44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 20, 2023 11:00AM
- Mar/20/23 2:20:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I wish everyone a happy International Day of Happiness, a happy spring and, most of all, a happy 36th International Day of La Francophonie.
The French language is part of our history. The language of Molière unites us and makes us unique. It allows us to connect with francophone communities in Canada and around the world. It is a language with a thousand accents that offers an invaluable social, cultural and economic advantage to those who master it.
We should be proud that French is one of our country's official languages. We should not take it for granted. We should all promote French and we should all continue to work to protect French. As Gilles Vigneault says, “La Francophonie is a vast nation without borders. It is the nation of the French language. It is an inner nation. It is the invisible, spiritual, mental, moral nation within us all”.
Let us keep taking care of our collective heritage, which sets us apart in the English-speaking ocean of North America, and keep celebrating it. Let us be proud of French.
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- Mar/20/23 2:21:59 p.m.
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Following discussions among representatives of all parties in the House, I understand there is an agreement to observe a moment of silence in honour of the fallen police officers in Edmonton, Alberta.
I invite hon. members to rise.
[A moment of silence observed]
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- Mar/20/23 2:23:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today, I am announcing that the Conservative Party is willing to let all its staff testify about Beijing's interference. The members of the Liberal team, a party that received help from Beijing, should do exactly the same thing.
Katie Telford was in charge of the Prime Minister's leadership campaign and headed several campaigns for the Liberal Party during two elections that we know were subject to interference.
Will the NDP leader let her testify, yes or no?
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- Mar/20/23 2:24:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the opposition leader knows very well that we take foreign interference very seriously. That is why, in 2015, we put in place a number of measures that did not exist when the opposition leader was the minister responsible in previous years. We further strengthened the measures to address foreign interference.
Last week, we announced the appointment of the Right Hon. David Johnston as an independent special rapporteur. We will continue to take this situation very seriously.
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- Mar/20/23 2:24:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we now know, from leaked intelligence reports, that the Liberal Party received help in multiple elections from the Communist government in Beijing, which wanted to keep the Prime Minister in place. We know that his top campaign officials, such as Katie Telford, would have been aware of this help, and we need to know exactly what she knew and what the Prime Minister knew. Only she can answer these questions, but only the leader of the NDP will decide. He has the deciding vote.
The question is this: Will he help his boss, the Prime Minister, cover up, or will he vote for the Prime Minister's chief of staff to testify? Which is it?
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- Mar/20/23 2:25:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition knows very well that our government has always been very transparent with Canadians in the efforts we have made to counter foreign interference in our democratic institutions. It is something the Conservatives can claim to have done nothing about.
The foreign affairs minister and I were before the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs last week. We were happy to answer questions. The Prime Minister took a very important step last week in announcing the Right Hon. David Johnston as an independent special rapporteur, and we look forward to implementing his recommendations on what more can be done.
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- Mar/20/23 2:26:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the question was for the NDP leader. I do not know, but if he is part of the government, he should be able to get up to answer questions. I do not know why he is hiding behind his Liberal bosses again. His job is to work for the people, not to work for the Prime Minister, but now we are hearing rumours, and they are unconfirmed, that he is going to help the Liberals cover up this scandal by blocking the Prime Minister's chief of staff from testifying about what she knew about Beijing's assistance to the Liberal Party in multiple elections.
Will the NDP leader stand up to answer the question? Will he help the Prime Minister cover up, or will he stand up for the truth?
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- Mar/20/23 2:26:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, election interference is something that we have taken seriously on this side of the House since we first got elected in 2015. Unlike the members opposite, when the Leader of the Opposition was in charge of democratic institutions, he stood idly by and did nothing. For 10 years that is what that government did.
Since we were elected in 2015, we have been seized with this issue. We have made election security a priority. We have put in oversight processes. This is an issue that is important to Canadians, and it is important to us on this side of the House.
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- Mar/20/23 2:27:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of this Prime Minister, waiting lists for medical treatment have doubled to 26 weeks. Some 6,000 Canadians do not have family doctors, and we rank 26th among OECD countries in terms of physicians per capita. We have 10,000 immigrants and other Canadians trained abroad who are qualified physicians.
When will the Prime Minister work with the provinces to establish a test and a licence so that we can tap into the pool of all those brilliant doctors?
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- Mar/20/23 2:28:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to remind my hon. colleague that on February 7, 2023, we announced a total investment of $198 billion to help Canadians access better health care. In addition, as part of the agreement with all the provinces and territories, everyone agreed to boost and facilitate the recognition of skills acquired here at home or abroad.
I am very pleased that my colleague from the opposition is also interested in this issue.
