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Monday, November 27, 2017 · sitting No. 239
Morneau pressed on ethics as opposition cites lost confidence
Oral questions on ethics consumed the largest share of the sitting. Conservative MP Alain Rayes told the House that Liberal members had privately expressed embarrassment over Finance Minister Bill Morneau and had urged his reassignment. Morneau replied that he had sold his shares in his former company after consulting the Ethics Commissioner and that the economy had added 500000 jobs in two years.
At report stage of Bill C-63 the New Democratic Party moved to delete clause 176 while the Conservatives moved to delete the schedule. NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice said the bill authorized an extra 224 million dollars for the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank beyond the amount announced in the budget. Conservative MP Tom Kmiec asked whether the bank amounted to crony capitalism.
Decided that day
- Bill C-59 referred to committee before second reading
- Bill C-45 passed third reading and adopted
- Bill C-58 report stage concurred in
- Opposition motion on finance minister's assets defeated
From the Hansard record of the sitting. Full Hansard
No CPAC Question Period upload is on file for this day. CPAC’s channel goes back to December 2019.
Who held the floor · 2017-11-27
67Cannabis bill clears key hurdleThe House advanced major bills on cannabis and access to information while spending most of its time on substantive topics. Question period produced few direct answers, yet recorded votes settled several matters without procedural delays.AI-rated Score out of 100; the verdict and the answer ratings behind it are a model’s reading. How the AI rates this
AI-rated The sitting score and the rating of each answer come from a language model reading Hansard. How the AI rates this
Other moments
Department of Public Works and Government Services Act
NDP MP Richard Cannings said Bill C-354 would give preference to wood in federal construction contracts and would help use beetle-killed timber while storing carbon. Liberal MP Nick Whalen asked how cross-laminated timber from infested wood could reduce emissions.
Read the exchangeHuman Rights
NDP MP Hélène Laverdière said a brief had been submitted to the International Criminal Court prosecutor seeking inclusion of Canadian officials in a war-crimes investigation and called again for a public inquiry. Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said Canadian personnel respect domestic and international law.
Read the exchangeCanada Revenue Agency
NDP MP Pierre-Luc Dusseault said the Auditor General had accused the Canada Revenue Agency of cover-up and that the government was avoiding accountability at the finance committee. Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier said the government had invested 50 million dollars and agreed with the auditor general's recommendations.
Read the exchangePublic Services and Procurement
NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice said 113 workers had already lost jobs at Davie and another 800 could follow if a second supply ship was not ordered. Public Services Minister Carla Qualtrough said the government had been in contact with the yard and unions and that the national shipbuilding strategy would create opportunities.
Read the exchangeQuestion Period, exchange by exchange
AI-rated Each answer’s rating (answered, partly answered, deflected, answered something else) is a model’s reading of the exchange. How the AI rates this
- deflectedEthicsMr. Alain Rayes (Conservative) asked Bill Morneau (Liberal). loaded question.The answer addresses conflict of interest steps but ignores the question on lost confidence.
I worked with the Ethics Commissioner to ensure that I was not in a conflict of interest.
- misdirectedEthicsMr. Alain Rayes (Conservative) asked Bill Morneau (Liberal). loaded question.The answer pivots to economic talking points instead of addressing the blind trust and conflict question.
I understand why opposition members want to talk about me.
- deflectedEthicsMr. Alain Rayes (Conservative) asked Bill Morneau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer repeats prior compliance claims but does not address the motion or asset disclosure request.
as I said, I worked with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner to make sure I was not in any conflict of interest.
- deflectedEthicsCandice Bergen (Conservative) asked Bill Morneau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer restates disclosure to the commissioner without addressing the request for public asset history.
from day one, I have disclosed 100% of my assets to the Ethics Commissioner.
- misdirectedEthicsCandice Bergen (Conservative) asked Bill Morneau (Liberal). loaded question.The answer attacks the premise as wrong and shifts to housing policy instead of asset disclosure.
what I can say is that the member opposite is 100% wrong.
- answeredEthicsMr. Guy Caron (NDP) asked Carla Qualtrough (Liberal). substantive question.The answer directly addresses government procurement transparency and contract compliance.
our government is committed to open, fair, and transparent procurement processes.
