44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 1, 2024 02:00PM
- May/1/24 3:14:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition is mixing different factors that are facing Canadians. Mortgages are high for Canadian families, and therefore the Canadian government is choosing to invest in measures that are going to support Canadian families. I talked to a family from Burlington who actually saw their mortgage payments go up because of the rise in global interest rates, while at the same time their child care fees were cut by larger amounts because of investments this government made. We are going to continue to be there for Canadians while the Conservative leader wants cuts.
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- May/1/24 3:15:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, inflation and higher interest rates are the costs Canadians pay for the spending that the Prime Minister told them was free. It is not free. Nothing is free. Every dollar he spends comes out of the pockets of Canadians directly through taxes or indirectly through inflation and interest rates. Now he wants to do another $300 billion of binge borrowing.
Will he put aside that radical scheme and, instead, accept my common-sense plan to fix the budget with a dollar-for-dollar law so we can bring down interest rates and inflation for Canadians?
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- May/1/24 3:16:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have been there to invest for Canadians responsibly. We still have one of the top AAA-rated economies in the world. Our fiscal plan is sustainable and responsible. However, the Conservative leader still wants to make cuts to programs, cuts to our military, cuts to the initiatives that are helping Canadians across the country.
The things that we are doing are helping Canadians grow for the future in a responsible way, and that is why we are seeing inflation come down, and interest rates will be coming down, I am sure, in the coming months.
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- May/1/24 3:16:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government has a responsibility to tackle misinformation and disinformation in Canada. Furthermore, the government has a responsibility to tackle hate and discrimination across Canada, and it is shameful that the Leader of the Opposition posed for photos with extremists who push hateful rhetoric.
Can the Prime Minister please tell the House how the government is taking these matters seriously?
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- May/1/24 3:17:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians have every right to be worried about the opposition leader's refusal, including multiple times during this question period, to condemn violent extremism, but they should not be surprised. Over his 19 years in politics, he showed Canadians time and time again that he will do or say anything to get elected. That includes pandering to extremists one day and pretending to stand with the very vulnerable communities those extremist groups target the next. Not only is this reckless; this is a failure of leadership.
Canadians deserve better. Canadians deserve leaders who will stand up for them every step of the way.
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- May/1/24 3:18:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians with disabilities have been ignored by Liberals and Conservatives for decades. The result is that they can no longer keep up with the cost of living, and the Liberal solution is $200 a month. That is not even enough for groceries. Meanwhile, Canada's richest CEOs are still receiving $60 billion in corporate handouts started by the Conservatives. With the Liberals and the Conservatives, Canada's ultrawealthy get richer and people with disabilities get crumbs.
Why has the Prime Minister abandoned Canadians living with disabilities?
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- May/1/24 3:18:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Canada disability benefit is a monumental step in our strong and unwavering commitment to creating a more inclusive and fairer Canada. We are now moving forward with the first step of the disability benefit, with a cost of over $6 billion over the coming years. It will put hundreds of dollars a month, tax-free, in the pockets of the most vulnerable persons with disabilities.
We are continuing to commit to creating a better, fairer country for generations to come.
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- May/1/24 3:19:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, more than 20 economic organizations across the country have raised red flags about the major risks involved in the upcoming deployment of the new Canada Border Services Agency assessment and revenue management software on May 13.
After the financial and human disasters surrounding the implementation of Phoenix and the ArriveCAN app, a third failure would be catastrophic and would once again cost millions in taxpayer dollars.
Can the Prime Minister tell us whether his government intends to postpone the implementation date? What does he plan to do to avert another multi-million dollar IT fiasco?
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- May/1/24 3:20:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are very aware of the concerns of the various groups, the stakeholders in this network and the Canada Border Services Agency. We are working diligently to make sure the project succeeds and to implement better software. We know that digitization will help improve our international trade and border crossings in terms of security, efficiency and speed. We will continue to move forward, but we will do so carefully and mindful of the risks, while also recognizing the positive aspects of the new software.
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- May/1/24 3:20:52 p.m.
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Colleagues, I indicated that I would come back to an issue that came up in terms of a question earlier today that did not deal with the business of the administration of government. I intervened in another question that I thought was going in that direction, but it seems that a correction was made. I want to make it clear to colleagues that the Chair and the chair occupants have been discussing this issue.
