44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 25, 2023 10:00AM
- Apr/25/23 2:37:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, an open letter does not cut it. We need a negotiated agreement to end this strike. The Prime Minister had two years to come to a negotiated agreement, and he failed. As a result, we have seniors who are mailing in their tax returns and do not know when they are going to get their refunds. We have Canadians who are calling the CRA, but no one is picking up the phone to answer the most basic of questions.
Will the Prime Minister show some compassion for Canadians, who deserve basic services, and end this strike?
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- Apr/25/23 2:38:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, unlike the Conservatives, we respect the right to collective bargaining and we respect the right to strike.
We also respect Canadians, and that is why, unlike the Conservatives, we brought in the Canada child benefit, which has helped lift 450,000 children out of poverty. Unlike the Conservatives, we increased the guaranteed income supplement, which has helped lift thousands of seniors out of poverty.
We are going to get a good deal at the negotiating table, because that is where they happen. We respect Canadians, we respect public servants and we are going to make sure we get a good deal for both the public service and Canadians.
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- Apr/25/23 2:38:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the public service strike is another example of Liberal incompetence.
The Minister of National Revenue is affected very directly by the federal public service strike. The revenue minister does not seemly overly concerned about tax season, which ends on May 1.
Can the minister assure us that Canadian taxpayers will receive their tax refunds quickly?
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- Apr/25/23 2:39:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I can say that I have nothing to learn from the Conservatives when it comes to tax season.
This is the best tax season we have had since 2015. Fully 95% of tax returns are being filed electronically, and people receive their refunds just a few days later.
We are doing excellent work. I want to thank all CRA employees for all the work they did during the pandemic and since the beginning of tax season.
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- Apr/25/23 2:39:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the minister's answer seems like a promise worthy of Pinocchio. The minister should check if her nose is growing.
Canadians are right to worry about the services being delivered by this government. Many departments are falling behind, and wait times are endless. We are fed up with Liberal incompetence. When will the government take responsibility and send Canadians their tax refunds?
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- Apr/25/23 2:40:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let me reassure my colleague that I have no problem with my nose. My nose is just fine.
That said, restoring and maintaining a respectful relationship with the public service is an ongoing commitment for our government. We recognize the important role that employees play in delivering—
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- Apr/25/23 2:40:59 p.m.
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Order.
I apologize for interrupting the minister, but I can barely hear her answer, so I will ask everyone to breathe. Then, we will listen to the minister's answer. I would like to hear everything she says and I am going to ask her to start her intervention from the beginning.
The Minister of National Revenue.
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- Apr/25/23 2:41:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I was saying, I would like to reassure my colleague: My nose is just fine.
Restoring and maintaining a respectful relationship with the public service of Canada is an ongoing commitment for our government. We recognize the important role that employees play in the delivery of services to taxpayers.
We will respect the collective bargaining process and we will not be commenting on negotiations which are in progress.
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- Apr/25/23 2:41:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, to paraphrase what Isabelle Hachey said in La Presse this morning, the Trudeau Foundation is a catalogue of friends of the Liberal Party of Canada.
This catalogue is not subject to the legislation governing political party financing. What a great way for a foreign power to contribute to this catalogue of friends of the Liberal Party, when the Liberal Party is in power. That is exactly what China did.
Why does this government refuse to recognize that the only reason the Chinese authorities would donate to the Trudeau Foundation is to curry favour with the Prime Minister?
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- Apr/25/23 2:42:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I served as executive director at the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. That is a foundation.
For any type of foundation, the rules in Canada are incredibly strict so as to ensure that all foundations are independent and free from any influence. That is the case here.
The foundation that the member opposite attacked is a foundation that provides scholarships to students. It is an independent foundation.
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- Apr/25/23 2:43:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are not about to be lectured on independence.
The connection between the Liberals and the Trudeau Foundation is so obvious that even its alumni are now embarrassed to be associated with it.
It is obvious, given that we know that the foundation was invited to a meeting at the Prime Minister's building. It is obvious, given that we know that the PMO asks about the donations the foundation receives.
