Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, as our colleague correctly pointed out, the government is committed to expanding its partnerships around the world, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region. Canada and Taiwan enjoy strong economic ties and a close relationship. While remaining consistent with our long-standing one China policy, we will continue to advance Canada's interests by diversifying our trade and strengthening …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, we are obviously very pleased with our colleague's offer to work with the government to improve Canada's economy, to ensure that we are a country that attracts historic investments from abroad and from within Canada in order to build a stronger, more resilient economy and to create jobs in all trades across Canada. I look forward to working with our hon. colleague and urge him to supp…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, perhaps I will be allowed to add my voice to other colleagues and say how happy I am to see former prime minister Stephen Harper in Ottawa today. I had the privilege of serving in the House when Mr. Harper was Prime Minister of Canada for nine years, and it is a privilege to see him in good health and smiling in Ottawa today. With respect to supporting the auto industry, I also rememb…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, our colleague knows very well that the government was elected to build a Canadian economy that is more resilient, and the government was elected to get major projects done. That is exactly what the Prime Minister and my colleagues have done. Maybe the member missed the announcement with the Premier of Ontario on important investments, for example, in nuclear energy in Darlington. Perh…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I am glad our colleague referenced the important report from the International Monetary Fund, which confirms exactly what the Prime Minister and the government have been saying for many months: Working with provinces to remove interprovincial trade barriers is one of the most significant things we can do to grow the Canadian economy, so I want to thank the Conservatives for having sup…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by wishing colleagues a happy new year, particularly our friend from Manitoba who just asked the question. I want to thank the Conservative Party for its support last June in passing federal legislation in the House that did exactly that. It eliminated all federal barriers to interprovincial trade. Now the challenge is to work with our partners in the provinces. The go…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, again, on this side of the House, I remember being an opposition member of Parliament. I was very impressed with some of the quality people from Bay Street whom then prime minister Harper recruited to serve as chief of staff in his office, for example. It was not a scandal then that people with business experience could serve in the government. We are proud that this government and th…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, our colleague is lucky. After four tries, his question was deemed in order. However, he is having some difficulty with the facts. He talks about people who are not in government and public policies that are not government policies. He knows full well that our government supports supply management and that we will not negotiate this issue with the Americans under any circumstances. Des…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House we want to thank our friend for his excellent conspiracy theory work. We think only the Conservatives would be shocked that quality women and men with experience in the private sector would step forward to work with a government that is going to build Canada strong and get major projects done. We are proud of the people who want to come forward and serve Cana…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, once again, our colleague from Quebec is giving me an opportunity to brief him. Just yesterday evening, I participated in an activity put on by the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec. I had the opportunity to speak with the vice-president of the Producteurs de lait du Québec, and we obviously talked about supply management. Yesterday evening, in Montreal, I was able to reas…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, as fond as I am of my colleague from Quebec, I see that he is asking the same question his leader asked a few moments ago with a view to getting a sound bite played on Le Téléjournal this evening at 6 p.m. or later with Ms. Galipeau. He knows full well that the public policies he is referring to have never been public policies of the Liberal government and will never be public policie…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, allow me to echo my colleague in thanking Ms. Hillman for her service to Canada. I had the privilege of working very closely with Kristen over the past few months. I am very grateful for her friendship and for what she has done for Canada. I understand that the Leader of the Opposition is trying to extrapolate a series of things that are not true. He knows full well that the policies …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition knows full well that Canadians did not trust his judgment when it came to standing up to President Trump and not signing an agreement that was in the interests of the United States. What did we do? We worked with the United States to find an agreement that will be in the interests of Canadian industries and workers. At the same time, we are taking more mea…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I know it is an inconvenient truth for the Leader of the Opposition that Canada, right now today, has the best deal of any trading partner of the United States, but do members know what? It is not good enough for Canadian workers and it is not good enough for Canadian businesses. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, who would have signed any bad deal put in front of him, the Prime Min…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I thank our colleague from Bourassa for his question. We are living in a time of transformation. We are laying the groundwork for some of the most significant investments made in Canada since the Second World War. Canadians elected an ambitious government, a government that would take action to build a strong and resilient economy. In just a few moments, the House of Commons will be h…
Read full speech →Oral questions
Mr. Speaker, just because the Leader of the Opposition keeps asserting the same fake premise, it does not make it real. What is real is that the Government of Canada can control certain things. We can control the investments we make in partnership with Canadian businesses and Canadian workers to build a strong economy here. We can work with provinces and territories, as we are proud to do, to defe…
Read full speech →Oral questions
