44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 7, 2023 10:00AM
- Feb/7/23 3:00:21 p.m.
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The hon. Minister of Labour.
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- Feb/7/23 3:01:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, a ban on replacement workers would be the most significant progress that we have seen for workers in this country. It is something that unions and labour leaders, for years, have been asking for. We on this side of the House will make sure that we get it right.
Far from inaction, we have just finished thorough consultations with employers and with labour unions, and on this side of the House, on such an important piece of legislation that has been asked for by labour for decades, we will get it right.
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- Feb/7/23 3:01:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Liberal government, business is skyrocketing at the high-priced consulting firm McKinsey & Company. The government has given McKinsey & Company over $100 million in contracts, including $1.4 million from the Canada Infrastructure Bank, an organization that is chalk full of former McKinsey strategists.
Why is the government so hell-bent on giving $100 million to close Liberal insider friends while average Canadians are just struggling to get by?
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- Feb/7/23 3:02:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I explained to the government operations committee yesterday, there has been absolutely no political interference in the award of contracts to McKinsey. We are, of course, looking very carefully to ensure that all processes, rules and policies have been followed by the department, by PSPC. I know that my colleague, the President of the Treasury Board, will also be examining the policies in that department as well.
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- Feb/7/23 3:02:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in other words, the government's approach to the Liberal-McKinsey scandal is to ask the minister to investigate herself. However, we found out yesterday at the government operations committee that she lacks a basic understanding of the record and experience of this company, including its relationship with Purdue Pharma.
Conservatives have said Liberals investigating themselves is not good enough, which is why we need an independent investigation by Canada's Auditor General, an Auditor General, by the way, who has been disparaged by the Minister of National Revenue.
With so many Canadians struggling, will the government support our call today for an independent investigation by the Auditor General into why over $100 million of contracts went to—
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- Feb/7/23 3:03:36 p.m.
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The hon. government House leader.
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- Feb/7/23 3:03:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on this issue, the official opposition has cast all kinds of aspersions that have already been demonstrated to not be true, saying relationships exist that do not exist and, furthermore, holding out that these decisions are made by the government when they know that they are made by the independent, non-partisan public service.
Canada is known around the world for the quality of the contracts that we engage in. We have incredibly rigorous processes that govern these. The reality is that contracts allow government to expand its services without it permanently expanding the number of employees. It is an intelligent way to use resources.
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- Feb/7/23 3:04:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, inflation is through the roof. Housing costs have doubled; families will pay $1,065 more for food this year, and 1.5 million Canadians are visiting food banks. That is where eight years of the Prime Minister's government has gotten us.
What is his government doing? It is giving over $100 million in contracts to a single firm, ignoring all the expertise of the public service.
Can the Prime Minister clearly explain how this spending will help Canadians?
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- Feb/7/23 3:04:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is hard to listen to Conservatives who say they want to help Canadians when, at every opportunity, they vote against measures that will help Canadians.
On this side of the House, we are committed to helping Canadians because we understand that the cost of living is high. That is exactly why we are taking action.
If the Conservatives were sincere in their desire to help Canadians, they could do something very simple, and that is vote with us to help them.
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- Feb/7/23 3:05:32 p.m.
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- Re: Bill S-5
Mr. Speaker, all Canadians are entitled to a healthy environment and safe communities.
Chemicals have grown increasingly prevalent in our daily lives and our economy since the last time the Canadian Environmental Protection Act was reformed.
Canadians want environmental protection legislation that addresses 21st-century problems with 21st-century science.
Would the Minister of Environment and Climate Change tell us why it is important to pass Bill S‑5?
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- Feb/7/23 3:06:05 p.m.
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- Re: Bill S-5
Mr. Speaker, I thank parliamentarians for their hard work on this bill. Ensuring we have the right tools to protect human and environmental health is a key element of our government's plan.
For the first time ever in Canadian law, Bill S‑5 recognizes the right to a healthy environment for all Canadians across the country. This is a big step forward for both health and the environment.
