Finance Committee on June 4th, 2024

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Whitby, ON]

Thanks, Chair.

I'll just make some brief comments.

I want to thank Mr. Davies for bringing the amendments forward. I think they're welcome.

I want to express the intent of the proposed amendments in budget 2024 that amend the Food and Drugs Act. They all attempt to address and prevent unintended and harmful uses of therapeutic products. One example is preventing addictive nicotine replacement therapies from being marketed to youth. Obviously, this is a major concern that we share when we see youth taking up those new replacement therapies and being the target of marketing campaigns.

The intent of the measures was always to give the Minister of Health the authority so that he or she, in the future, can review all available evidence and base any decisions on well-founded reasons before using the new legislative authorities. That was the intention.

I also recognize that Mr. Davies has formalized that within a set of amendments, adding reasonable grounds to some of the important clauses here in the bill. That's welcome, because it further makes explicit what was intended. I think those are things that the government members will be supporting, and we appreciate the amendments.

To Mr. Ste-Marie's points, I'll just say generally that it was too bad we didn't have as much time to hear from witnesses. There were quite a lot of committee resources that went into a fairly extensive debate and filibuster, which went on for a while. I'm glad we got past that and we're now moving forward, but it's regrettable that there wasn't a bit more witness testimony for him to hear from additional witnesses. We empathize with him on that.

I think, as he knows, these are welcome adjustments, giving the minister some authorities and powers that are needed to crack down on these activities that target youth.

Thanks very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Fonseca]

Thank you, PS Turnbull.

I do have MP Lawrence to speak.

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

Thank you very much.

I must say that I was taken by Mr. Davies' remarks. They were quite poignant, and I might even dare to say “cutting” at points, with respect to granting additional powers.

I would be of a mind to agree with most of what Mr. Davies said, if not everything. Conservatives take a dim view of giving ministers additional unlimited power.

Quite frankly, it wouldn't take much, other than a review of QP in the last couple of QPs, to see that giving the current Minister of Health unlimited power—an individual who, in an absolutely wacko rant, wanted to trap Canadians in their cars for 10 hours on road trips—is not a good idea.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Fonseca]

Thank you, MP Lawrence.

Thank you, members, for that debate.

We're now voting on clauses 322 to 325 and 327 to 333.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

I would like a recorded vote.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Fonseca]

This is a recorded vote on clauses 322 to 325 and 327 to 333.

[An hon. member]

In a block...right?

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Fonseca]

Yes.

MP Davies.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

I think my amendments were erroneously put on only clause 326 when they actually amend clauses 326, 327 and 328.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Fonseca]

Let me suspend for a second so the legislative clerk can check on that.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Fonseca]

We're back. Can I just get everybody's attention?

Thank you, MP Davies, for that help to put things in order here.

Members, right now we're voting on clauses 322 to 325 and 329 to 333, and that will do it for us.

I'm just looking around, members. Is it on division or do you want a recorded vote?

MP Davies wants a recorded vote.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Can I just double-check with the clerks or the analysts?

I had not thought clauses 329 to 333.... Are those not being amended? Okay.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Fonseca]

Okay. It's a recorded vote—

[An hon. member]

I'm sorry, but I didn't catch that.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Fonseca]

MP Davies asked if there were any amendments to clauses 329 to 333. There are not.

Again, we're voting on clauses 322 to 325 and 329 to 333.

(Clauses 322 to 325 and 329 to 333 agreed to: yeas 6; nays 5)

Now, members, we are grouping clauses 334 to 385, 387 to 393, 395 to 401, 403 to 405, 407 to 409, 411, 413 to 437, 439, 440, 442 to 444, 446 to 460 and 462 to 468.

MP Davies, go ahead, please.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

There are a number of provisions, which concern the changes to the immigration and refugee provisions, that we would like to vote against. I'll read off the sections. I think they may have been covered, Mr. Chair, but stop me if you exempted them. I have clauses 391, 397, 400, 401, 403, 404, 405, 408, 411, 422, 427, 433, 434 through to 437, 439 and 440.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Fonseca]

We'll put those together first, so we're going to suspend for a couple of minutes, just to make sure that those are taken out of the ones that we are grouping together.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Fonseca]

We're back.

I want to thank the legislative clerks again for all their hard work. They have taken out from the groupings I mentioned the clauses that MP Davies wanted removed.

I will now cite all the clauses that we'll be voting on, with those removed. They are clauses 334 to 385, 387 to 390, 392, 393, 395, 396, 398, 399, 407, 409, 413 to 421, 423 to 426, 428 to 432, 442 to 444, 446 to 460 and 462 to 468.

That is what we are voting on now, members.

(Clauses 334 to 385, 387 to 390, 392, 393, 395, 396, 398, 399, 407, 409, 413 to 421, 423 to 426, 428 to 432, 442 to 444, 446 to 460 and 462 to 468 agreed to on division)

MP Davies, we now have all the clauses that you had requested be separate.

MP Davies.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Chair, for efficiency's sake, I would propose that we group all the sections that I've identified and have one recorded vote on all of them.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Fonseca]

Perfect. Thank you very much for that.

Members, I will read out all of the clauses that MP Davies has requested. We are putting them in as a group.

MP Ste-Marie, I apologize. I didn't see your hand. Please, go ahead.

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

I agree that we should have a recorded vote on these grouped clauses, but I would like to speak to them and ask a few questions.

Mr. Chair, should I ask my questions now or let you read out the clauses you've grouped together?

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Fonseca]

MP Ste-Marie, I will read out the clauses in the group. Then there will be an opportunity for debate. You and other members could speak to them individually or as a whole.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

I have a point of order, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Fonseca]

MP Davies.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

It could be an error or it could be just a turn of phrase, but Monsieur Ste-Marie used the word “amendments”. These are not being amended. I want to make sure he's clear. We're separating these out for special votes.