Debates of Feb. 24th, 2014

Proportional Representation

[Gerald Keddy, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margaret's, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition from my riding of South Shore—St. Margaret's supporting proportional representation.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I also rise today to present a petition gathered by citizens of Canada who want to see our electoral system reformed, and want to see proportional representation. The signatories of these petitions are primarily from the Winnipeg and Brandon areas, appropriate today as we debate Bill C-23, which would fail to make our elections fairer.

International Trade

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is signed primarily by residents of British Columbia communities in the Lower Mainland, Burnaby, Surrey, and Vancouver. The petitioners are calling on this Privy Council to refuse to ratify the Canada–China investment treaty. It remains ready for ratification and Canadians from coast to coast are urging this Parliament to act to ensure that it is not ratified, as it would compromise our sovereignty for the next 31 years.

Mining Industry

[Lise St-Denis, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to present a petition on behalf of my constituents in Saint-Maurice—Champlain. The petitioners are calling for the creation of a legal ombudsman mechanism for responsible mining.

Impaired Driving

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present petitions signed by a number of Canadians who want to see tougher laws and the implementation of new mandatory minimum sentencing for those persons convicted of impaired driving causing death.

Ukraine

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I am tabling a petition today that expresses the concerns of Canadians from all across Canada about the events currently taking place in Ukraine. Ukrainians want accountability for what has transpired over the past few months, particularly the government treatment of protestors. Seventy-seven protestors have died since violence escalated last week, and today Ukraine's acting government issued an arrest warrant for President Yanukovych.

The concerns in this petition reflect the calls by the Liberal Party this past weekend for an emergency resolution on Ukraine, calling on Canada to support Ukraine's transition to secure democracy and the international community to ensure that human rights violations are properly investigated and dealt with.

Canadians across Canada are united in their concern at what is going on in Ukraine.

Questions on the Order Paper

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The Chair has notice of three requests for emergency debates, and I will hear them in the order in which I received the letters.

First is the hon. member for Ottawa Centre.

Situation in Ukraine

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to stand today on behalf of my party and with Ukrainian Canadians and the people of Ukraine to request an emergency debate on the situation in Ukraine.

The situation has changed since I submitted my written notice last week, but it remains urgent and worthy of our immediate attention. This remains an emergency, and I would urge you, Mr. Speaker, to allow this debate to occur.

Free speech and the right to peaceful protests are fundamental to democracy. The extended use of repressive force by Ukrainian security forces has been entirely unacceptable. We are all saddened by the dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries and unjustified arrests that we have seen over the past weeks and months. Canada should lead the international community in supporting the Ukrainian people in achieving a lasting political solution. That includes justice for human rights, justice for the victims, and respect for democratic freedoms.

In light of last week's deal between the government and opposition parties and the subsequent removal and indictment of former president Yanukovych, further Canadian action is urgently needed to support political mediation and monitoring, including support for documentation of crimes and delegations of observers before and during the election to be held later this year. Parliamentarians, meaning us, need an opportunity to discuss how Canada can best respond to the situation and assist the people of Ukraine. The House must remain engaged with the ongoing political crisis.

Earlier today I spoke with a member of the opposition in the Ukrainian legislature, who described the situation as an emergency. She pleaded with me to go forward with the request for an emergency debate. Ukraine is struggling politically and economically as a result of this crisis. We know that right now is a critical time for the people of Ukraine to make this important transition. The Ukrainian people need friends like Canada now more than ever.

This is an opportunity to take a firm stand on our support for the people of Ukraine. We must show that our friendship is a long-term commitment and that we will remain vigilant to ensure that the recent political progress in Ukraine just this past week is not jeopardized.

Finally, if I may, I would hope that all members of Parliament will remember that the focus is the people of Ukraine and that we will rise above any partisan shots that might be tempting for all of us to make in this debate.

Speaker's Ruling

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I thank the hon. member for bringing this subject matter up. Obviously, it is of continual concern to many people in the House.

I did see fit to grant an emergency debate a short time ago on this very subject, and given the cycle of supply days today, I am not prepared to grant another one at this time.

Situation in Venezuela

[Jim Karygiannis, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, similarly, I am rising to ask for an emergency debate on the crisis in Venezuela.

Various cities in Venezuela have been undergoing peaceful student protests since Tuesday, February 11. These protests became violent when government entities began shooting and hitting peaceful protesters, resulting in six dead, and that number is growing. It includes two Catholic priests. Many others were hurt. Hundreds have been arrested and imprisoned without due process. Many have just gone missing.

