Debates of May 6th, 2015

Foreign Affairs

[Lynne Yelich, Conservative, Minister of State (Foreign Affairs and Consular)]

Mr. Speaker, we thank the Canadian Forces for their hard work in evacuating Canadians out of Nepal. On three separate occasions, a C-17 has been available to evacuate Canadian citizens that require assistance. We deployed additional consular staff to help deal with the crisis. We have a dedicated staff that worked around the clock for the emergency watch and response centre. We sent hundreds of emergency travel documents to assist travel. Consular operations are being run out of the Canadian consulate in Kathmandu and New Delhi.

I urge Canadians and their families, if they have more concerns, to contact the emergency watch and response centre.

Sports

[Jean-François Larose, Forces et Démocratie, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in April, during Autism Month, I informed the Minister of State for Sport about the situation of a young gymnast from Repentigny, in Lanaudière, whose dream is to participate in the Special Olympics. Even though he has the talent and his family is offering to pay his way and even though it is extremely important for people with autism to have a role model, his dream is being shattered by Special Olympics Canada, which does not recognize gymnastics as an official sport.

The Minister of State for Sport told me that he would look into this. Can he tell me when he will make his decision?

[Bal Gosal, Conservative, Minister of State (Sport)]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to congratulate this young man for his accomplishments. My office is working with Special Olympics Canada to make sure that this matter is dealt with.

We are proud of supporting our athletes, especially Special Olympics Canada. We had $10 million in last year's budget and $20 million for Olympians and Paralympians this year. We are proud of our investment in sports.

Decorum

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have such enormous respect for the House. It has been 11 years of great service.

If I said anything that was untoward in any heckles yesterday, I would withdraw those remarks because I want to show my respect for this institution that we are all called to serve.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I thank the hon. member for that.

Interparliamentary Delegations

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I have the honour to lay upon the table the report of a Canadian parliamentary delegation concerning its visit to the United Kingdom, January 19 and 20.

Government Response to Petitions

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

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8) I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to 18 petitions.

Canadian Security Intelligence Service

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), I would like to table, in both official languages, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service 2013-14 public report.

Interparliamentary Delegations

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian delegation of the Canadian Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, respecting its participation at the 59th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, held in New York on March 11.

[Gord Brown, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present, in both official languages, four reports of the Canadian delegation of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group.

The first report concerns the 2014 Annual Meeting of the Western Governors' Association, held in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States, June 9 to 11, 2014.

The second report concerns the 54th Annual Meeting and Regional Policy Forum of the Council of State Governments' Eastern Regional Conference, held in Baltimore, Maryland, August 3 to 6, 2014.

The third report concerns the Annual National Conference of the Council of State Governments and the Annual Meeting of the Council of State Governments-WEST, held in Anchorage, Alaska, United States, August 9 to 13, 2014.

The fourth, and last, report concerns the 2014 winter meeting of the Western Governors' Association, held in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, December 6 and 7, 2014.

Public Accounts

[David Christopherson, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, is the 15th report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts on Chapter 3, Mental Health Services for Veterans, of the Fall 2014 Report of the Auditor General of Canada.

[Malcolm Allen, NDP, Welland, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chair of the committee. I want to tell the House about the hard work the the committee has done. On this side of the House, we appended an additional report to that main report, which talked about how we needed to ensure that our veterans would get the mental health services they deserved.

The Auditor General was clear that it was not happening under the Conservative watch. It needs to change and will have to continue to change, and that is not happening. Clearly, the Surgeon General said that it was untimely, as did the deputy minister. Veterans do not get the services they need and we need to ensure that happens.

[David Christopherson, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I also have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 16th report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts on Chapter 6, Nutrition North Canada—Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, of the Fall 2014 Report of the Auditor General of Canada.

Pursuant to Standing Order 109 of the House of Commons, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response for the 15th and 16th reports.

Public Safety and National Security

[Daryl Kramp, Conservative, Prince Edward—Hastings, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 11th report of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security, on Bill C-42, An Act to amend the Firearms Act and the Criminal Code and to make a related amendment and a consequential amendment to other Acts. The committee has studied the bill and has decided to report the bill back to the House with an amendment.

Natural Resources

[Leon Benoit, Conservative, Vegreville—Wainwright, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 11th report of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources in relation to the main estimates for 2015-16.

Navigation Protection Act (Montmorency River and other rivers and lakes)

[Jonathan Tremblay, NDP, Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord, QC]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-673, An Act to amend the Navigation Protection Act (Montmorency River and other rivers and lakes).

Mr. Speaker, water is one of the most important natural resources for future generations, and it is crucial that we conserve and protect it for everyone. I am introducing this bill because the government has failed to meet this objective.

