House of Commons Hansard #216 of the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was chair.
Bruce Hyer Green Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
Mr. Speaker, on May 14, the government tabled VIA Rail's troubling annual report. Ridership and on-time performance are down and costs and losses are up, but there may be hope. VIA is off track, but Amtrak is on track.
There are two unfilled positions on the VIA board. Will the Minister of Transport consider appointing former Amtrak president and Cape Breton resident David Gunn to our VIA board?
Jeff Watson ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, I will let the minister make the appropriate appointments in due course, but the member will know that VIA Rail is an independent arm's-length crown corporation responsible for its operational decisions. Its primary objective is to provide safe and efficient passenger service. In keeping with this, VIA is responsible for providing services in as cost-effective a manner as possible. It must work to ensure it is not a burden to taxpayers.
Louis Plamondon Bloc Bas-Richelieu—Nicolet—Bécancour, QC
Mr. Speaker, people who want to apply for permanent residence on humanitarian and compassionate grounds have until June 1 of this year. That date was set jointly with the Government of Quebec, but only 20% of the people involved have been able to take advantage of the measures in place. That is why Quebec asked the federal government to extend the deadline, but that request has been ignored.
Once again, federal neglect of humanitarian issues is putting thousands of Haitian families in Quebec in jeopardy. Will the government accommodate Quebec's request to extend the deadline until August 31, or will it respond with cold, callous bureaucracy?
Chris Alexander ConservativeMinister of Citizenship and Immigration
Mr. Speaker, far from being bureaucratic and cold, Canada still has the fairest and most generous immigration system in the world. That is why we gave Haitians the opportunity to stay in Canada without becoming permanent residents for 10 years after the earthquake and political instability in Haiti. Everyone affected by these measures was informed of the option to apply for permanent residence. We encouraged them to do so. Over one thousand applications have been received.
The figures mentioned by the member opposite are completely inaccurate. A large number of Haitians have taken advantage of this opportunity to become permanent residents of Canada.
Louis Plamondon Bloc Bas-Richelieu—Nicolet—Bécancour, QC
Mr. Speaker, this morning, key stakeholders of Quebec's agri-food industry, along with Quebec's agriculture minister, expressed their concern to the federal government about the trans-Pacific partnership negotiations. They are concerned about the pressure applied by trading partners with regard to supply management. That is the program that ensures fair incomes for our dairy, egg, and poultry producers, and generates 92,000 jobs in Quebec.
Can the Prime Minister promise that Canada will not give up its supply managed markets and will refuse to make any concessions in these sectors, as spelled out in the Bloc Québécois motion unanimously adopted by the House?
Maxime Bernier ConservativeMinister of State (Small Business and Tourism
Mr. Speaker, I would like to tell my colleague that we will continue to defend the trade interests of every industrial sector in Canada, including the agriculture sector, through the negotiations of this free trade agreement.
I would like my colleague to know that our government's past actions bode well for the future, since we have signed free trade agreements with the European Union and South Korea and have been able to protect supply management and the agriculture industry.
As always, our government will only sign a free trade agreement if it benefits every sector in Canada.
Maria Mourani Independent Ahuntsic, QC
Mr. Speaker, this winter highly qualified Canadian pilots were unemployed because of a reduction in flights associated with the oil and mining sectors. Now Sunwing Airlines has hired more than 100 foreign pilots while ignoring qualified and available Canadian pilots.
When will the Minister of Immigration tell companies like Sunwing Airlines that they must at all times give priority to hiring qualified, available Canadian pilots?
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeMinister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Democratic Reform
Mr. Speaker, before hiring foreign workers, the company must prove that it attempted to advertise the job in question to determine whether or not Canadians were available. We have put in place harsh penalties for those who break the rules. Our policy seeks to ensure that Canadians are given priority for jobs in Canada. Any company that breaks the rules will be punished.
The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer
I would like to draw to the attention of hon. members the presence in the gallery of His Excellency Galust Sahakyan, President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia.