- misdirectedEthicsMr. Guy Caron (NDP) asked Bill Morneau (Liberal). loaded question.The answer ignores colleague trust concerns and pivots to economic achievements.
the way we will work for Canadians is the way that we have worked for the last two years.
- partly answeredHuman RightsMs. Hélène Laverdière (NDP) asked Chrystia Freeland (Liberal). substantive question.The answer affirms support for the ICC and condemns torture but does not address the public inquiry request.
Canada is a strong supporter of the International Criminal Court and its work to ensure accountability for war crimes.
- deflectedHuman RightsMs. Hélène Laverdière (NDP) asked Chrystia Freeland (Liberal). substantive question.The response affirms support for the ICC and opposition to torture but ignores the request for an inquiry or collaboration commitment.
Canada is proud to support the International Criminal Court.
- deflectedEthicsPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Bill Morneau (Liberal). substantive question.The minister explains the rationale for tax changes instead of identifying who sold the shares.
What we did was that we said to Canadians that we thought the appropriate thing to do was to raise taxes on the top 1%.
- deflectedEthicsPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Bill Morneau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer accuses the opposition of fabricating conspiracy theories rather than addressing the share sale question.
I think I have a good idea of why members on the opposite side are trying to create conspiracy theories out of thin air.
- deflectedEthicsPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Bill Morneau (Liberal). substantive question.The response shifts to general economic performance without confirming or denying the share transaction.
I am happy to answer to the fact that as Minister of Finance, I am looking to make sure that our economy does well.
- deflectedEthicsMr. Gérard Deltell (Conservative) asked Bill Morneau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer highlights economic growth instead of confirming whether the minister sold the shares.
The good news is that our economy is doing well.
- deflectedEthicsMr. Gérard Deltell (Conservative) asked Bill Morneau (Liberal). substantive question.The response claims the opposition prefers to discuss the minister rather than Canadians, avoiding the share sale question.
The opposition wants to talk about me because they do not want to talk about Canadians.
- partly answeredCanada Revenue AgencyMr. Pierre-Luc Dusseault (NDP) asked Diane Lebouthillier (Liberal). loaded question.The answer agrees with the Auditor General and outlines actions on call centres but does not address the cover-up claim or refusal to investigate.
I read the Auditor General's report and I agree with all his recommendations.
- partly answeredCanada Revenue AgencyMr. Murray Rankin (NDP) asked Diane Lebouthillier (Liberal). substantive question.The response states commitment to fighting tax evasion with some results but does not confirm action on closing specific loopholes or the private member's bill.
we are fully committed to fighting tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance.
- deflectedEthicsPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Bill Morneau (Liberal). loaded question.The answer shifts to general tax policy advocacy without addressing the specific share sale question.
What we did was something that we believe was absolutely the right thing to do.
- deflectedEthicsEd Fast (Conservative) asked Bill Morneau (Liberal). loaded question.The answer repeats tax policy talking points and ignores the yes-or-no demand.
We saw that as way to make sure that our tax system was more fair.
- deflectedEthicsPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Bill Morneau (Liberal). loaded question.The answer pivots to economic benefits for families instead of confirming or denying the share sale.
What is actually going on is that the policies we put in place are making a better situation for our economy and a better situation for Canadian families.
- deflectedEthicsPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Bill Morneau (Liberal). loaded question.The answer claims opposition focus on the minister and lists unrelated policies without disclosing the sale date.
We will continue to talk about what we are doing for Canadians in every dimension, in our housing policy, in helping with child benefits, and making sure that we get fair trade agreements.
- partly answeredHuman RightsMs. Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet (NDP) asked Mélanie Joly (Liberal). substantive question.The answer confirms commitment to a full apology and ongoing work with the community but does not explicitly confirm inclusion of remedies.
Our government is working with the national advisory committee representing the community to make sure that this is a full apology.
- partly answeredHuman RightsMr. Randall Garrison (NDP) asked Mélanie Joly (Liberal). substantive question.The answer references prior bills and the upcoming apology but does not commit to removing specific ongoing discrimination like the blood ban.