It was through this foundation that the Prime Minister found his rapporteur on Chinese interference. Everyone knows that it will be impossible to get to the bottom of this interference when someone from the foundation that itself benefited from said interference is in charge of the investigation. Everyone knows that but the Liberals.
What do they not understand?
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- Apr/25/23 2:43:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, maybe they will understand what Chantal Hébert said. She said that she has been in the building three times for round tables organized by the Clerk of the Privy Council with deputy ministers. In all those years, she has never met the current Prime Minister.
She said that it was entirely possible that the Prime Minister did not even know about this meeting with deputy ministers, because it was none of his business; it was not his political staff.
I wonder if the Bloc thinks Chantal Hébert is part of the conspiracy too.
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- Apr/25/23 2:44:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, according to La Presse, 30 people have fled the Trudeau Foundation over the past two weeks. The newspaper quotes one such individual who said, “I feel like someone pulled a fast one on me, because, ultimately, it is not true that it is non-partisan”.
The Trudeau Foundation is a nest of Liberals, and that is exactly why China has been trying to get closer to them since the election of this Liberal government. It is clear, then, that anyone from the Trudeau Foundation is disqualified from investigating Chinese interference.
When will there be a public and independent commission of inquiry?
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- Apr/25/23 2:45:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canada has the strictest and strongest rules to protect the independence of charities of any kind.
It is unacceptable to attack an independent foundation which has no ties with the Prime Minister. This foundation is responsible for student grants to ensure that future generations have the funds they need to become the future leaders of our country.
It is not acceptable to attack an independent charity like that.
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- Apr/25/23 2:46:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, last year, Canadians stood in line for days to get their passports. Now the minister is asking them not to apply for a new passport and especially not to apply for a passport renewal.
Never in modern history has the government of a G7 nation asked such a thing of its citizens. It is sad and embarrassing. The Prime Minister has hiked the cost of the public service by 50%, but he is failing at managing services to the public.
When will the Prime Minister realize that it is crisis management time and he must resolve it now?
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- Apr/25/23 2:46:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate that the Conservatives fail to understand the importance of being honest with Canadians. This is what I am doing now, being honest with Canadians about the passport situation during the general strike.
It is equally unfortunate that the Conservatives are unable to grasp our duty to respect the right to strike. We have to respect public service workers, just as we have to respect Canadians.
That is why we are at the bargaining table to negotiate this agreement with the public service. We are going to reach an agreement that is good for public servants and good for the public.
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- Apr/25/23 2:47:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, even though public service spending has increased by 53%, we find ourselves in the grip of the biggest federal public service strike in history because of the Prime Minister's epic incompetence. Canadians are being denied the services they pay for and deserve. The solution, according a Liberal cabinet minister yesterday, was that they not apply for passports anymore. Can members believe that?
When will the government get the job done and restore services for all Canadians?
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- Apr/25/23 2:47:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, unlike the Conservatives, I am not going to spin the situation for Canadians; I am going to be straight and honest with them. The law dictates what is an essential service, and passports are not considered essential under the law. I am not going to make things up; I am going to be straight with Canadians. When it comes to essential services like CPP, OAS, GIS, employment insurance, social insurance numbers, and filing taxes, these are all services that continue to be provided because they are considered to be essential.
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- Apr/25/23 2:48:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let us be straight with Canadians. It takes a special level of incompetence to have increased spending of $21 billion on bureaucracy and an additional $22 billion on outside consultants and still end up with the largest federal public service strike in history.
Despite all of those billions of dollars being spent, Canadians still have no proposals, no plan and no passports. How much will the residents of northern B.C. have to pay to bring an end to the strike caused by the Prime Minister?
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- Apr/25/23 2:49:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if we are going to get into the record that members on either side of this House have when it comes to workers' rights, maybe we could talk about it.
I look at certain members in this House who were in government at one point of time. They now profess to be a party that represents workers. They just do not like the part where they may gather together, the collective part, the part where they actually get to bargain for free and fair wages.
For this side of the House I will say that we believe in the collective bargaining process. We will be there until the end. We will reach a fair and reasonable deal for taxpayers as well.
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