hazylavender/hi huggingface dataset:
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Hon. Pierre Poilievre: to be clear, this is a villa that rents out, commercially, for as much as $9,000 per night. If any other Canadian had stayed there, that is what they would have had to pay, and they would have had to pay for their own airfare, not having a private jet. The Prime Minister wants us to believe that these Trudeau Foundation donors offered him a $9,000-a-night vacation for nothing. We know nothing is free. This is about influence and power for the super-rich. Why will the Prime Minister not answer? How much did he pay in accommodation per night at this luxurious villa?
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Right Hon. Justin Trudeau: I guess the Leader of the Opposition struggles with the concept of friendship. My father was godfather to one of their kids. Their father was godfather to one of my brothers. This is 50 years of friendship. Of course, we worked with the Ethics Commissioner to make sure all the rules were followed. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to talk about friendships, let us talk about the fact that he is running to his American billionaire tech giant friends to attack the local news that Canadians are relying on. Shame on him for going after Canadian content, Canadian news and Canadian things that people care about.
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Hon. Pierre Poilievre: the only thing Canadian about the Prime Minister 's vacation is the tax dollars forced to pay for it. The Prime Minister refuses to answer the question. He knows that these powerful interests are buying influence while making the Prime Minister more out of touch with the people on whom he is imposing his inflationary taxes and deficits. This is consistent with having already been found guilty of taking a quarter-of-a-million-dollar vacation from a billionaire who was seeking a government grant from him. If the Prime Minister has nothing to hide, will he tell us, did he take these $9,000-a-night villas for free?
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Right Hon. Justin Trudeau: as the Leader of the Opposition knows well, there are certain security protocols that the RCMP needs to follow for all prime ministers, regardless of political parties or partisan stripes. Again, if the Leader of the Opposition genuinely cared about affordability for Canadians, he would be voting in favour of our dental benefits, which are helping hundreds of thousands of kids right now and would help millions of Canadians into the future, but he voted against it. He voted against tax cuts for the middle class while we raised them on the wealthiest 1%. Now, he is running to his American billionaire buddies to go after local news for Canadians. That is not what Canadians--
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Hon. Pierre Poilievre: this is from a guy who took a $160,000 taxpayer-funded trip to a private villa, for which there is no security reason he could not pay for his own room. He took a $6,000-a-night vacation in London and two weeks in Costa Rica in the middle of the summer. He went surfing in Tofino on truth and reconciliation day at taxpayers' expense, and he got a guilty verdict for staying at billionaire island. The Prime Minister is out of touch, and Canadians are out of money. When will he stop with these vacations and start working for the people in this country?
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Right Hon. Justin Trudeau: if the Conservative leader cared as much about Canadians as he does about partisan attacks, he would actually be stepping up to support our delivery of direct benefits to Canadians. He continues to stand against the child care agreements, down to $10 a day in six provinces and territories across the country, already saving Canadians right across the country hundreds and hundreds of dollars every single month. He would be standing in favour of the dental care supports we are sending to hundreds of thousands of kids, instead of continuing to vote against them. He would be accelerating the delivery of the grocery rebate to help 11 million Canadians--
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Yves-Francois Blanchet: friendship really matters. There is an old saying in Quebec that a friend is a friend. I am not going to ask questions that the Prime Minister is not going to answer. I will assume that he knew that the Green family contributed to the Trudeau Foundation before going on vacation with them. I will move on to the ethical point. Can he tell the House, Quebeckers and Canadians the cost of the accommodation where he stayed, and whether he personally paid, out of his own pocket, for the stay?
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Right Hon. Justin Trudeau: our families have been friends for 50 years. However, when it comes to friendships and for other vacations, we always consult the Office of the Ethics Commissioner to ensure that all the rules are followed. That is what Canadians expect, and that is what we do every time. It is important to follow the rules, and that is exactly what we did.
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Yves-Francois Blanchet: the Ethics Commissioner also should have been told that the Trudeau Foundation had just received a donation. In another example, the Chinese government wanted to donate $1 million to the University of Montreal--not out of friendship; we are not naive--so it went through Zhang Bin. Rather than protecting Quebec's largest academic institution, the Trudeau Foundation took a $200,000 cut and asked for a statue of Trudeau senior. Will the Prime Minister admit that it is completely inappropriate for him to make any decisions on the issue of Chinese interference, and will he defer to the House?
