44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 22, 2022 02:00PM
- Jun/22/22 2:40:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have good news for the hon. leader of the NDP. We are providing assistance right now in the 13 provinces and territories, right across the country, through the child care agreements. Families with young children will save thousands of dollars every year. We are talking about real dollars to help families cope with the rising cost of living.
We are there for families, children and our country.
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- Jun/22/22 2:40:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, to have the mass murder of 22 of my fellow Nova Scotians and an unborn child be used as a Liberal gun control wedge is disgusting, obscene and an insult to the victims and their families.
The detailed investigative notes of RCMP officers, which will be used in court, state political interference into this mass murder. They were contradicted by the public safety minister and the commissioner of the RCMP.
Who is telling the truth: the RCMP investigators, or the Liberal politicians trying to interfere in the investigation?
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- Jun/22/22 2:41:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like again to direct my hon. colleague to the commissioner's statement, which I believe speaks for itself. The decision as to what information will be publicly disclosed regarding any investigation, as well as all operational matters, lies always and solely with the police.
Let me also take the opportunity to acknowledge that the 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia devastated families and communities, and particularly the families and loved ones of the 22 individuals who lost their lives. We should all keep them in our thoughts.
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- Jun/22/22 2:41:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, many in Nova Scotia are already concerned about the proceedings of the Mass Casualty Commission. Superintendent Campbell testified, “The commissioner said she had promised the Minister of Public Safety and the Prime Minister's Office that the RCMP would release this information.” The commissioner then said that the RCMP did not understand this was tied to pending gun control legislation.
Twenty-two individuals and an unborn baby died in my riding during this tragedy. We believe Superintendent Campbell. Does the minister?
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- Jun/22/22 2:42:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I said, I have never had a conversation with the superintendent, but the commissioner who did released a statement, in which she said:
It is important to note that the sharing of information and briefings with the Minister of Public Safety are necessary, particularly during a mass shooting on Canadian soil.
This is standard procedure. It does not impact the integrity of any ongoing investigation or interfere with the independence of the RCMP. She concluded:
I take the principle of police independence extremely seriously, and it has been and will continue to be fully respected in all interactions.
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- Jun/22/22 2:43:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government has somehow managed to use politics to interfere with a cross-border police investigation. It hoped it would advance its potential gun control legislation. This interference further undermined public confidence in the police investigation as to how the killer managed to obtain and smuggle illegal guns into Canada.
How long after this tragedy did the minister discuss the gun legislation and the resulting order in council, which happened 10 days later, with Commissioner Lucki?
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- Jun/22/22 2:43:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would remind the member that we actually campaigned in 2019 on our promise to Canadians that we would strengthen gun control and ban assault-style rifles. In May 2020, we kept that promise, but the independence of law enforcement operations remains a key principle of our democracy. It is one that our government has always respected and one I have always defended. At no point did our government pressure or interfere with any of the operational decisions of the RCMP.
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- Jun/22/22 2:44:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is becoming increasingly clear why the government wanted to have a secret inquiry on this. In a statement yesterday, RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki did not deny that she promised the Minister of Emergency Preparedness that she would release information surrounding the Nova Scotia mass shooting. People are not in the habit of making promises unless they are asked to do so.
Did the Minister of Emergency Preparedness or his staff, at any time, ask the commissioner to publicly release information regarding the Nova Scotia mass shooting, yes or no?
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- Jun/22/22 2:44:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the very short answer to the member's question is no. Finally, I would point again to the commissioner's statement, in which she said, “I take the principle of police independence extremely seriously, and it has been and will continue to be fully respected in all interactions.” Those are the facts.
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- Jun/22/22 2:45:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has gone from inappropriately interfering with prosecutions to interfering with police investigations. To the Prime Minister, the murder of 22 people is not tragedy but political opportunity.
Superintendent Campbell made it clear: “The commissioner said she had promised the Minister of Public Safety and the Prime Minister's Office that the RCMP would release this information.... The Commissioner then said that we didn't understand, that this was tied to pending gun control legislation”.
