Debates of Dec. 13th, 2016

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, we have been working very actively on a two-part strategy. We will bring Yazidi people, women and girls, from Turkey and Lebanon. We have also sent groups of officials into Iraq to consider, and we will bring them from that country as well. The member should understand this is an extremely dangerous part of the world, and so we cannot release the details of our plan, but we are committed to do it and to do it on time.

The Environment

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, indigenous communities in northern Alberta are calling for action on toxic contamination of their traditional foods. Repeated studies have revealed that rising levels of toxins emitted by oil sands operations are contaminating the Athabasca River and Wood Buffalo National Park, despite the mandatory duty of the federal health minister to act on evidence that toxins may impact health.

All that the previous Conservative government did was initiate attacks on a brave doctor who revealed his concerns. Will the current health minister finally act?

[Catherine McKenna, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for her advocacy on this issue.

We are working together, the health minister and I, in addressing concerns in relation to toxins. We take this file very seriously and will continue to act.

Innovation, Science and Economic Development

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this morning I was very pleased to participate in an announcement at the University of Ottawa, where our government committed over $51 million to support the creation of a new state-of-the-art science and technology complex. This will be a multi-disciplinary innovation hub that will support the entrepreneurship activities of students and researchers.

Can the minister please update the House on how investments such as this at the University of Ottawa are supporting economic growth, spurring innovation, and creating jobs?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Ottawa South for his hard work in the region and for promoting innovation.

As the member knows, the investment at the University of Ottawa is part of an overall $2 billion allocation that we have for strategic investments for our universities and colleges, which will leverage, with the provinces, territories, and institutions, $4.8 billion.

This is about innovation. Innovation is about better jobs, better opportunities, better living standards, and a better future for our children and grandchildren. As the Prime Minister says, better is always possible.

Health

[Mike Lake, Conservative, Edmonton—Wetaskiwin, AB]

Mr. Speaker, in our balanced budget of 2015, Prime Minister Harper and finance minister Joe Oliver established an expert working group tasked with the creation of a Canadian autism partnership to support those living with autism, their families, and caregivers. The current leader of the opposition, who was then health minister, officially launched the working group that summer. This world-leading team of Canadians has completed its work and reported back to the Liberal health minister with a business plan and a request for support

Can Canadians living with autism and their families count on the minister's support for this important initiative?

[Jane Philpott, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for his very important work on this matter.

He certainly knows that autism spectrum disorder has a significant and lifelong impact on individuals and their families. We have made significant investments in this area, for instance, through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. The government has invested more than $27 million on direct research related to autism in the last five years.

We are committed to working with all partners to help Canadians with disabilities to participate in our society, including work with the Canadian Autism Spectrum Disorders Alliance. They bring the perspective of those living with autism and their families.

I have received the proposal indicated by the member, to establish a Canadian—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Rivière-du-Nord.

Political Party Financing

[Rhéal Fortin, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois introduced a bill in the House to clean up political party financing. It restores public funding and lowers the contribution limit. This goes beyond ethics. It is about trust in democracy. Democracy loses when there is an appearance of cronyism with the elite and it also loses when the public is under the impression that major donors are controlling their government.

The public wants to know: Will the government vote in favour of our bill, yes or no?

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows full well that the rules governing political financing are among the strictest in the country. We will continue to follow the rules. The Chief Electoral Officer also said that Canada's political financing laws are among the most advanced and strict and transparent in the world.

[Luc Thériault, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

Mr. Speaker, throughout the session, the government has provided us with a myriad of opportunities to criticize its $1,500 cocktail parties offering privileged access to the Prime Minister.

In the report of the Special Committee on Electoral Reform, Jean-Pierre Kingsley proposed returning to the per-vote subsidy system of party financing in order to make things fair. The Bloc Québécois introduced a bill that would do just that. It is a balanced bill that eliminates sectoral financing and the undue influence of major donors.

What is the government going to do? Will it play back its prerecorded message about having the strictest rules or will it restore the per-vote subsidy system of party financing?

