Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): At least we agree that the CBC is the propaganda arm of the government. Thank you for clarifying that. I hope the CBC takes note.

Leader, I don’t believe the Prime Minister has ever seen a credit card bill in his life. He certainly doesn’t know how high interest rates can be. I’m sure he didn’t use his credit card when he was in Jamaica. If he did, he would not have suggested that Canadians rack up more credit card debt, as he did in a recent town hall in Moncton. As the prime minister who has added more debt than any other prime minister, Prime Minister Trudeau is in no position to tell Canadians how to manage their daily finances responsibly. He has never had to worry about his own personal finances, and that thinking applies to how he runs our country.

Leader, according to last month’s budget, the Trudeau government has no path to balance, ever. At least credit card companies tell consumers how long it will take for us to pay off our debt. Why won’t the Prime Minister do the same?

Senator Plett: I find that strange: “Don’t ask me the question; ask somebody else.”

Every day, it seems there are new revelations about foreign interference by Beijing and what the Prime Minister knew. The Prime Minister has always said there is a wall between him and the Trudeau Foundation. Last week, La Presse reported that one of the senior staffers in the Prime Minister’s Office reached out to the Trudeau Foundation in November 2016 regarding the “Chinese donation.” That’s a pretty thin wall, leader. A former board member told La Presse last week that the so-called political polarization reason the foundation and the Prime Minister gave for the resignations was — wait for this — “a bunch of lies.”

Leader, Canadians deserve the truth. There has to be a public inquiry. Clearly, the Prime Minister doesn’t agree or he would have called one by now.

But what excuse does his cabinet have? Why can’t they see that a full public inquiry is the only right thing to do at this point? Finally, leader, what do you call someone who spews a bunch of lies? What kind of language would you consider that to be?

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Senator Gold, last week, the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation’s entire board of directors, along with its president and CEO, resigned in the aftermath of a $200,000 gift from the Communist Party in Beijing. When asked about the resignations last Tuesday, Senator Gold, the Prime Minister said, “It’s a foundation in my father’s name that I have no direct or indirect connection with.”

This is a ludicrous statement from Prime Minister Trudeau. His government can appoint members to the foundation, as can his family. The National Post reported that the foundation used his name in marketing materials as late as September 2014 — a year and a half after he became the leader of the Liberals. His brother is directly involved in the foundation and the $200,000 gift.

Leader, why does the Prime Minister continue to claim that there is no connection when this is absolutely not the case?