House of Commons Hansard #103 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was veterans.
Jean-Yves Duclos LiberalMinister of Families
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for raising this issue.
In budget 2016, we announced important measures to increase the flexibility and inclusivity of EI benefits. We also announced substantial investments to improve the quality of government services. I look forward to working with all members of the House to ensure that those services are as useful and as relevant as possible for all unemployed workers.
Eva Nassif Liberal Vimy, QC
Mr. Speaker, today, many members had an opportunity to meet Paralympic and Olympic athletes along with the coaches who were in Rio, but we were not the only ones to have that opportunity.
Many students also had an opportunity to meet them at two events held simultaneously in Gatineau and Ottawa.
Can the minister tell us about the important role our athletes play in the lives of young people?
Carla Qualtrough LiberalMinister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities
Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague from Vimy for her question.
On behalf of all parliamentarians, I want to congratulate our athletes on their performances in Rio and thank them for playing an important role in our society and in the lives of young people. Close to 1,000 students were with our Olympic and Paralympic athletes this morning. Our athletes inspire young people to be more active and more involved in sports, to dream, and to aspire to their own podium.
I wish to welcome our athletes later on and to give them the heroes' welcome they deserve in the House for representing Canada on behalf of all Canadians. I thank them for their wonderful results in Rio this summer.
Shannon Stubbs Conservative Lakeland, AB
Mr. Speaker, the minister's excuse for closing the Vegreville processing centre and moving it to a Liberal city riding is nonsense.
He claimed there was a strong business case and cited efficiencies. He also said that the union agrees, but prairie PSAC reps say, “This has nothing to do with workload or the capacity of these employees to deliver service.... The reasons given by department heads were trivial”. They confirm that senior officials said that no cost analysis was done. They call for a reversal of this edict.
How can Vegreville believe anything the minister says?
John McCallum LiberalMinister of Immigration
Mr. Speaker, we are working with the stakeholders to ease the transition.
My staff has had a good conversation with the mayor. I would be happy to meet the member at any time.
The fact of the matter is there is a net increase in jobs in Alberta, but there is a strong case for this. We have a responsibility to spend taxpayers' money wisely, to improve the efficiency of the immigration department and reduce processing times.
Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
Mr. Speaker, here is a scenario. If the CETA agreement were in force and a controversial Ajax mine in Kamloops, British Columbia were turned down by the British Columbia government, the Polish mining company would have the right to bring an arbitration case against Canada. On the other hand, were a Canadian company to have a grievance with Poland, it is not at all clear that it could sue, because Wallonia has won opt-out provisions for every European nation.
Will the Prime Minister commit that Parliament will have adequate time to research, study, and understand CETA before we vote on it?
David Lametti LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for bringing her unique voice to the House. CETA is clearly in Canada's national interest, and it is time for all of us to rally around it. On top of delivering tangible growth for our economy and opportunities for the middle class, CETA will provide a strong foundation for Canada and the EU to demonstrate leadership on what is truly a progressive accord, a green accord, a health accord, and a labour accord. It also enshrines the right to regulate.
The ICS provisions, I suspect, are something that the trade committee will look at over the upcoming weeks. We will work with the committee and with our European partners as well.
The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan
I would like to draw to the attention of hon. members the presence in the gallery of Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, 11th Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth.
The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan
Pursuant to order made Tuesday, October 26, 2016, the House will now resolve itself into a committee of the whole to welcome Olympic and Paralympic athletes.
I do now leave the Chair for the House to resolve itself into committee of the whole.
(House in committee of the whole to recognize the 2016 Summer Olympic Games and Paralympic Games athletes, Mr. Geoff Regan in the chair)
[And Canada's 2016 Olympic and Paralympic athletes being present in the chamber:]
The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan
Canadians are rightly proud of our athletes. Like them, we all appreciate the years of training and sacrifice and the determination it takes to become a world-class athlete.
Today is an opportunity to recognize the coaches, the administrators, and the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Committees for their support, as well as our athletes.
As we are welcoming a very large group of people into a restricted space, I would ask members not to impede the athletes' parade through the chamber. I understand there is agreement among all parties to have the names of the Olympic and Paralympic athletes who are with us today printed in the Debates. Members are all welcome to join our guests at a reception immediately following in room 237-CB.
