Canada Parliament begins 2019

After a seasonal break, Parliament reconvened for the fist time in the new temporary quarters (for 10 years) while the old Centre Block is refurbished and environmentally updated, with new technology, security, heating and cooling etc.   It was a special day.  After opening prayer, and debates throughout the morning, the usual Question Period allotted time came around.  

Sadly, the Prime Minister was not at his best, but the media didn’t report it, as usual.   The Prime Minister had just been forced to recall John McCallum from his post as Ambassador to China, for his repeated gaffs and undiplomatic behaviour during a time of special sensitivity.   China falsely arrested two Canadians and placed them in jail, and also rigged a Court case, indicating they would execute a Canadian convict who was already serving a lengthy jail sentence in China.   While the world was outraged at China, international observers wondered what was going to happen between China and the USA over their Trade talks.

The Prime Minister appeared to be out of his depth.   Read the transcript, and reflect just how poorly that Canada is served by Justin Trudeau.   This Parliamentary record is only one day.   However, readers can read enough to observe the serious problem Canada has with the present political leadership.  PF

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42nd PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION  -  HANSARD • NUMBER 372

Monday, January 28, 2019 ORAL QUESTIONS

Hon. Andrew Scheer (Leader of the Opposition, CPC): 

    Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the Prime Minister's foreign policy is a disaster, and Canadians are paying for his mistakes. Our international partners have no respect for the Prime Minister, and why should they?   After clowning around in India and inviting a convicted terrorist along with him, he then was forced to take concession after concession from Donald Trump.   He even angered our partners in Japan and Australia, and now we have the debacle with China.   Why did the Prime Minister show such weakness and wait so long to fire his (China) ambassador?

Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.): 

    Mr. Speaker, I look forward to answering the member's question shortly, but I think before we do, we need to take a moment to recognize and applaud the extraordinary women and men who worked so hard to build this beautiful chamber for us to serve in and to remember that if we who serve Canadians in this place work even half as hard as they worked to build this place for us, we will be very well served as a country indeed.

Hon. Andrew Scheer (Leader of the Opposition, CPC): 

     Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's foreign policy is a disaster, and Canadians are paying for his mistakes.

    A convicted terrorist was invited to India.   U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum remain in place.   The Prime Minister insulted our allies in Japan and Australia.   Now we have the crisis with China.

    When will the Prime Minister stop making Canadians pay for his mistakes?

Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.): 

    Mr. Speaker, we are acting with integrity and taking decisive action in two key ways.

    First of all, we want to keep Canadians safe, secure the release of the two Canadians arbitrarily detained in China and push for clemency for the third.

    At the same time, we want to ensure that we always stand up for the rule of law and the independence of our judicial system and that we continue engaging with our allies around the world, to send a clear message that Canada will always defend the rule of law.

Hon. Andrew Scheer (Leader of the Opposition, CPC): 

    Mr. Speaker, money is the least of the Prime Minister's concerns.   He has never had to keep a personal budget, so it comes as no surprise that he thinks budgets balance themselves.

    He is rather good at racking up debt, especially when he is making Canadians pick up the tab.

    When will the Prime Minister finally tell the truth and admit that he plans to raise taxes to pay for his mistakes?

Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.): 

    Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, our plan was to invest in people, the middle class, and our communities. That is why we lowered taxes for the middle class and asked the wealthy to pay more taxes.

    Canadians have created 800,000 jobs over the past three years.   We are seeing strong economic growth and we have the lowest unemployment rate in 40 years.

    We want to keep investing in Canadians and the middle class, but the Conservatives want to give breaks to the wealthy because they think that is the way to create economic growth.   They are wrong.

Hon. Andrew Scheer (Leader of the Opposition, CPC): 

    Mr. Speaker, it is not surprising the Prime Minister does not worry about Canadians' money. He has never had to worry about money. He has never had to balance a household budget, so he thinks budgets balance themselves. He thinks he can borrow his way out of debt and that others should pay for his mistakes, so it is no wonder the debt has grown three times more than what he promised. Why will he not tell the truth before the next election, that his wasteful spending and runaway deficits will mean higher taxes for Canadians?

Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.): 

    Mr. Speaker, it is no surprise that all we get from the Conservatives are warmed over Stephen Harper attacks and the economic plan that failed Canadians for 10 years. They continue to want to give tax breaks to the wealthiest, where we are focused on growing the middle class by investing in people and in their communities.

    We lowered taxes for the middle class and raised them on the wealthiest one per cent. That has led to not only stronger growth than Stephen Harper ever saw but has led to the creation of 800,000 jobs and the lowest unemployment rate in over 40 years. We are going to continue to invest in Canadians.

Hon. Andrew Scheer (Leader of the Opposition, CPC): 

    Mr. Speaker, everything the Prime Minister just said is false.   With his changes, the richest Canadians are paying less in tax, and hard-working Canadian families are paying more, and they are going to continue to pay more, because government documents show that the carbon tax will rise six times higher than what the Prime Minister now admits, which means higher gasoline costs and higher home heating costs.   Canadians are already paying for his mistakes, so why is he also covering up the real cost of his carbon tax from Canadians?