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- Mar/20/23 2:28:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it does not matter how much money we spend. As long as we are banning 19,000 foreign-trained doctors and 34,000 foreign-trained nurses from entering into the profession, we will not have enough people delivering the service.
We have had a national testing standard for the trades for 70 years in this country, but nothing similar exists in the professions. There is the Red Seal program for the trades. We should have a blue seal for the professions. It should be merit based, based on what people prove they can do in a national test, and it should allow them to practise across the country. Will the Prime Minister get up to make it happen?
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- Mar/20/23 2:29:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is happening. All provinces have now sent a letter, in principle committing to implementing a national credential recognition. It is happening in Atlantic Canada. It is happening in Ontario, and it is happening in British Columbia, with the leadership of this government.
Obviously, the words and support from the opposition leader also matter, but more importantly, the actions on the part of the government matter very much.
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- Mar/20/23 2:30:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, despite the fact that the opposition parties have unanimously called for a public inquiry, and despite the fact that the public is calling for one too, the Prime Minister is being stubborn and has unilaterally appointed a special rapporteur who is anything but independent. The public's trust in the electoral system is at stake.
It seems to me that the primary duty of a prime minister is to ensure that democracy is healthy.
Can the Prime Minister assume his responsibilities, revoke the appointment of the special rapporteur and launch an independent public inquiry?
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- Mar/20/23 2:30:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we obviously share the sentiments of our hon. colleague about the importance of protecting democracy and democratic institutions, as well as maintaining and strengthening the trust Canadians have in those institutions.
That is precisely what we did last week when we asked the Right Hon. David Johnston to act as an independent special rapporteur, to look at the full suite of measures that we have put in place since we formed government and to make public recommendations as to the next steps. We will obviously follow those recommendations.
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- Mar/20/23 2:31:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, using “Johnston” and “independent” in the same sentence does not work.
We are not blaming Mr. Johnston for being a member of the Trudeau foundation. We are not blaming him for having a cottage next door to the Prime Minister's. We are not blaming him for being a close friend of the family. We are not even blaming him for saying that he felt at home when he went on a trip to China.
We are not blaming Mr. Johnston for anything. However, for the Prime Minister to select Mr. Johnston out of the 38 million people he had to choose from, he must be doing it on purpose. He must enjoy being his own worst enemy.
Can the Prime Minister help his friend out of this mess and do as everyone is asking and immediately set up an independent public commission of inquiry?
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- Mar/20/23 2:32:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think that all Canadians recognize Mr. Johnston's important contributions in a number of areas. Not only did he serve as governor general of Canada, but he was also the dean of a university law school. He is an eminent Canadian. He will work independently to make recommendations, look at all of the measures that we implemented as a government and make suggestions as to how we can continue to improve.
I think that my hon. colleague should recognize this important act on the part of Mr. Johnston.
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- Mar/20/23 2:33:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, people are wondering why it is taking so long for the Prime Minister to launch a public and independent inquiry into allegations of foreign interference. Such suspicions are serious and deserve a serious response.
It is all fine and well to appoint a rapporteur, but it will mean nothing if his mandate does not include a public and independent inquiry to get to the bottom of things. That is essential to getting answers and reassuring people about our electoral system.
Will the Prime Minister mandate his rapporteur to hold a public, independent and transparent inquiry on foreign interference?
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- Mar/20/23 2:33:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government has certainly taken the issue of foreign interference seriously. That was far from being the case before we formed government in 2015.
We introduced a series of measures, including the creation, under the act, of an all-party committee that will review and examine all these national security concerns.
The Right Hon. David Johnston will go even further. He will review the measures currently in place, which we consider robust and which have been publicly described as such. We will follow Mr. Johnston's recommendations.
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- Mar/20/23 2:35:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, child care workers are leaving the sector and provinces are not recruiting enough staff, making it tougher for parents to find spaces. Why is this? It is because of inadequate benefits, the working conditions and wages that do not cover the bills. This is not a worker shortage. It is a wage shortage, a respect shortage and a dignity shortage.
The Liberals promised personal support workers at least $25 an hour. Will the minister make the same commitment for child care workers today?
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- Mar/20/23 2:35:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her work and her support of our important work on child care.
In the Canada-wide agreement we have signed with all provinces and territories, the provinces and territories have committed to ensuring that they are able to recruit and retain ECEs. We know that ECEs and child care workers form the backbone of our child care system. Within those agreements, they can use some of that money to help with wage increases. In fact, we have seen that in many provinces and territories across the country. We will continue to work with PTs to make sure that we are supporting our ECEs right across the country.
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