Now it is my pleasure to welcome onto the floor of the chamber many of the athletes who competed at this year's Olympic and Paralympic summer games in Rio:
Rosie MacLennan, David Eng, Penny Oleksiak, Camille Berube, Eric Bussiere, Cody Caldwell, Tammy Cunnington, Patrice Dagenais, Marco Dispaltro, Angelina Dolezar, Theresa Ferguson, Christine Gauthier, Shelley Gautier, Nydia Langill, Pamela LeJean, Alison Levine, Charles Moreau, Cindy Ouellet, Austin Smeenk, Michelle Stilwell, Curtis Thom, Amanda Yan, Crispin Duenas, Georcy-Stéphanie Thiffeault Picard, Mathieu Bilodeau, Aaron Brown, Alicia Brown, Lucas Bruchet, Brittany Crew, Derek Drouin, Evan Dunfee, Crystal Emmanuel, Liz Gleadle, Inaki Gomez-Goroztieta, Nikkita Holder, Farah Jacques, Sekou Kaba, Segun Makinde, Noelle Montcalm, Carline Muir, Tim Nedow, Jessica O'Connell, Charles Philibert-Thiboutot, Anthony Romaniw, Andrea Seccafien, Gabriela Stafford, Taryn Suttie, Damian Warner, Sage Watson, Chris Winter, Jennifer Brown, Eva Fejes, Renee Foessel, Alister McQueen, Ness Murby, Guillaume Ouellet, Marissa Papaconstantinou, Tristan Smyth, Kevin Strybosch, Roberta Fried-Levine, Francine Hebert, Joanna Marchlewicz, Arthur Biyarslanov, Mandy Bujold, Ariane Fortin, Cameron Smedley, Michael Tayler, Ryan Cochrane, Mark de Jonge, Hugues Fournel, Emilie Fournel, Kathleen Fraser, Genevieve Orton, Adam van Koeverden, Erica Scarff, Allison Beveridge, Leandre Bouchard, Laura Brown, Karol-Ann Canuel, Raphaël Gagné, Jasmin Glaesser, Leah Kirchmann, Kirsti Lay, Kate O'Brien, Georgia Simmerling, Michael Woods, Tristen Chernove, Nicole Clermont, Alan Greer, Jean-Michel Lachance, Michael Sametz, Robbi Weldon, Ross Wilson, Maxim Bouchard, Roseline Filion, Philippe Gagné, Pamela Ware, Joseph Polossifakis, Brenden Bissett, David Carter, Taylor Curran, Adam Froese, Jagdish Gill, Gordon Johnston, Antoni Kindler, Benjamin Martin, Sukhi Panesar, Mark Pearson, Matthew Sarmento, Iain Smythe, Stephanie Labbe, Shelina Zadorsky, Whitney Bogart, Bruno Haché, Meghan Mahon, Blair Nesbitt, Douglas Ripley, Ahmad Zeividavi, Elsabeth Black, Rosannagh MacLennan, Scott Morgan, Shallon Olsen, Priscilla Gagne, Tony Walby, Melanie McCann, Curtis Halladay, Kristen Kit, Meghan Montgomery, Victoria Nolan, Julien Bahain, Will Crothers, Will Dean, Robert Gibson, Susanne Grainger, Brendan Hodge, Lindsay Jennerich, Maxwell Lattimer, Jennifer Martins, Natalie Mastracci, Conlin McCabe, Cristy Nurse, Patricia Obee, Nicolas Pratt, Lisa Roman, Christine Roper, Tim Schrijver, Antje von Seydlitz-Kurzbach, Lauren Wilkinson, Eric Woelfl, Carling Zeeman, Ghislaine Landry, Karen Paquin, Jacob Chaplin Saunders, Graeme Chaplin-Saunders, Nikola Girke, Lee Parkhill, Erin Rafuse, Luke Ramsay, Tom Ramshaw, Ryan Cochrane, Stephanie Horner, Yuri Kisil, Audrey Lacroix, Brittany MacLean, Sandrine Mainville, Kylie Masse, Martha McCabe, Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson, Kierra Smith, Markus Thormeyer, Michelle Williams, Morgan Bird, Isaac Bouckley, Sabrina Duchesne, Alexander Elliot, Devin Gotell, Benoit Huot, Jean-Michel Lavallière, James Leroux, Danial Murphy, Tess Routliffe, Katarina Roxon, Samantha Ryan, Abi Tripp, Nicolas Guy Turbide, Jacqueline Simoneau, Karine Thomas, Eugenie Bouchard, Sarah-Anne Brault, Amelie Kretz, Tyler Mislawchuk, Andrew Yorke, Stefan Daniel, Chantal Givens, Christine Robbins, Heather Bansley, Josh Binstock, Jamie Broder, Benjamin Saxton, Chaim Schalk, Kristina Valjas, Chantal Beauchesne, Leanne Muldrew, Shacarra Orr, Tessa Popoff, Amber Skyrpan, Jolan Wong, Katelyn Wright, Marie-Eve Beauchemin-Nadeau, Pascal Plamondon, Erica Gavel, Korey Jarvis, Jasmine Mian, Erica Wiebe, Dorothy Yeats.