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, far from a prerecorded message, these are facts that I am sharing with members of the House and Canadians.

Our government will continue to consult and engage with Canadians so that we can respond to the real challenges they are facing.

[Simon Marcil, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance urged me to read the provisions of Bill C-29. He said:

He might want to know what he is talking about before asking a question. I can tell him very clearly that, in Marcotte, the Supreme Court asked us to clarify consumer protection provisions.

I read the Marcotte ruling. The court does not call on the federal government to do anything; rather, it requires the banks to respect Quebec and Quebec laws. In fact—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I thank the hon. member for Mirabel for raising this point of order; however, this is a mater of debate.

The hon. member for Vancouver Kingsway, also on a point of order.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am seeking unanimous consent for a very urgent motion. I think all members of the House know that the opioid crisis is a national health emergency taking the lives of Canadians on a daily basis.

Although it has taken a year, the government has tabled a bill that moves us in the right direction by, among other things, repealing the previous government's Bill C-2. The NDP believes there is a critical and irrefutable need to get this bill passed as soon as possible. It will save lives. Therefore, I am asking for unanimous consent for the following motion.

I move that, notwithstanding any Standing Order or usual practice of the House, Bill C-37, an act to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and to make related amendments to other acts shall be deemed to have been read a second time and referred to committee of the whole, deemed considered in committee of the whole, deemed reported without amendment, deemed concurred in at report stage, and deemed read a third time and passed.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Does the hon. member have the unanimous consent of the House to move the motion?

[Some hon. members]

No.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

There is no consent.

The hon. member for Red Deer—Lacombe is rising on a point of order.

Oral Questions

[Blaine Calkins, Conservative, Red Deer—Lacombe, AB]

Mr. Speaker, my point of order is arising out of question period in regard to the supplementary question I was asking. Mr. Speaker, if you check the record, and if you will permit me to read what I said into the record, the record will show this. My question was “Mr. Speaker, it is actually insulting and, frankly, embarrassing”.

I will not go to that part, but I think the part that is in question is this: “She is forced to do the dirty work for her leader, who most of the time cannot even be bothered to show up and answer these questions himself in the House”.

That did elicit a response. Mr. Speaker, I refer you to page 614, chapter 13, “Rules of Order and Decorum” in House of Commons Procedure and Practice. It states: “Allusions to the presence or absence of a Member or Minister in the Chamber are unacceptable”.

Mr. Speaker, you will note that nowhere in my comments did I refer specifically, today, to the presence or absence of any individual at that particular point in time in the House. That is where I would ask you to reconsider what you have done.

I will also point out that in the rules of debate in Beauchesne's, on page 141, it says in paragraph 481(c): “refer to the presence or absence of specific members”. The presence or absence of a specific member was not anywhere in the context of the conversation I was having in delivering my question on a matter that has been widely reported in the public debate, namely, the attendance record of the Prime Minister during question period.

Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I ask that you review what I actually said and, hopefully, we can come to an understanding where you and I are back on good terms.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I am sure the hon. member for Red Deer—Lacombe would not allow my ruling to come between us.

I am also sure that we will be back on good terms again once he returns to page 614 in House of Commons Procedures and Practice and looks at the line above the one he read, which says a member “cannot do indirectly what cannot be done directly”.

The House resumed consideration of the motion that Bill C-31, An Act to implement the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and Ukraine, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Lac-Saint-Louis had three-and-a-half minutes remaining in his debate.

[Francis Scarpaleggia, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we were at questions and comments.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Questions and comments, the hon. member for Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston.

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on the same point of order, if you will forgive me, and I stand to be corrected. I too am looking at page 614 of House of Commons Procedure and Practice, and my understanding is that the reference you made here is to the then current presence or absence of a member in the House of Commons. It would, for example, be inappropriate for me now to comment on whether or not the Prime Minister is currently in the chamber, but if it is the case that we are not allowed to refer to the past or future absence of a member, I would like you to draw that to our attention so that we can all act accordingly, if that is in fact the way the rules work.