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- Feb/7/23 3:06:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Prime Minister's incompetence, Canadians are out of money. Now we learn of more Liberal ineptitude.
Medicago closed its doors after receiving more than $173 million of Canadian taxpayer money to develop vaccines. The Liberals prepurchased $600 million of these vaccines that have yet to be produced or delivered. This week government officials said that Canadians are on the hook to pay for these vaccines.
Why is the Prime Minister paying millions of dollars of taxpayer money to a foreign company for vaccines we did not receive?
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- Feb/7/23 3:07:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I respect the member a lot. He is my critic. However, this is not the time for recrimination. This is the time for solutions. That is exactly what we are doing on this side of the House.
Yesterday, I spoke with the CEO of Mitsubishi Chemical in Japan. We all understand, in the House, what we should care about is preserving jobs, preserving the plant in Quebec City and making sure we keep the technology. That is exactly what we are doing. We are going to fight for the workers, because we know this is a technology that could save lives in the future.
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- Feb/7/23 3:07:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Prime Minister, the cupboards are bare.
While Canadians struggle to feed their families and pay their mortgages, the Liberals continue to invest in friends and ghost companies, including $120 million in contracts to Liberal insiders at McKinsey, and that number just keeps rising. Incredibly, experts say their so-called services were not even needed. However, wait, there is more. There was $2 billion from the finance minister to invest in a company that does not even exist.
When will the Prime Minister take accountability, stop this waste and get results for taxpayers?
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- Feb/7/23 3:08:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I iterated previously in the House, the work that we engage in and the decisions that are made to engage in those contracts are an independent process. They are run by the public service. They allow the public service to expand their impact without permanently expanding the number of employees.
That public service has been there for Canadians through an incredibly difficult time in the pandemic to make sure that we delivered critical services to Canadians. What these contracts allowed the public service to do was to expand their impact without permanently expanding the number of employees.
There are many wild accusations made by the other side. Already, many of them have been disproved. They have the opportunity in committee to be able to explore these issues and whatever other conspiracies they wish—
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- Feb/7/23 3:09:21 p.m.
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The hon. member for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles.
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- Feb/7/23 3:09:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have been trying, since 2017, to make this Prime Minister understand that he needs to renegotiate the safe third country agreement with the Americans to resolve the situation at Roxham Road. Instead of dealing with the issue, he is letting it deteriorate.
Now we have learned that New York City is giving out free bus tickets to send migrants north, and they are crossing right at Roxham Road into Canada.
Why will the Prime Minister not admit his mistake and why will he not close Roxham Road so that we can help the people who are waiting to legally enter the country and whose applications are mired in red tape at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada?
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- Feb/7/23 3:10:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I can assure the hon. member that we are taking the issue very seriously, and we are working to verify the claims that were reported in the Post just a few days ago.
The reality is that a long-term solution is being negotiated with the United States through the modernization of the safe third country agreement. We are working very closely with our provincial counterparts in the meantime to ensure, as they work to support some of the vulnerable people who have made their way into communities, that their basic needs are being met.
Speaking of their needs being met, I would point out to the hon. member that it is one of his colleagues on that side of the House who refused service to a vulnerable person on the basis that they sought asylum in Canada in an irregular way. We need to treat these issues with compassion at all moments, and we will continue to do so on this side of the House.
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- Feb/7/23 3:10:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, since yesterday we have had such devastating news from Syria and Turkey. As we have heard in the House today and across the country, our thoughts and hearts are with everyone affected by these major earthquakes and who have sustained such unendurable loss.
In this difficult time, countries around the world are mobilizing to provide urgent support following this great catastrophe. Could the Minister of International Development tell all Canadians more about what our government is doing to support those people affected by these earthquakes?
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- Feb/7/23 3:11:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government stands ready to support those affected by these devastating earthquakes. This is why today I authorized an initial emergency humanitarian response of $10 million to support the people of Turkey and Syria. This is in addition to the $50 million in funding that we provided for disaster response in Syria, and our international partners on the ground have already initiated emergency response activities. We are also conducting need assessments because we will be doing more.
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