Carol Hughes

[Defence of Canada Medal Act (1946-1989), June 5th, 2023]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-335, An Act respecting the establishment and award of a Defence of Canada Medal (1946-1989).

Mr. Speaker, Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine has been difficult to watch from afar. As one of Ukraine's closest allies, Canada has and will continue to support the efforts of those brave individuals defending their homeland. This conflict, in many ways, may conjure memories of Canadians working with our allies in other democratic nations to ward off a common foe: the Soviet Union and eastern bloc nations during the Cold War, which lasted from 1946 to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

Many Canadians served their nation during this tense period in our history. To properly acknowledge their hard work and sacrifice, I am proud to introduce an act respecting the establishment and award of a defence of Canada medal for the men and women who served Canada during the Cold War.

This medal would be awarded to individuals who served in the Canadian Armed Forces, including reserves, as well as police organizations, emergency measures organizations and civilian assistance organizations, such as St. John Ambulance.

This act represents the vision of an Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing resident, retired captain Ulrich Krings, and has widespread support across the country, especially from those who worked so hard to keep us safe and prepared during those unsettling times.

I am very pleased my colleague from North Island—Powell River, who is also the NDP critic for Veterans Affairs, is seconding my bill.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[Gender-Based Violence, May 31st, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability recently released a report on gender-based violence and murder in Canada. The “#CallItFemicide” report, 2018 to 2022, shows gender-based violence and murder are on the rise, and the numbers are chilling.

The report notes a 27% increase in the number of women and girls killed by a male accused compared to 2019. Young women aged 25 to 34 are more likely to be victims. The report also states that one in five female victims killed by a male accused was an indigenous woman or girl.

The “#CallItFemicide” report shows exactly why Parliament needs to take the national action plan to end gender-based violence seriously. There is also a dire need to ensure that the funding for the indigenous shelter and transitional housing initiative is allocated, which would go a long way to protecting indigenous women from dangerous situations.

Let us immediately do all that we can to end gender-based violence.

[Petitions, May 30th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I rise one more time to table a petition that highlights the ongoing persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China.

The petitioners indicate that Falun Gong is a traditional Chinese spiritual discipline that consists of meditation exercises and moral teachings based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion and tolerance. They note that practitioners are the victims of various forms of persecution in China, including forced organ harvesting and trafficking.

The petitioners are asking this House to pass a resolution to establish measures to stop the Chinese Communist regime's crime of systematically murdering Falun Gong practitioners for their organs; to amend Canadian legislation to combat forced organ harvesting; and to publicly call for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong in China.

[Business of Supply, May 29th, 2023]

The House will now resolve itself into committee of the whole to study all votes under Department of Finance in the main estimates for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024.

Today's debate is a general one on all votes under the Department of Finance. The first round will begin with the official opposition, followed by the government, the Bloc Québécois and the New Democratic Party. After that, we will follow the usual proportional rotation.

Periods of 15 minutes at a time will be allocated to each MP. Speaking time may be used for both debate and questions. If MPs wish to use this time to make a speech, it must not exceed 10 minutes, in order to leave at least five minutes for questions to the minister. When a member is given the floor, he or she must indicate to the Chair how the 15-minute period will be used. In other words, the member will need to indicate which portion will be used for a speech and which portion will be devoted to questions and answers.

In addition, pursuant to the order adopted on Thursday, May 18, members who wish to share their time with another member or members will need to indicate this to the Chair, and the Chair will not receive any quorum calls, dilatory motions or requests for unanimous consent. When the time is used for questions and comments, the minister's response should roughly correspond to the time taken to ask the question, since this time will be counted in the time allotted to the MP.

Pursuant to order made Thursday, May 8, the time provided for the debate tonight may be extended beyond four hours, as needed, to include a minimum of 16 periods of 15 minutes each.

I also wish to indicate that in committee of the whole, comments should be addressed to the Chair. I ask for everyone's co-operation in upholding all established standards of decorum, parliamentary language and behaviour.

We will now begin tonight's debate.

The hon. leader of the official opposition.