We have already made significant progress in this House on these issues with Bill C-16 and Bill C-39
- deflectedEthicsPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Bill Morneau (Liberal). loaded question.The answer lists kept promises on taxes and benefits without addressing the share sale timing or market impact.
Promises kept: we said that we would raise taxes on the top 1%.
- deflectedEthicsPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Bill Morneau (Liberal). loaded question.The answer reiterates tax fairness promises and economic outcomes while avoiding any response to the share sale allegation.
We promised Canadians that we would lower middle-class taxes.
- deflectedEthicsPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Bill Morneau (Liberal). substantive question.Answer avoids the yes/no question entirely by pivoting to unrelated government achievements.
There are 36 million Canadians, nine million of them were advantaged with our middle-class tax cut.
- deflectedEthicsPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Bill Morneau (Liberal). substantive question.Answer avoids confirming or denying the share sale by referencing Ethics Commissioner disclosure instead.
as the member opposite well knows, we all work together with the Ethics Commissioner to make sure that all of our financial affairs are fully disclosed.
- deflectedEthicsPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Bill Morneau (Liberal). loaded question.Answer ignores the specific allegation and shifts to general economic optimism and stock market performance.
the member opposite might take a look at the stock market and see that it has gone up over the last couple of years.
- partly answeredEmployment InsuranceMs. Brigitte Sansoucy (NDP) asked Jean-Yves Duclos (Liberal). substantive question.Answer acknowledges the EI issue and notes implemented measures but does not address the timeline for overhauling sickness benefits.
Since 2016, we have implemented solid measures to make the EI system more flexible and more generous.
- partly answeredPublic Services and ProcurementMr. Alexandre Boulerice (NDP) asked Carla Qualtrough (Liberal). loaded question.Answer addresses job concerns and notes contact with Davie but does not answer whether Quebec is being ignored.
Our government has been in touch with Davie shipyard executives and the unions in recent weeks.
- deflectedEthicsMr. Gérard Deltell (Conservative) asked Bill Morneau (Liberal). substantive question.Answer sidesteps the share-sale question by reiterating Ethics Commissioner compliance and economic results.
like all members of the House, I worked with the Ethics Commissioner to ensure that I am free from conflicts of interest.
- deflectedEthicsMr. Gérard Deltell (Conservative) asked Bill Morneau (Liberal). substantive question.Answer again evades the direct question by claiming opposition focus is misplaced and touting economic metrics.
I know that opposition members want to focus on me because they do not want to focus on Canadians.
- deflectedEthicsPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Bill Morneau (Liberal). substantive question.Answer claims nothing to hide via disclosure but never confirms or denies the specific transaction.
I have absolutely nothing to hide, and that is why I disclosed all of my assets to the Ethics Commissioner.
- deflectedEthicsPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Bill Morneau (Liberal). loaded question.The answer avoids the direct question on share sales by pivoting to ethics processes and unrelated policies.
as I have said, I will continue to work with the Ethics Commissioner, because that is the appropriate way members in this House disclose all of their assets, as I did
- partly answeredIndigenous AffairsMr. Nathan Cullen (NDP) asked Marc Garneau (Liberal). substantive question.The response acknowledges the proposal and meeting but stops short of committing support for the strategy.
We will look at that very carefully.
- deflectedEthicsPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Bill Morneau (Liberal). loaded question.The answer evades the share-sale question by lecturing on House procedures and touting government policies.
what is clear is that the member opposite might not understand how it works in this House
- partly answeredPublic Services and ProcurementMr. Xavier Barsalou-Duval (Bloc) asked Carla Qualtrough (Liberal). substantive question.The answer expresses general concern and mentions discussions but does not address contract allocation or explain job losses.
our government has been working with Davie shipyard management and the unions
- answeredNational DefenceMr. Michel Boudrias (Bloc) asked Harjit S. Sajjan (Liberal). substantive question.The answer directly explains the acquisition of two new supply ships as part of fleet modernization.
our government is acquiring fleet support ships to permanently replace the Protecteur class auxiliary oiler replenishment vessels
- partly answeredIndigenous AffairsHunter Tootoo (Independent) asked Bill Morneau (Liberal). substantive question.The response highlights new housing funding but does not commit to revising the overall territorial funding formula.
we announced $300 million over 10 years to meet the specific needs for housing in the north