Mr. Speaker, our colleague knows full well that our government is always ready to sit down and work with the American government, with the secretaries in Mr. Trump's administration, to negotiate an agreement that serves the interests of Canadian industries and Canadian workers. We are always available. The Prime Minister has repeated this. In the meantime, we are not going to wait around for that …
Read full speech →Oral questions
Mr. Speaker, what are we going to say to investors who see Canada's economy in a positive light? What are we going to say to Canadian workers who are obviously worried about the tariffs? We are going to tell them that the government is here to support them, that we have a series of measures for investing in major projects in Canada. We are going to tell them that we support the industries being im…
Read full speech →Oral questions
Mr. Speaker, again, I can understand the Leader of the Opposition may be frustrated for a whole series of reasons. He has a caucus meeting coming up this week. He may be very concerned about that as well. What I can tell the Leader of the Opposition, and all colleagues in the House, is that the Prime Minister is committed to doing the difficult, serious work necessary to build the strongest econom…
Read full speech →Oral questions
Mr. Speaker, as I said a moment ago, our government is committed to working with all partners in our federation, to working with premiers in every part of the country, to working with union leaders and business leaders to support the Canadian economy and Canadian workers, and to negotiating with the Americans for a deal that is in the interests of Canada. That has been the government's position fr…
Read full speech →Oral questions
Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition knows full well that the government will not accept just any deal. We have been clear that we will negotiate an agreement with the U.S. government that is in the interests of Canadian workers and the Canadian economy. Canadians know very well that the Leader of the Opposition would have accepted any old deal. That is not Canada's position. We are going to …
Read full speech →Oral questions
Mr. Speaker, I can imagine the frustration the Leader of the Opposition feels when he sees a Prime Minister elected to take this serious economic and sovereignty challenge with all of the seriousness it deserves. This is why Canadians thought the Leader of the Opposition was not up to that task. This is why Canadians chose a Prime Minister who takes serious issues seriously, who will defend Canadi…
Read full speech →Oral questions
Mr. Speaker, I will repeat the answer I just gave to the Leader of the Opposition in French because he asked the same question in English. Our government was elected to negotiate an agreement with the United States that is in the interests of Canadian workers and Canadian industries. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, we are not going to sign whatever agreement the Americans might suggest. We ar…
Read full speech →Oral questions
Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to doing the serious work necessary to get a deal with the United States and to build a strong, resilient Canadian economy. This was the commitment we made to Canadians in the election. This was an election the Leader of the Opposition lost because people did not believe he would be serious in either supporting Canadian workers and Canadian businesses or st…
Read full speech →Oral questions
Mr. Speaker, the leader of the Bloc Québécois knows full well that our government always collaborates with our provincial and territorial counterparts, with business leaders and with workers' representatives. The good news is that I will be in Montreal on Thursday morning to meet with Minister Fréchette. We will talk specifically about what more we can do together to support Quebec industries and …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, of course, our government remains fully prepared to resume discussions with the U.S. government. However, our colleague alluded to certain potential tariff increases. We have to be careful and wait for the official executive order from the U.S. government before concluding that certain percentages will be applied. However, we fully share his concern about the future of forestry worker…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I am not surprised that our colleague remembers the last federal election so clearly. Canadians chose a government that was prepared not only to defend and support Canadian industries, but also to negotiate with the U.S. government to reach a deal that is in the best interests of Canadian workers and industries. Canadians had their say in the last election. They knew full well that th…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, our government has no difficulty looking at the hard-working women and men who work in our auto industry and in industries across the country to say that we are fighting for their jobs, we are standing up to the Americans against unjustified tariffs and we are negotiating what we think will be agreements that will be in the best interests of Canadian workers and the Canadian economy. …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, our colleague knows very well that we are working to support auto workers and the sector in Canada. There is over 100 years of proud history of making vehicles in Canada. It is a manufacturing sector that is important to every part of the country. That is why we are not only taking measures with the Government of Ontario, partners across the country and unions to support the industry …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, our colleague referred to apologies. Perhaps he would like to lean forward a couple of rows and suggest to his boss, the Leader of the Opposition, that he should apologize to the men and women who serve in Canada's RCMP for attacking their integrity and attacking the work they do to protect all Canadians. He should be ashamed of himself. He pretends to stand up for the police. He atta…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, our colleague has heard very well that the government will make these contracts available to the opposition. He can assert a series of fabricated conspiracy theories, but it does not make them true. What is true is that our government is supporting a proud tradition of building vehicles and cars in Canada. There is over 100 years of Canadian workers building these cars. We are going t…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, just because our colleague, with great indignation, asserts a series of conspiracy theories does not mean they are true. What is true is that our government is standing up for Canadian workers and Canadian businesses. The Prime Minister met with President Trump in Washington two weeks ago. We have engaged in a series of conversations and negotiations precisely to get a deal that is in…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, we understand that our Conservative colleagues on the other side of the aisle do not like to work with Premier Ford and his government. On this side of the House, we will work with all premiers of every political stripe, and groups representing workers and businesses, precisely to defend those businesses from the