Foreign Affairs Committee on Dec. 7th, 2022

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Thank you. I am not being offered any indulgences that go beyond the clear parameters of the rules established, which are that a member may move a motion that has been on notice for 48 hours. The requirement that the motion be in line with the topic currently being discussed applies in the cases of motions for which there is not notice. It does not apply in the case of motions for which there is notice.

When there is 48 hours' notice, members are able to move motions and speak to the motions. That is what I'm doing. I am moving a motion. I have already moved a motion with respect to Gazprom turbines and calling on the Government of Canada to revoke the waiver of Russian sanctions granted for the export of Gazprom turbines by January 5, 2023.

I believe this is an urgent matter, which is why I think it is important to bring it up. I would have liked to see the committee pronounce on this matter much earlier, which is why a different motion that dealt with this issue was moved previously. That motion was filibustered by members of the government.

It's why we had a study ongoing on the issue of Gazprom turbines, and I had hoped that today would be the day when we approved a committee report to the House dealing with the issue of Gazprom turbines. That report was not approved—

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

On a point of order, Mr. Chair, that same member has accused other members of this committee of referring to things that occurred in camera and discussions that occurred in camera, and he has just done exactly the same thing. I would remind the member opposite that we are to be studying at this very moment women's reproductive and health rights, and that he is filibustering that discussion because he does not agree that women should have their health protected. I understand his position. I understand that he doesn't care about women's reproductive and health rights and that other members have been asked to come in and lend support to that member so that he may continue on filibustering this discussion.

Mr. Chair, I would invite you to bring this meeting back to order and allow us to ask questions of the witnesses who are before us on the study of women's reproductive and health rights.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Thanks, Ms. Bendayan.

Mr. Genuis, as you are fully aware, we have witnesses appearing before us here at committee who are here to be questioned by the members about reproductive rights. You're fully aware of that, so I would ask that you actually factor that in as well while you're speaking to extend some courtesy to the witnesses.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Chair, I do want to respond to the point of order, before I continue with my remarks, by noting that there is a difference between referring to matters that are covered in camera and referring to matters that will appear in the minutes of the meeting.

The minutes of the meeting report what was agreed to, and it is no violation of the in camera rule to point out that something is not in the minutes. I am able to refer to the fact that the adoption of reports was not agreed to during the in camera portion of the committee because what is agreed to and by extension what is not agreed to can be determined by looking at the minutes.

What I cannot do and would not do is cast aspersions about why in particular that did or didn't happen or make claims about what was said during the in camera portion of the meeting. Respectfully, Ms. Bendayan made many false accusations about me during her last intervention. One of them was procedural and others were not, but I hope you will agree with me on at least the procedural one, Mr. Chair.

Again, I would like to be able to proceed with at least a mouthful of commentary on this motion, which I think is important. The committee has before it unfinished business with respect to the issue of Gazprom turbines. That is why it's important for the committee to complete that unfinished business. It is certainly a matter of public record that Conservatives have tried repeatedly to schedule and seek the completion of the discussion of the Gazprom turbine issue.

In fact the last time the Conservatives sought to resume and complete the discussion of the Gazprom turbine issue, we had witnesses, and one of those witnesses was me. I was here testifying on my private member's bill and nonetheless a member of our caucus moved to resume consideration of the Gazprom issue.

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Chair, point of order on relevance. It is clearly irrelevant to the motion that my colleague is speaking to.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

No, it is not. It is clearly exactly on the topic, which is—

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

He is referring to his private member's bill, which is not relevant to the Gazprom motion that he has moved.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

—the importance of the Gazprom issue.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Mr. Genuis, can we please hear Ms. Bendayan?

Ms. Bendayan.

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

The member's private member's bill is certainly not relevant to the Gazprom motion that he has put forward. He is now just grasping at straws in order to fill time. It is quite unfortunate and very boring to hear, whereas the rest of us would like to get to the study that was scheduled for today, which is on women's reproductive and health rights. My point of order is on relevance.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Thank you, Ms. Bendayan.

We now go back to Mr. Genuis.

I would ask you, Mr. Genuis, to please bear in mind that we have witnesses here. That's the first thing I would ask you to bear in mind. Second, we have interpreters too, so bear that in mind.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

I'm certainly grateful for the work done by our interpreters. I will continue speaking to my motion in accordance with the rules, as I have been doing.

The committee has been seeking to complete its work. Many members of this committee have been seeking to complete the work on the Gazprom issue. When the committee adopted a motion in June to consider, at the insistence of the Liberal Party, the issue of abortion laws in other countries—which was something that the Liberal Party was very keen to have discussed—we expressed the view that the committee should at the very least complete its existing work on the issues before it, which at the time were, first and foremost, Ukraine but also vaccine equity and the issue of Taiwan.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Go ahead, Ms. McPherson.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The member keeps referring to the motion for the study as the abortion study, and that is incorrect. This is a study on reproductive rights for women, the full range of reproductive rights and reproductive health. It is appalling to me that he is once again, one out of eleven members, overtaking the will of the committee and trying to impose his will upon us. It is appalling to me that he does not believe that the reproductive rights—not abortion but the reproductive rights of—

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Chair, can you enforce the rules?

This is not a point of order, and you know it.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

I would ask, Mr. Chair, that you explain to the member—because perhaps he didn't read the motion initially—that the motion is in fact on reproductive rights for women around the world. It is—

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Can you enforce the rules, Mr. Chair?

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

It is in fact a motion on reproductive rights, the full range [Technical difficulty—Editor].

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Mr. Genuis, the first rule is that if you have not been recognized, you can't speak.

I'd like to hear from Ms. McPherson.

Ms. McPherson.

[A voice]

She is having a technical issue.

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Don Valley West, ON]

I'd like to speak on Ms. McPherson's point of order until she is able to come back.

I'm wondering if there's a link between this. Would Mr. Genuis consider understanding the conflict-related gender-based violence in Ukraine, which is causing women and girls to be raped on a daily basis, thus causing unintended pregnancies in a war zone? Would he be open to considering that to be perhaps a way of recognizing the interrelatedness of the very important issue of reproductive rights and also the war in Ukraine? It is a situation in which women will die from having unsafe abortions of unintended pregnancies because Russian soldiers have raped them.

Would he consider that as a way of opening up the discussion that brings in the two concepts?

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Thank you, Mr. Oliphant.

I'm sure the members will recall that while we were hearing from witnesses for the Ukraine study this issue did come up on several occasions; hence the interest of many members to proceed with an examination of the witnesses here on the issue of reproductive rights.

I would ask, Mr. Genuis, that you refer to this study using the correct terminology. Thank you.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Chair, I frankly find your activity thus far to be extremely curious—

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Likewise, Mr. Genuis.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

We've had members who have sought points of order and have gone on at length without reference to—