I want to thank the watershed organizations that lent their expertise and contributed greatly to the drafting of this bill. These organizations, like watersheds themselves, are real watchdogs for our waterways. They do very important work and carry out substantial projects with few resources.

In collaboration with my colleagues from the Quebec City region, I conducted some extensive public consultations to hear from the people we proudly represent here in the House of Commons. The results speak for themselves. Our lakes, rivers and waterways must be protected for future generations and for the preservation of our ecosystem.

In a riding like Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord, which stretches along the majestic St. Lawrence River and is full of salmon rivers and drinking water basins, it is especially true that water is central to our identity and our economy. That is why restoring federal environmental protection measures will play an important role in the long-term health of our watersheds, which are essential sources of drinking water in our regions, and will also play an important role in salmon enhancement and habitat restoration.

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

Impaired Driving

[Garry Breitkreuz, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I am presenting a petition that sadly informs the House that Bradley Arsenault, age 18, Kole Novak, age 18, and Thaddeus Lake, age 22 were tragically killed by a drunk driver that chose to drive while impaired. The Arsenault, Novak and Lake families have been left devastated.

Families For Justice is a group of Canadians who have had a loved one killed by an impaired driver. These Canadians believe that Canada's impaired driving laws are much too lenient. They want the crime to be called what it is, vehicular homicide. It is the number one cause of criminal death in Canada. Over 1,200 Canadians are killed every year by a drunk driver.

Families For Justice is calling for mandatory sentences for vehicular homicide and for Parliament to support Bill C-652, Kassandra's law.

International Aid

[Françoise Boivin, NDP, Gatineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, during the last constituency week, I had the pleasure of meeting with a delegation from Development and Peace, which is very active in my community. It discussed with me the issue of respect for the rights of small family farms to store, trade and use seed.

This organization has collected hundreds and hundreds of signatures in the riding from people who are calling on the government to adopt international aid policies that support small farmers, especially women, and recognize their vital role in the struggle against hunger and poverty, to ensure that Canadian policies and programs are developed in consultation with small farmers, and to ensure that they protect the rights of small farmers in the global south to save, use and freely trade their seed.

Canada Post

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition from hundreds of Canadians who ask Parliament to reverse the plan to axe our long-treasured postal services because it will kill jobs, eliminate door-to-door delivery, close post offices and has drastically increased postal rates. There are 6,000 to 8,000 workers who will lose their jobs and 5 million households will lose door-to-door delivery over the next five years, which will hurt seniors and disabled Canadians in particular.

The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to reverse the cuts to service announced by Canada Post and to look to things like postal banking to augment our postal service.

Genetically Modified Organisms

[Frank Valeriote, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have several petitions signed by over 150 people from in and around Guelph to bring to the attention of the government the possible negative health effects of GMOs, the negative impact GMOs have on organic and non-GMOs crops, the inability of farmers to save their own seeds, and the concern about the absence of labelling GMO food.

The petitioners ask the government to put a moratorium on the licensing and release of further GMOs, including, and especially, the release of GMO alfalfa.

Latin-American Heritage Day

[Paulina Ayala, NDP, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition concerning Latin-American heritage day.

Several dozen people of Latin American origin want their communities to be recognized for the work they are doing across Canada. They support Bill C-635 to designate October 5 as Latin-American heritage day throughout Canada.

Consumer Protection

[Paulina Ayala, NDP, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I also want to present a petition signed by many Canadians about making life more affordable:

We the undersigned residents of Canada draw the attention of [the Government of Canada] to the following: ...practical proposals to cap ATM fees at 50 cents per transaction, widen access to low-interest credit cards...

Veterans

[Matthew Kellway, NDP, Beaches—East York, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition today to ensure the dignity of all of Canada's veterans.

The signatories to the petition want to point the House to the fact that although veterans and their families deserve our deepest gratitude and respect and deserve to be taken care of, many veterans and their families cannot access adequate health care, pensions and other vital services, and now struggle with the closure of front-line Veterans Affairs offices.

The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to implement improved services, such as quality home care, long-term care and mental health care for our veterans and their families.

Violence Against Women

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, violence against women is an abomination, yet in communities across Canada, women and girls of all ages face violence every day. Violence drives over 100,000 women and children out of their homes and into shelters each year.

The petitioners call upon the government to work in partnership with the provinces, territories and stakeholders to develop a national strategy and action plan to end violence against women and to hold a national public inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women in Canada.

Employment Insurance

[Réjean Genest, NDP, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition for a fair employment insurance system.

We call upon the Government of Canada to reverse the devastating changes it has made to EI and restore fair access to decent EI benefits for jobless workers.