member for Windsor West.
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- Apr/24/23 2:47:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians are paying some of the highest prices in the world for telecom services, and the Rogers-Shaw merger approved by the government will only make things worse. Now it has been reported that the former industry minister is joining Rogers as executive in charge of public policy. This was a minister who allowed Rogers to raise cellphone prices through the roof. Former Liberal cabinet ministers landing cushy jobs in big corporations is nothing new, but this is unreal. We just cannot make this stuff up.
Why do Liberals seem more interested in jumping on the gravy train than bringing down costs for everyday Canadians?
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- Apr/24/23 2:48:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the one important issue for Canadians is to bring costs down. That is what we did in the last iteration that he is talking about. The way to bring costs down in Canada is to have more competition. The way to have more competition is to have a fourth national player. That is what we delivered for Canadians. We are always going to stand up for Canadians to make sure that prices go down in this country.
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- Apr/24/23 2:48:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I can assure everyone that the way to bring costs down is not by appointing Liberal insiders to executive positions at Rogers. The fact that the minister does not even know what the problem is just shows how out of touch Liberals are with Canadians. They green-lit the Rogers-Shaw merger even though the Competition Bureau said that it was a bad deal for consumers. Now the former industry minister gets an executive position at Rogers.
With this Liberal-Rogers merger almost complete, Canadians have a right to know which Liberal insider had influence and was involved in the approval process and when the last time was that the Prime Minister or the industry minister—
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- Apr/24/23 2:49:32 p.m.
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The hon. Minister of Innovation.
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- Apr/24/23 2:49:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let me provide a bit of background for the member. Actually, we denied the transfer of licence from Shaw to Rogers. This government stood up to big telco. We put 21 conditions in place. This has never been done in Canada's history. Does anyone know why? It is because Canadians have asked us to bring prices down. That is what we did. The way to get access to competition is to have a fourth national player.
Canadians know which side we stand on: We stand on their side.
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