Mr. Alexander Nuttall (Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte, CPC)

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's silence speaks volumes. Over $150,000 for Liberal staffers to move to Ottawa and take plush jobs is just not fair.

I would like the Minister of Innovation to think about the 39,000 self-employed people who went out of business, last month alone, when he answers this question. Will the minister admit that this payment is wrong, yes or no?

Hon. Bardish Chagger (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism, Lib.)

Mr. Speaker, Canadians voted for the growth of the middle class. Canadians voted for a stronger economy. Canadians voted for a government that works for them, a government that they have not seen in over a decade.

Our government is committed to working for middle-class Canadians. Our government is committed to growing the economy. We are proud of the work our government is doing, and we will continue to deliver on our promises.

Mr. Alexander Nuttall (Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte, CPC)

Mr. Speaker, the people of Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte voted for transparency. In my riding, the average salary is $40,000. These are people who actually pay taxes, so when the Minister of Innovation spends 113,000 tax dollars to move a single member of staff to Ottawa, I am speechless.

If the minister cannot admit that this is wrong, will he at least tell us who got the money?

Hon. Bardish Chagger (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism, Lib.)

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that when we came into office, we acted in accordance with the rules set up by a previous government, in 2008, for relocation expenses. This has been a long-standing policy, and we will continue to follow it for now.

Canadians voted for a stronger middle class. Canadians voted for a government that works for them. Canadians voted for and support the investments we have made in budget 2016. These are investments that will create a stronger economy and support the kind of growth his constituents need.

Ms. Hélène Laverdière (Laurier—Sainte-Marie, NDP)

Mr. Speaker, we have reached a watershed moment for nuclear disarmament. The Secretary General of the United Nations and several countries want to initiate negotiations to prohibit nuclear arms. Canada shamefully voted against this plan.

The government can still change its mind in the next few weeks.

My question is simple: will the Prime Minister change his position and vote for nuclear disarmament?

Ms. Pam Goldsmith-Jones (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lib.)

Mr. Speaker, that is a deliberate oversimplification.

This process failed to bring the states possessing nuclear weapons to the table. As such, it was ineffective. Canada is a long-standing supporter of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. Of course, we will continue to work together towards a world free of nuclear weapons in the most effective manner possible.

Ms. Irene Mathyssen (London—Fanshawe, NDP)

Mr. Speaker, two reports this week, one from the Veterans Ombudsman and the other from the Canadian Forces Ombudsman, call on the government to make compensation fair for wounded veterans and to fix the system.

Wounded veterans deserve respect. It is a travesty that the government refuses to take concrete action.

Will the minister accept the recommendations in these reports? Will his government work to immediately implement them without dragging veterans into court?

Hon. Kent Hehr (Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, Lib.)

Mr. Speaker, I thank the ombudsman and his staff for their dedicated service and their very good report.

I always value his feedback. The report makes three key recommendations on items in my mandate. In budget 2016, we acted upon recommendations from this ombudsman to increase the disability award, expand access to the permanent impairment allowance, and increase the earnings loss benefit, all measures that the ombudsman was very supportive of.

We will continue to work through the recommendations and make things better for veterans and their families in this country.

Ms. Sonia Sidhu (Brampton South, Lib.)

Mr. Speaker, earlier this month I had a chance to announce new water and waste water funding in Brampton South through the clean water and wastewater fund.

The minister has been advocating strongly for these kinds of changes that Canadians can see making a real difference, day to day, for families.

Families in my riding appreciate better flood water control, particularly. Can the minister update the House on what kind of things he has been doing to invest in communities like Brampton?

Hon. Amarjeet Sohi (Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, Lib.)

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Brampton South, as well as other members from that community, for hosting me there last week.

We announced over $5 million towards water and waste water projects in Brampton, ensuring access to clean and safe drinking water and healthy rivers and lakes.

We will also be investing in public transit in Brampton to reduce the commute time for Brampton families as well as to improve air quality and strengthen our communities.