Bernard Trottier ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and for La Francophonie
Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the treaties entitled: “Modifications to Canada's Government Procurement Market Access Schedule in the Revised Agreement on Government Procurement, pursuant to Article XIX of that Agreement” done in Geneva on March 30, 2012; “Modifications to Canada's Government Procurement Market Access Schedule in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), pursuant to Article 1022 of that Agreement” done at Ottawa on December 11 and 17, 1992, at Mexico on December 14 and 17, 1992, and at Washington on December 8 and 17, 1992; “Modifications to Canada's Government Procurement Market Access Schedule in the Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement pursuant to article KBIS-14 of that Agreement” done at Santiago on December 5, 1996; “Modifications to Canada's Government Procurement Market Access Schedule in the Canada-Columbia Free Trade Agreement pursuant to article 1413 of that Agreement” done at Bogota on May 27, 2010;
“Modifications to Canada's Government Procurement Market Access Schedule in the Canada-Honduras Free Trade Agreement, pursuant to article 17.16 of that Agreement” done at Ottawa on November 5, 2013; “Modifications to Canada's Government Procurement Market Access Schedule in the Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement, pursuant to article 14.4 of that Agreement” done at Ottawa on September 22, 2014; “Modifications to Canada's Government Procurement Market Access Schedule in the Canada-Panama Free Trade Agreement, pursuant to article 16.14 of that Agreement” done at Ottawa on May 14, 2010; and “Modifications to Canada's Government Procurement Market Access Schedule in the Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement, pursuant to article 1413 of that Agreement” done at Lima on May 28, 2008.
Explanatory memoranda accompany the treaties.
Royal Galipeau Conservative Ottawa—Orléans, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fifth report of the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs in relation to its study of the main estimates for 2015-16.
Foreign Affairs and International DevelopmentCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings
Conservative
Dean Allison Conservative Niagara West—Glanbrook, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the ninth report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development entitled, “The Aftermath of the Rwandan Genocide – A Study of the Crisis of Children Born of Rape Committed during the Genocide”; and the tenth report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development entitled, “Main Estimates 2015-16: Votes 1, 5, 10, 15, 20 and L25 under Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, vote 1 under International Development Research Centre and vote 1 under International Joint Commission (Canadian Section)”.
Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to the ninth report.
Peter Van Loan ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties, and I believe that if you were to seek it, you would find unanimous consent for the following motion.
I move:
That, during the debate today on the Business of Supply pursuant to Standing Order 81(4), no quorum calls, dilatory motions or requests for unanimous consent shall be received by the Chair and, within each 15-minute period, each party may allocate time to one or more of its Members for speeches or for questions and answers, provided that, in the case of questions and answers, the Minister's answer approximately reflect the time taken by the question, and provided that, in the case of speeches, Members of the party to which the period is allocated may speak one after the other.
The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer
Does the hon. government House leader have unanimous consent to propose the motion?
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?
LaVar Payne Conservative Medicine Hat, AB
Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions to present. This is another one of the dozens that I have already presented in terms of the Species at Risk Act.
Constituents across southern Alberta as well as Saskatchewan ask that the House of Commons rescind the Species at Risk Act and replace it with an act that encourages voluntary implementation.
LaVar Payne Conservative Medicine Hat, AB
Mr. Speaker, the second petition is similar. It is on the sage grouse.
The petitioners ask the House of Commons to rescind the strategy that has been in place and create something that is more palatable to the constituents of southeast Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan.
LaVar Payne Conservative Medicine Hat, AB
Mr. Speaker, my final petition is on emergency protection order for the sage grouse.
The petitioners are asking the government to rescind the emergency protection order and replace it with an order that encourages voluntary implementation.
François Choquette NDP Drummond, QC
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House on behalf of hundreds of people from Drummond who signed a petition calling on the government to respect the rights of small family farms to store, trade and use seed.
The petitioners are calling on the House of Commons to adopt international aid policies that support small farmers, and especially women, and recognize their vital role in the struggle against hunger and poverty, to ensure that Canada's policies and programs are developed in consultation with small farmers and that those policies protect the rights of small farmers in the global south to save, use and freely trade their seed.
Ron Cannan Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
Mr. Speaker, my petition informs the House that a young person who was 18 years of age was tragically killed by a drunk driver who chose to drive while impaired. Obviously the family has been devastated by the loss of their son.
Families For Justice, a group of Canadians who have had a loved one killed by an impaired driver, believes that Canada's impaired driving laws are much too lenient. They would like the crime to be called vehicular homicide.
It is the number one cause of criminal death in Canada. Over 1,200 Canadians are killed every year by drunk drivers. Families For Justice is calling for mandatory sentencing for vehicular homicide, and for Parliament to support Bill C-652, Kassandra's law.
Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions.
The first petition is from Canadian Menstruators, who are concerned that there is a disproportionate financial burden on women because they pay GST on feminine hygiene products. They ask the Government of Canada to extend a 0% GST rate to menstrual hygiene products.