unjustified tariffs imposed by the American administration. We will do t…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition had 45 minutes to think about whether he will apologize to the brave men and women of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police who work to defend Canadians every single day. His attack on the integrity of the national police is totally inexcusable. Why does the Leader of the Opposition, who claims to support the police, not take a minute to apologize to the women…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, our colleague knows very well, as my colleague, the Minister of Industry has indicated, that of course, all the information will be put before the parliamentary committee appropriately. Just because our colleagues on the other side assert some falsehood with great indignation does not make it accurate. What is accurate is that our government is standing up with the province of Ontario…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I remember the Leader of the Opposition and some of his colleagues criticizing the government for not having enough direct, face-to-face engagement with the President of the United States. Good news is that the president has invited the Prime Minister to a working meeting tomorrow in Washington, followed by a working lunch. Obviously the conversation will centre on trade issues and wh…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, Canada is currently in the best position of any major trading ally of the United States, but we have said consistently that we have work to do with our American partners on sectoral tariffs. We have work to do in building an economy in North America that is in the interests of Canadian businesses and Canadian workers. That is exactly the conversation the Prime Minister will have with …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, as I said in an answer a few moments ago, the Prime Minister will be travelling to Washington later today for a working session in the Oval Office at the invitation of the U.S. President. Obviously, we intend to discuss the issues just raised by our Bloc Québécois colleague. We are deeply concerned about the tariffs on the softwood lumber industry. We discussed other sectors, like ste…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition is right. At the invitation of the U.S. President, the Prime Minister will be going to Washington tomorrow to continue the important discussion on the trade relationship, how to protect jobs and industries in Canada and how to build an economy in North America that is in the interests of both countries. Other international issues will also be discussed. I …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, we remember the Conservatives standing up in the House with manufactured indignation that the Prime Minister should be talking to the president every day and the Prime Minister should be in Washington, asking why has he not been in Washington. The good news is that the Prime Minister and the president speak frequently. They are in touch on a whole series of internat…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to rise today on behalf of the government and my Liberal caucus colleagues to pay tribute to the life of one of our former colleagues, someone you also knew well, Mr. Speaker, and one of my best friends, the late Hon. John McCallum, whose kindness, generosity and incredible sense of humour touched everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him. I will provide a brief o…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I thank the leader of the Bloc Québécois for his question. I am not the least bit embarrassed to remind members of the House and all Canadians that we are in the midst of important discussions with the United States on two fronts. First, we are talking about how to improve trade relations in the short term in strategic sectors, such as the steel, aluminum, auto and softwood lumber ind…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, in our discussions with our American counterparts, we constantly talk about the importance of having agreements that benefit both economies. I agree with my friend, the leader of the Bloc Québécois, that the United States will always remain our only neighbour and a critical economic partner. The Prime Minister has said that the trade relationship is changing. That is what we need to w…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I agree with the first part of the question from my friend, the leader of the Bloc Québécois. Obviously, we have to show respect in our conversations and relations with our American counterparts, and the same goes for the American people. The United States has the largest economy in the world. We currently have the most advantageous agreement of all its trading partners. At the same t…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and the U.S. President had a constructive meeting in Kananaskis during the G7. They discussed a number of issues. Obviously, the priority for us was to speak directly to the U.S. President about the issue of tariffs and, as my colleague just indicated, the impact that tariffs are having not only on Canada's economy and Canadian workers, but also on the U.S. economy.…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, the bill on one Canadian economy seeks specifically to respond to the threat of U.S. tariffs and economic instability. During the election campaign, the Prime MInister was very clear. We are going to build major projects in Canada and we are going to build them the right way by respecting the environmental standards and working in partnership with indigenous peoples, …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-5, An Act to enact the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act and the Building Canada Act. (Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, once again, I can assure my colleague that we fully share the concerns of all Canadians about the negative consequences the American tariffs are having. As I said in a response a few moments ago, with regard to the aluminum industry in Quebec and the steel industry in the rest of Canada, the Americans rely on our product. We have responded very firmly. We are one of the countries that…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, our government received a mandate from Canadians to negotiate a new security and economic partnership with the United States. We entirely share our colleague's view that the tariffs imposed, and they are not only on steel and aluminum, at a ridiculously punitive rate of 50%, are unjustified and illegal, as are all the other tariffs imposed on the Canadian economy. That is why Canada r…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, we fully share the concerns of our colleague from Chicoutimi—Le Fjord. Aluminum workers in Saguenay are among the best workers in Canada. The United States relies on the aluminum that Canada produces. It decided to impose 50% tariffs. That is going to hurt its economy. We understand that this is a worrisome situation for workers and the industry in Canada. That is precisely why we are…
Read full speech →