I think it is very important that all questions asked in the House respect our regulations and procedures and that they are relevant to the business of the administration of government. I refer members to a decision that the Chair made last year on November 20. Of course, there have been previous decisions made by former Speakers that were along the same lines.
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It being 3:21 p.m., the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion to concur in the ninth report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage concerning the extension of time to consider Bill C-316, an act to amend the Department of Canadian Heritage Act with regard to the court challenges program.
Call in the members.
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The House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion at second reading stage of Bill C-351 under Private Members' Business.
Before the Clerk announced the results of the vote:
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- May/1/24 3:36:46 p.m.
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I declare the motion carried.
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- May/1/24 3:49:46 p.m.
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I thank the hon. member for raising this point.
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- May/1/24 3:49:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order.
Unfortunately, the member for London West's photo did not show up, so I do not believe her vote can be counted at this time.
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- May/1/24 3:49:59 p.m.
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I declare the motion lost.
I wish to inform the House that, because of the deferred recorded divisions, Government Orders will be extended by 25 minutes.
The hon. member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan is rising on a question of privilege.
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- May/1/24 3:50:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on Monday I rose on a question of privilege related to foreign interference. I have come across—
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- May/1/24 3:50:31 p.m.
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The hon. member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan is rising on a point of order. The Chair is having difficulty hearing the member. I will ask all members to please carry their conversations out into the lobbies.
The hon. member as the floor.
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- May/1/24 3:50:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on Monday I rose on a question of privilege related to foreign interference. I have come across some important additional information that I believe is critical to share with you and with the House as you undertake your considerations and prepare to make a ruling.
Stories have appeared in multiple media outlets quoting a person in your office, Mathieu Gravel, director of outreach and media relations. The statement includes the following:
The House of Commons' administration investigates all incidents brought to its attention by security partners. In this case, it determined that the risk-mitigation measures in place had successfully prevented any attack.
There were no cybersecurity impacts to any members or their communications....
I do want to observe that it is highly unusual for a media spokesperson of the Speaker's office to speak to the media about a question of privilege, when a ruling has not been made. When no follow-up inquiries have been made with members affected, it feels a bit like a judge sending a statement to members of the media in the middle of deliberations.
However, as you deliberate, I think it is important to take note of one additional piece of information.
The cyber-attack against me from APT31 did not target my parliamentary email account. While in many cases parliamentary accounts were targeted, in my case the cyber-attack targeted my personal non-parliamentary account. I have no idea how APT31 came to access my personal non-parliamentary account, because it is not publicly available.
I was attacked at my personal account because of my parliamentary activities in order to access information about and disrupt my parliamentary activities.
Fundamentally, the government has a responsibility to inform members of threats to them by foreign powers. It has said it would share such information, and it has not. If it is true that House of Commons IT blocked the attack, it remains true that House of Commons IT is not a security agency and is not itself responsible for informing parliamentarians of threats against them. Rather, it is the responsibility of the government to inform parliamentarians of threats against them.
Parliamentarians still need to know about targeted threats against them, even when those threats do not succeed. If someone tries to hurt me but their attempts are thwarted, I would still like to know I have been targeted in order to plan to protect myself going forward. Moreover, your office is not at all able to say that these attacks were thwarted, because they evidently targeted members on both parliamentary and non-parliamentary emails.
We need to know so that we can take action to protect ourselves in all places and all situations. House of Commons IT, which is not an intelligence agency, clearly does not have eyes on cyber-attacks against us through personal accounts and does not have the same responsibilities as the Government of Canada.
Parliamentarians were under attack. The government now admits that it knew. The government did not tell us, and the government cannot say if the attack was successful or not.
Mr. Speaker, I am available to provide you with additional information as required so that your ruling, and any subsequent comments to the media, are informed by all of the relevant facts.
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- May/1/24 3:53:43 p.m.
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I thank the hon. member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, and I do invite him to share all information he would judge important for the Speaker to know before making a ruling on a prima facie case of privilege.
I now recognize the hon. member for Lethbridge, who has given notice of a question of privilege.
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