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Canadian families and workers have been hard hit by inflation. Do members know who was not hard hit by inflation? It is CEOs. CEOs have made record salaries. In fact, the average CEO in our country makes 241 times more than the average employee. This is outrageous. Canadians are frustrated by it, and they have the right to be. Will the Prime Minister realize that life is not all sun and beaches and that we need to support our initiative to make sure we can raise the salary of workers and tackle this inequality?
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Right Hon. Justin Trudeau: we have been, and will continue to remain, committed to making sure everyone pays their fair share of taxes. We know the cost of living continues to be a real concern of Canadians. Even with inflation coming down, with more good news today, we know that the cost of groceries remains too high. That is why we are moving forward with the grocery rebate for 11 million Canadians in a targeted way that will not contribute to inflation, and that is why we are hoping that all members in this House accelerate this grocery rebate, so we can deliver it to Canadians who need it as quickly as possible.
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: it is clear that the Liberals are out of touch with the reality of Canadians. Our idea is simple: If a company like Loblaws can afford to pay its CEO, Galen Weston, 431 times more than its employees, that company can afford to invest more in our society. If that company wants to pay less in taxes, it can always raise workers' wages. Will the Prime Minister support our initiative to increase workers' wages?
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Right Hon. Justin Trudeau: one of the first things we did was raise taxes on the wealthiest 1% in this country so we could lower them for the middle class. We continue adopting measures that help those who truly need it, ensuring we stopped, for example, sending benefit cheques to millionaire families. We will continue to be there to help people--by providing the grocery rebate, for example--and we are asking everyone in the House to help fast-track the delivery of those benefits. I hope that all parliamentarians will speed up the process to ensure that Canadians who need this help receive it as soon as possible.
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Jasraj Singh Hallan: Canadians got sky-high heating, grocery, rent and mortgage bills this holiday season while the Prime Minister was sky-high in a private jet to another rich Liberal crony's private estate in the Caribbean on the taxpayer dime, who happens to be a massive Trudeau Foundation donor. This out-of-touch, trust-fund Prime Minister does not understand or feel the pain that his inflation caused, as 1.5 million Canadians are going to a food bank in a single month. Will the Prime Minister stand up today and apologize for using taxpayers' money to vacation at a Trudeau Foundation donor's estate?
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Hon. Mark Holland: on the point of poverty, when that party was in power, there were 2.7 million more people who were in poverty than there are today, and that includes 800,000 children. If a prime minister is to travel, there has to be security, so I would ask members of the party opposite this: Is their position that there should be no security for a prime minister who travels on vacation with his family, or is their position that a prime minister should never take a vacation with his family?
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Jasraj Singh Hallan: he could have paid for his own vacation. I guess the Prime Minister went on vacation so Canadians would not have to. As Canadians pay $2,200 a month for rent, the Prime Minister stays in lavish, $6,000-a-night hotel rooms. One in five Canadians is skipping meals, while the Prime Minister gets to charge $55,000 for groceries. Sixty-two per cent of Canadians have to scale back on vacations, while the Prime Minister charges Canadians to vacation on a huge Trudeau Foundation donor's estate. I just have a simple question: Which high-priced Liberal consultant gave this stupid advice, or was this another one of the Prime Minister 's tone-deaf decisions?
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Hon. Mark Holland: as the hon. member across is well aware, this government has taken a series of measures to help those who are dealing with the global impact of inflation, and the party opposite has voted against every single one of those measures and continues to oppose measures like the important grocery rebate that we put forward. However, I would say this to members of the party opposite. I get that they do not like the Prime Minister . I get that they have personal animosity and partisan attacks that they want to level against him, but I would ask them again: Do they believe that a prime minister should not be able to travel at Christmas with his family, or do they believe that he should not have security when he does so?
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Hon. Andrew Scheer: all we are saying is that he should pay for his own vacations and not stick taxpayers with the bill. While Canadians were experiencing the chaos that his mismanagement of the airport system caused, the Prime Minister got to skip the queues and jet down on yet another Caribbean vacation. The Prime Minister never has to pay for the terrible policies that his decisions make. Other Canadians have to pay for the higher cost of the fuel they put in their cars; he does not. He also does not have to pay for his own home heating fuel, and now we are finding out that he does not even pay for his own vacation. Treasury Board guidelines say that he should reimburse at least the commercial cost. Did he?