News channels owned and managed by the government have not been reporting the situation. A Colombian news channel, NTN24, the only international channel broadcasting this news, has been taken off the air in Venezuela by the government regulatory body, violating national laws and human rights. Venezuelans are completely isolated and are relying on social media, which is being disrupted by slowing down the Internet, blocking images on Twitter, and even suspending the service. The Venezuelan government has limited the access of international and non-governmental organizations to the country, obstructing their ability to record and denounce the constant violations of human rights.

Canadians of Venezuelan heritage are asking that we in the House stand in solidarity with the Venezuelans fighting for democracy. Mr. Speaker, I urge you to allow this debate to take place.

Speaker's Ruling

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I thank the hon. member for Scarborough—Agincourt for raising this matter, but I do not think it rises to the threshold of granting an emergency debate at this time.

PED Virus

[Malcolm Allen, NDP, Welland, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask for an emergency debate on what is called PEDv, or porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, which has affected the pork industry. It is now in four provinces across our country: Manitoba; Ontario; Quebec, as of yesterday; and Prince Edward Island.

It is a disease new to our country. It broke out in the United States last year for the first time. It is not an unknown virus across the world, but it is new to North America.

It is an insidious virus that does not affect human health and does not affect the food supply chain per se, but it can indeed destroy the entire pork industry in our country by basically killing off young piglets. When they contract that virus, as the title says, they literally dehydrate to death. The mortality rate is beyond 80%.

The pork industry itself says if this were to take a foothold and go through the barns of our pork producers in the country, we are looking at estimated losses of around $45 million. Those would be catastrophic losses for them.

What is also important about this crisis is that the virus knows no boundary. It has affected the upper states of Montana and Wyoming, where it can go across the border into Alberta or into other provinces from those particular states. Pig farmers across the country are facing a huge dilemma. Just at a time when their industry had recovered for the last year and a half after a severe downturn, they are now faced with this catastrophic illness that is going through the industry.

That is why I ask today that we contemplate having an emergency debate to see what we can do federally, because at the moment it is being shunted and punted back to the provinces as a provincial issue. Clearly it has transformed across the borders and it is no longer just a provincial problem. It truly is a problem for the pork industry across the country. I ask that you entertain an emergency debate on that subject, Mr. Speaker.

Speaker's Ruling

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I thank the hon. member for raising this issue.

Given the supply day cycles, I am not prepared to grant one at this time, but I understand it is an evolving issue, and the member may wish to try again in the future.

Business of the House

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I propose a unanimous consent motion on the question of the situation in Ukraine.

I understand your ruling on the emergency debate and that your hands are very much tied by the rules of the House and the fact that we have recently had a debate. For that reason, notwithstanding there is some evolution and change in the circumstances in Ukraine, you are constrained, and it is difficult for you to grant an emergency debate in those circumstances.

However, there have been discussions among the parties, and in view of the importance of the situation, the concern that we have, the ongoing uncertainty, and the fact that it may evolve further, I believe you will find unanimous consent for the following motion:

That, notwithstanding any Standing Order or usual practice of the House, a debate on the subject of the evolving situation in Ukraine take place, pursuant to Standing Order 53.1, on Wednesday, February 26, 2014; that during the debate, no quorum calls, requests for unanimous consent or dilatory motions be received by the Chair; and that any Member rising to speak during debate may indicate to the Chair that he or she will be dividing his or her time with another Member.

I think all parties are very concerned that democracy be defended, that this is very much a situation where it hangs in the balance, and that Canadians want to hear from members of the House on it.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Does the hon. government House leader have the unanimous consent of the House to propose this motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The House has heard the terms of the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

(Motion agreed to)

[Jim Karygiannis, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order.

In view of what we just heard from the government side and the concerns raised about Ukraine, I would ask that we also do the same for Venezuela. Therefore, I would like to move the same motion that the House leader did, with different wording regarding Venezuela.

The situation there is just as critical, just as important, and just as deserving. Our discussion of Ukraine should also be for what is happening in Venezuela. The people in Ukraine are dying. The people in Venezuela are dying. It is a similar situation in different countries.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Does the hon. member for Scarborough—Agincourt have the unanimous consent of the House to propose a similar motion with Venezuela?

[Some hon. members]

No.