Will the NDP-Liberal government allow the public safety committee to fully investigate this shocking revelation?
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- Jun/22/22 2:45:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, again I would point out to the member the statement that was issued by the commissioner of the RCMP, in which she made it crystal clear—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Jun/22/22 2:45:57 p.m.
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Order. Throwing names back and forth from both sides is not going to solve the problem. I am going to ask both sides to take a deep breath, and we will let the minister respond, from the top, please.
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- Jun/22/22 2:46:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to take a breath.
Please let me reiterate that the decision as to how or when the police will release information lies with the police and the police alone. This was not a matter that the government in any way interfered with or extracted any promises for. I remind members of the commissioner's statement, in which she has made equally clear that there was no interference in this case. Those are the facts and that is what I have shared with the House.
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- Jun/22/22 2:47:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, multiple sources from the RCMP are accusing the government of political interference that risks police investigations into a tragic mass shooting. Lia Scanlan, from RCMP communications, is quoted as saying, “The commissioner releases a body count that we don't even have.... It was all political pressure. That is 100% [the] Minister...and the Prime Minister.”
Canadians are not buying the minister's excuse as he desperately tries to cover for the Prime Minister and save both their careers. If the NDP-Liberals have nothing to hide, will they support the committee's investigation of this egregious political interference?
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- Jun/22/22 2:47:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, again, I would advise the members that there was no interference. At no point did our government pressure or interfere in the operational decisions of the RCMP. This has been very clearly articulated in the commissioner's statements from yesterday.
Let me also add that Canadians, including those who were directly impacted by this tragedy, have expressed great concern about how and when the RCMP shared information with the public. That is precisely why we specified in the order of reference for the Mass Casualty Commission that it examine the communications approach taken both during and after the event. That is the work of the Mass Casualty Commission. That is the work we will depend upon.
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- Jun/22/22 2:48:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is time for a performance review.
Faced with a high-risk demonstration by truckers, the government stalled and stalled before finally invoking the Emergencies Act at the request of the police, or so they said.
However, that is not true. The police did not ask for it. Even government ministers, including the Deputy Prime Minister, have said it was a purely political choice.
Is the minister proud of the fact that he simply allowed the Prime Minister—like someone else we know in 1970—to invoke emergency measures against civilians when it was all based on lies?
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- Jun/22/22 2:49:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am very proud of the government's work during the illegal blockades. We made the necessary decisions, including invoking the Emergencies Act, based on advice from the police. That is exactly what the RCMP commissioner confirmed in committee.
We will now work with the joint parliamentary committee during the review process, as well as with Justice Rouleau, to provide as much transparency as possible on this decision, which we will always defend.
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- Jun/22/22 2:49:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, next up in our performance review is the environment and the utterly nonsensical business of carbon sequestration, which experts say does not work, lies about whether the government's targets can be met, the acquisition of Trans Mountain at a loss, indirect subsidies for the oil industry and Bay du Nord.
I am sure the minister was acting in good faith initially, but he ended up selling out. Do the Liberals realize they turned an environmental activist into an oil industry lobbyist?
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- Jun/22/22 2:50:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my hon. colleague that, as Minister of Environment, I never circumvented environmental assessment rules, unlike my colleague, who did so not once, not twice but three times during his tenure as environment minister.
We have a plan. Our plan is working. Pollution levels in Canada are down. We will keep doing what we are doing.
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- Jun/22/22 2:50:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians are shocked by evidence in the Nova Scotia mass shooting inquiry showing that RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki made a promise to the then public safety minister and the PMO to leverage the mass murders to get gun control laws passed. That is the most outrageous attempt to politicize the RCMP in Canadian history. It is another woman leader forced to compromise principles for political expediency.
We are calling for a committee to investigate this political interference. Will the Prime Minister co-operate with this committee investigation?
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