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Hon. Mark Holland: Yes, Mr. Speaker, I can absolutely confirm that he did cover that cost. I can confirm that to the member across, yes, absolutely. I would ask the member to step away from the idea of attacking this Prime Minister , and from his partisanship, and I would ask him about a future prime minister. Would a future prime minister be afforded the opportunity to take a vacation with his family? If he believes that is the case, does he believe that a prime minister should be afforded security? If he does believe that, which is the vast preponderance of these costs, then certainly he would see that the actions taken were reasonable.
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Hon. Andrew Scheer: if the government House leader is going to answer specific questions, the Prime Minister dodged this question five times. Now, the government House leader just answered that yes, he does pay, but the specific question is this: Did the Prime Minister reimburse or pay for the commercial value of the accommodations? The accommodations for this luxury villa run as high as $9,000 per night. The specific question is this: Did the Prime Minister pay for it?
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Hon. Mark Holland: it is clear in the questions, and in the way those questions are posed, that the interest of the party opposite is a partisan interest. It is an interest to attack to advance its partisan advantage. I would suggest to those members that, at this moment, when we are dealing with a series of issues on this planet, such as global inflation and the war in Europe, that their particular fixation with the Prime Minister being able to take a vacation with his family and friends at Christmas is very revealing.
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Pierre Paul-Hus: the Prime Minister spent two weeks on vacation at Peter Green's estate down south. This trip cost taxpayers $160,000. He confirmed that the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner gave him the green light for the trip, but I am not convinced that the commissioner knew that the vacation would take place at the home of a Trudeau Foundation donor. Can the Prime Minister tell us today whether the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner was aware, yes or no, that the invitation came from a Trudeau Foundation donor?
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Pierre Paul-Hus: the most ironic thing about this saga is that, according to media reports, the Prime Minister's own staff was concerned about the optics of this trip. We know that 62% of Canadians are cancelling or considering cancelling their vacations because they cannot afford them, due to inflation. Let us come back to the concerns of the Prime Minister's staff. Were they concerned because Canadians were going through tough times or because the Prime Minister was going to the residence of a Trudeau Foundation donor?
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Hon. Mark Holland: It is obvious that the concern of the party opposite is purely partisan. There are many really serious problems in Canada, such as affordability and the cost of living. These problems are addressed in the budget, which is being studied in Parliament. The Conservative Party could vote for measures to help Canadians, but no, as usual the Conservative Party is only interested in playing politics.
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Rene Villemure: the CBC--the Liberal propaganda arm, according to the Conservative Party--reports that the Prime Minister spent his Christmas holiday with friends who made significant donations to the Trudeau Foundation. These are childhood friends, one of whom is Pierre Elliott Trudeau's godson. These people are major donors to a foundation embroiled in allegations of suspicious donations linked to the Chinese government. Those are the people the Prime Minister chose to vacation with. On top of his lack of judgment and lack of ethics, how can the Prime Minister continue to claim that he has no ties to the Trudeau Foundation?
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Rene Villemure: that was quick. There is reality and there is the perception of reality. The Trudeau Foundation received money from Chinese donors, that is reality. The Prime Minister went on vacation to visit one of the Trudeau Foundation's major donors, that is reality. Morris Rosenberg, who was commissioned by the Prime Minister to assess foreign interference in elections, was CEO of the Trudeau Foundation, that is reality. David Johnston, the special rapporteur on Chinese interference appointed by the Prime Minister, is a member of the Trudeau Foundation, that is reality. We cannot help but think that the Chinese government is using the Trudeau Foundation to influence the Prime Minister, and it is working.
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Ms. Marie-Helene Gaudreau: the problem is that people get lost in all these distractions. The Trudeau Foundation is problematic. What is even more problematic is foreign interference in our elections. A foreign power, China, is interfering in our democratic process. This undermines public confidence. That is the crux of the issue. We absolutely need an independent public commission of inquiry to ensure the integrity of our elections and to restore public trust. What is the Prime Minister waiting for?
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Hon. Mark Holland: it is absolutely essential, not only for us, the government, but for each and every member of Parliament, that our democratic system ensure we have independent elections. That is why we made sure to appoint someone who is very reasonable and well known across the country, Mr. Johnston, the former governor general appointed by Mr. Harper, who can ensure that our system is protected.
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Michael Barrett: everyone agrees that a prime minister should be able to take a holiday, and everyone agrees that the cost of security was reasonable. Everyone also knows, now that we have heard a direct answer on the cost of the flight, what the Prime Minister did. What we do not know is if the Prime Minister did the reasonable thing and paid for his own accommodations, which every other Canadian would have had to do. Did the Prime Minister pay the cost of a $9,000 per night villa when he went on that trip?