Hon. Jason Kenney (Calgary Midnapore, CPC)

Mr. Speaker, tens of thousands of Canadian energy workers have lost their jobs. Our economy is losing billions of dollars in wealth, because we cannot get our oil to markets.

The Liberals have responded by rolling over on Keystone XL's veto, shutting down the northern gateway pipeline with their tanker ban, adding a politicized delay to the Trans Mountain approved pipeline, and letting Liberals, like Denis Coderre, attack energy east without a response.

Enough is enough. When will the government stand up for energy workers, for Canadian jobs, and for the Canadian economy?

Hon. Jim Carr (Minister of Natural Resources, Lib.)

Mr. Speaker, enough is enough of 10 years of failed policies that did not have one kilometre of pipeline taken to tidewater.

The Federal Court of Appeal just told us within the last several weeks that northern gateway was going to be in trouble not because the proponent did not consult, not because the regulator did not consult, but because that member's government did not consult.

We can do a better job. A better job is to travel across the country to talk to Canadians, to have an open mind that will lead, through a better process, to a better decision, a decision that that government could not make.

Hon. Jason Kenney (Calgary Midnapore, CPC)

Mr. Speaker, under the Conservative government, the Alberta Clipper, the Keystone, and the Anchor Loop were all approved and built. Line 9 was reversed, adding $1.25 billion—

Oh, oh!

Hon. Jason Kenney

—1.25 million barrels of capacity a day.

He talks about northern gateway. The government killed it on day one by announcing, through fiat, its northern tanker traffic ban, even though hundreds of tankers come down that route from Alaska, hundreds come into our east coast from foreign countries.

How is the government going to take seriously northern gateway, when it has already shut it down with its prejudicial tanker ban?

Hon. Jim Carr (Minister of Natural Resources, Lib.)

Mr. Speaker, on January 27 the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and I announced a set of interim principles that would govern those projects that are currently under review. That will be followed by an entire modernization of the National Energy Board and other federal agencies, because those agencies under that government did not carry the confidence of Canadians. If we do not carry the confidence of Canadians, nothing will be built.

Ms. Marilyn Gladu (Sarnia—Lambton, CPC)

Mr. Speaker, late last week, CF Industries cancelled a $105-million expansion project planned for my riding: 500 construction jobs are now gone, due to the carbon scheme the Ontario Liberals brought in.

That expansion and all those well-paying jobs will be going to Donaldson, Louisiana, where they do not have job-killing carbon taxes.

When will the federal Liberals stop trying to copy failed provincial energy schemes and start keeping jobs on Canadian soil?

Mr. Jonathan Wilkinson (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Lib.)

Mr. Speaker, we know that in order to build a strong economy, we have to be serious about protecting the environment, something that the previous government did not understand, and a price on carbon is an essential part of that. It will help us to reduce our emissions, foster innovation, and give business the stability they need to invest, grow, and plan.

Eighty per cent of Canadian already live in jurisdictions with a price on carbon. We spent the last six months working with provinces and territories to extend that throughout the country. Our immediate focus will remain on taking concrete action to reduce emissions and to improve the economy.

Mr. Gérard Deltell (Louis-Saint-Laurent, CPC)

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are becoming acutely aware that this government has completely lost control of public spending.

A massive deficit, a minister who rents limos from her Liberal pal but slams on the brakes as soon as she is caught with her hand in the cookie jar, and a friend of the Prime Minister's who claims $126,000 in moving expenses.

Canadians are fed up. It has become increasingly obvious that these people are superheroes when it comes to spending money but abject failures at creating wealth.

How does this government plan to create jobs for Canadians?

Hon. Bill Morneau (Minister of Finance, Lib.)

Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to talk about our plan for improving our economy.

We started with things for the middle class. We started yesterday by cutting middle-class taxes. We voted for that plan. We also introduced our Canada child benefit, which will help nine out of ten families keep more money in their pockets. Over time, our infrastructure investments will boost growth right across the country.