[Indigenous Police Services, May 29th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, a few months ago, I asked that tripartite first nations policing agreements be renewed and their core funding be increased. As of March 31, funding has stopped flowing for Treaty 3, the Anishinabek Police Service and the UCCM Anishnaabe Police Service.

Police services under the first nations and Inuit policing program, unlike other police services, are under threat because of contract imposition instead of fair negotiations. An expedited judicial order against the federal government has been filed just to get basic core funding back. There is deep concern about increasing crime rates, which puts the safety of first nations communities at risk.

The Crown has a legal obligation to ensure first nations policing is an essential service, negotiated based on identified needs and funded at a standard comparable to non-indigenous communities. Let us not repeat the mistakes of our colonial past. Let us ensure these indigenous police services immediately have the resources and specialized training they require to better protect their communities. They need a fair contract with clear terms of reference and adequate funding now.

[Petitions, May 17th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I am once again rising to table a petition regarding the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. The petitioners indicate that Falun Gong practitioners in China are being targeted, adding that victims face various forms of persecution, including forced organ harvesting and trafficking.

The petitioners call on this Parliament to pass a resolution to establish measures to stop the Chinese Communist regime's crime of systematically murdering Falun Gong practitioners for their organs; to amend Canadian legislation to combat forced organ harvesting; and to publicly call for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong in China.

[Falun Gong, May 8th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I rise once again to table a petition regarding the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.

The petitioners bring to the attention of the House the fact that the Chinese government has waged a nationwide persecution campaign against Falun Gong practitioners. This has resulted in arrests, with many being imprisoned for up to 20 years. They add that this includes torture and abuse. They also indicate that investigators have concluded that tens of thousands of Falun Gong prisoners of conscience have been put to death and that their organs were seized involuntarily for sale at high prices.

The petitioners call on this Parliament to pass a resolution to establish measures to stop the Chinese Communist regime's crime of systemically murdering Falun Gong practitioners for their organs, amend Canadian legislation to combat forced organ harvesting and publicly call for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong in China.

[Petitions, May 2nd, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I rise once again to present a petition regarding the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. The petitioners wish to bring to the attention of the House the fact that the Chinese government has waged a nationwide persecution campaign against Falun Gong practitioners. This has resulted in arrests, with many being imprisoned for up to 20 years. They add that this includes torture and abuse. As they also indicate, investigators have concluded that tens of thousands of Falun Gong prisoners of conscience have been put to death and that their organs have been seized involuntarily for sale at high prices.

The petitioners call on this Parliament to pass a resolution to establish measures to stop the Chinese Communist regime's crime of systemically murdering Falun Gong practitioners for their organs, amend Canadian legislation to combat forced organ harvesting and publicly call for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong in China.

[Petitions, May 1st, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I rise once again to table a petition that highlights the ongoing persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. The petitioners state that Falun Gong is a traditional Chinese spiritual discipline that consists of meditation exercises and moral teachings based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion and tolerance.

They note that practitioners are the victims of various forms of persecution in China, including forced organ harvesting and trafficking. They once again call on the government to pass a resolution to establish measures to stop this crime by the Chinese Communist regime of systematically murdering Falun Gong practitioners for their organs, amend the Canadian legislation to combat forced organ harvesting and publicly call for an end to the persecution of the Falun Gong in China.

[Petitions, April 19th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I once again rise to table a petition regarding the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. The petitioners wish to bring to the attention of the House the fact that the Chinese government has waged a nationwide persecution campaign against Falun Gong practitioners. This has resulted in arrests, with many being imprisoned for up to 20 years. The petitioners add that this includes torture and abuse. They also indicate the conclusion of investigators that tens of thousands of Falun Gong prisoners, who are prisoners of conscience, have been put to death. Moreover, the prisoners have had their organs involuntarily seized for sale at high prices.

The petitioners call on this Parliament to pass a resolution to establish measures to stop the Chinese Communist regime's crime of systematically murdering Falun Gong practitioners for their organs. They also call on Parliament to amend Canadian legislation to combat forced organ harvesting and publicly call for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong in China.