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Hon. Mark Holland: one could ask the question, when a party opposite now is deep into question period asking only questions about the Prime Minister 's trip over Christmas with his family, to see that their interest is partisan in nature. Their interest is to advance their own interests rather than the interests of the people whom we are all elected to represent. There is a budget in front of us right now, on which they are asking no questions, which has absolutely critical measures to help those who are in need in the country right now. Therefore, I understand the members' particular fixation. I am glad they agree with me that the Prime Minister should take a vacation. I am glad that they agree that the costs of security were reasonable.
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Michael Barrett: the government does not get to pick the questions that get asked, but it would be nice if the members would finally give us an answer. Let me do some quick math for the government House leader. The Prime Minister stayed there for nine nights. It would cost $9,000 per night for any other Canadian. Did the Prime Minister pay the full cost of $81,000 to stay there, or is this just another example of the Prime Minister being part of this elite class where he passes costs on to Canadians but incurs no costs himself?
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Hon. Mark Holland: let us start from the top, which is that the Ethics Commissioner was consulted on this trip. The Ethics Commissioner cleared this trip. The Ethics Commissioner made it clear that this trip was appropriate. The member opposite has agreed that a prime minister should be given the opportunity to have a vacation. The member opposite has also agreed that security costs for the Prime Minister were reasonable. The Prime Minister spent Christmas with his family and close, personal family friends of over 50 years. Yes, that is what happened.
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Luc Berthold: the Prime Minister 's brother is a member of the Trudeau Foundation, as is the Prime Minister himself. The Trudeau Foundation received a cheque backed by funds from the Communist regime in Beijing channelled through two billionaires who will be reimbursed by the regime. Alexandre Trudeau accepted the cheque on behalf of the foundation, but the receipt was issued in the name of another company, which directly violates the Income Tax Regulations. Is the Prime Minister going to let slide this new evidence of Beijing's influence on his government through the Trudeau Foundation or will he ensure that his brother will testify before a parliamentary committee?
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Hon. Mark Holland: as the Prime Minister clearly explained, he has not had any ties to the Trudeau Foundation for almost 10 years. This issue is not the Prime Minister's responsibility because he does not have any ties to the foundation. Unfortunately, there are many situations where the party opposite has attacked the Trudeau Foundation, the media, the CBC, pretty much any person and any type of organization.
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Luc Berthold: the Prime Minister 's name still appears in the Trudeau Foundation's annual report. Alexandre Trudeau wrote a book that talked about his family's fascination with China. It is hard to deny the influence that the regime in Beijing has had and continues to have on the Prime Minister. Not only is the Beijing regime using the foundation to increase its influence over the Prime Minister, but it is doing so illegally, with complete impunity, and without being challenged by the Canada Revenue Agency. Will the Prime Minister support a motion calling on Alexandre Trudeau to appear before a parliamentary committee, yes or no?
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Hon. Mark Holland: at the foundation of the question being asked is whether this government would ever allow a foreign government to dictate or influence our decision. The answer to that is a categorical no. Secondly, embedded within that is a question, I would say, of the loyalty of members of Parliament to their country. They can call it sanctimony. I call it my entire life, and I know that other members on the other side do as well. They have fought for our democracy every day of their lives. They fought to get here to be members of Parliament. To have their patriotism questioned is unacceptable.
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Matthew Green: in this latest episode of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous , the Prime Minister and his family vacation at the private Caribbean estate of a billionaire family friend and Trudeau foundation donor. The Prime Minister cannot help himself from helping himself. Whether it is flying to the Aga Khan's island, the $6,000-a-night hotels in London or his latest family luxury vacation, the Prime Minister keeps showing us just how out of touch he is with everyday Canadians. When will the Prime Minister stop working for the billionaires and start working for the working-class Canadians of this country?
Ethics
Date: 2023_04_18
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Hon. Mark Holland: I am deeply proud of the government and the Prime Minister , which have, over the last number of years, fought to make sure that Canada is a leader in the world, both economically and on tackling poverty, by making sure we are there in the budget and through other measures. Yes, the Prime Minister did take a vacation with his family with family friends over Christmas. Yes, there were security costs that were involved with that. If a prime minister is to take a vacation, those costs are inevitable. They cannot be avoided. I think that we as a House have to ask if we believe that a prime minister should be able to take a vacation with his family. I believe he should be able to.