[And Canada’s 2016 Olympic and Paralympic athletes having left the Chamber:]
Kent Hehr LiberalMinister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2) I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the Veterans Ombudsman's Annual Report 2015-16.
Kevin Lamoureux LiberalParliamentary 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 56 petitions.
Kevin Sorenson Conservative Battle River—Crowfoot, AB
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 18th report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts entitled “Report 1. Venture Capital Action Plan, of the Spring 2016 Reports of the Auditor General of Canada”. Pursuant to Standing Order 109 the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.
I would like to thank the analyst, the researchers, the clerk, and all the officials that helped with this report. We certainly appreciate the professionalism and the good work they do in helping the public accounts committee.
Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-319, An Act to amend the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act, the Judges Act, the Public Service Superannuation Act and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act (survivor pension benefits).
Mr. Speaker, the first bill I wish to introduce today addresses the paternalistic legislation that prevents veterans, the RCMP, judges, and public sector employees, who choose to marry after the age of 60, from providing pension benefits after their death to their spouses.
As we age, we depend more and more on our spouses for care. Sometimes these can be the most difficult years of one's life. Spouses have a right to access pension benefits no matter at what age the relationship began, no matter when love began. The bill corrects this injustice.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-320, An Act to amend the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act (deletion of deduction from annuity).
Mr. Speaker, the second bill I am introducing today ends the unfair reduction of service pensions for retired and disabled Canadian Forces and RCMP veterans. The service pensions of Canadian Forces or RCMP members are unfairly offset when members begin to collect Canada pension plan benefits, or if members become disabled and collect Canada pension plan disability benefits.
The bill will end the unfair deductions. For their service and sacrifice, veterans and their families deserve to be treated with financial dignity, when they retire or when they become disabled.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Cheryl Gallant Conservative Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition signed by campers who stayed at the Recreationland Tent & Trailer Park in Cumberland, Ontario, which is located in the riding of Glengarry—Prescott—Russell. The petitioners call on the government to ensure that campgrounds with fewer than five full-time, year-round employees, will continue to be recognized and taxed as small businesses.
Alistair MacGregor NDP Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House, yet again, and present another series of signatures on behalf of the unyielding and relentless residents of Shawnigan Lake in my riding of Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, who have been long fighting a contaminated soil dump in their watershed. They are petitioning the Government of Canada to protect this critical watershed from contaminated soil under the authority of the Fisheries Act.
Dan Albas Conservative Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition put forward by people from my riding and adjacent areas.
Ovarian cancer is one of the most fatal forms of cancer affecting women in Canada. Over 2,800 will be diagnosed this year, and over 1,750 will die this year of the disease. Treatments have not changed since the 90s, and the results have not changed in 50 years in any progressive way.
The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to support ovarian cancer research by submitting an extra $10 million in this year's upcoming budget.
Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
Mr. Speaker, I rise to present two petitions today.
The first is one of the new forms of e-petitions. It calls on the Government of Canada to re-examine, and go back to the original use of the Bank of Canada as an interest-free source of loans for worthwhile projects.
Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
Mr. Speaker, the second petition is from residents throughout my riding. It calls on the government to support global efforts for small farmers, mostly women, in the global south, and particularly to protect their right to save seeds.