Debates of Dec. 14th, 2016

Asbestos

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

Mr. Speaker, it is my great hope that we could leave this place with glad tidings. I hear news that the Government of Canada, after decades of inaction, is finally prepared to ban the use, import, and export of asbestos. I hope this is true. I ask the Prime Minister if this can be confirmed, and whether Canada will also take action to list asbestos under the Rotterdam Convention so that developing countries can have prior informed consent.

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Minister of Science]

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to moving forward on a ban on asbestos. I am working with my colleagues on a government-wide approach, and I can tell the House that I will be announcing additional timelines by the end of the year.

Our government has already taken action by placing a ban on the use of asbestos in new government construction and has put in place a national asbestos inventory.

Presence in the Gallery

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. I would like to draw to the attention of hon. members the presence in the gallery of Michel Samson, Minister of Energy, Minister of Acadian Affairs and Francophonie, Minister of Trade, and Minister responsible for Part I of the Gaming Control Act for the Province of Nova Scotia.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Now I believe the hon. opposition House leader has a question.

Business of the House

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the government House leader about the future business of the House and ask if she would consider an idea in my question. I know we are all getting ready to go on our Christmas holidays fairly soon, but I think that even during the Christmas time, there are lot of people in this country who are suffering because of job losses. I wonder if she would consider, when we return after the Christmas break, our having a take-note debate regarding the job losses that have been suffered in the energy sector.

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague the House Leader of the Official Opposition for her question.

I would say to the House that the government has no objection to having a take note debate on this matter when we return in 2017.

While I am on my feet, I would like to move:

That, notwithstanding any Standing Orders or usual practice of the House,

a) when orders of the day are called on Wednesday, December 14, 2016, a minister of the crown be authorized to move, without notice, a motion relating to the Senate's amendment to Bill C-29, a second act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 22, 2016, and other measures and that during the consideration of the motion related to the said bill, a member from each recognized party, as well as a member from the Bloc Québécois, may speak for not more than 10 minutes followed by 5 minutes for questions and comments, after which the motion shall be deemed adopted;

b) Bill S-4, an act to implement a convention and an arrangement for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and to amend an act in respect of a similar agreement, be deemed concurred in at report stage and be ordered for consideration at third reading stage later this day; and that when the House begins debate on the third reading motion of the bill, a member from each recognized party, as well as a member from the Bloc Québécois, may speak for not more than 5 minutes, with no question and comment period, after which the bill shall be deemed read a third time and passed; and

c) when proceedings on Bill C-29 and S-4 have concluded, the House shall adjourn until Monday, January 30, 2017, provided that, for the purposes of Standing Order 28, it shall be deemed to have sat on Thursday, December 15, and Friday, December 16, 2016.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

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

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

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, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

(Motion agreed to)

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I first want to wish you, Mr. Speaker, and your family a very happy holiday season. We have been able to achieve quite a bit over a limited amount of time during this fall sitting of Parliament. I want to thank my counterpart House leaders, the members for Portage—Lisgar and Victoria, and their respective teams for their collaboration and co-operation.

I very much look forward to their continued collaboration in the new year as we continue to work in the best interests of Canadians. I would also like to thank the whips and other members of the House leadership from all sides and their teams for their hard work, as well as all of the members of the House for their continued work.

I hope everyone enjoys the time with their families, loved ones, and constituents, and that all come back to the House in January refreshed and ready to roll up their sleeves once again.

I would be remiss if I did not thank and recognize the tremendous staff who help us get work done in this place. My thanks to all the branches and services of the House administration. Without their contributions we would not be able to do the good work that we do.

Finally, I would like to thank our pages. They now have a few months under their belts. I wish them their best in their exam period and hope they enjoy their time away from this place and that they too come back refreshed. We certainly look forward to seeing them in 2017.

Again, Mr. Speaker, to you and all my colleagues, a very happy and enjoyable holiday season and a very happy new year.

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, House Leader of the Official Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I want to echo and return the good wishes the hon. House leader just conveyed.

I want to begin by wishing the House leader a very merry Christmas and a happy holiday, as well as our counterpart, the House leader for the NDP. It has been a joy and a privilege to work together. I know it is a new position for all three of us. I think, with our teams, we have been able to work fairly well. I wish her, her team, the whips, and their teams very happy holidays.

I also want to mention the staff here, who have helped us so much. We thank the clerks here at the table so much for the votes they get through every week. We wish them a wonderful holiday and a restful time.

We want to thank the pages. They were mentioned, but we appreciate so much the pages who look after us here in the chamber.

We want to mention the security personnel who keep us safe. They do so in such a gracious manner. They always treat us so respectfully, but we know that they are looking out for our best interest and we so much appreciate what they are doing.

We thank the interpreters, as well, who do a wonderful job of ensuring that we always understand each other, and when we do not always give them a lot of good words to deal with, they still translate those very well, and we appreciate that.

We thank all of the House staff who are here and the bus drivers who get us here every day and make sure we get to our votes on time.

I wish you, Mr. Speaker, and your staff, a very merry Christmas. To those who are sitting who are Deputy Speakers as well and also take the Chair, we wish them happy holidays and a merry Christmas.

I thank all of my colleagues in the House for all the work they do. I hope they have a good time with their families and with their friends. Relax. Be reinvigorated. We will all be back here in 2017.

Merry Christmas.

[Murray Rankin, NDP, House Leader of the New Democratic Party]

Mr. Speaker, I too would like to take a brief moment to rise on behalf of the NDP caucus to extend season's greetings and holiday wishes to you and to colleagues and staff across the parliamentary precinct.

I would like to thank the government House leader and the House Leader of the Official Opposition, who spoke before me, for the productive work and discussions we have had over the past number of months as we have settled into our new roles. While it has not always been easy, I feel that our work on behalf of Canadians has been valuable.

Happy holidays to them and to their entire caucuses and teams.

Many people work behind the scenes to support parliamentarians in their day to day work. That includes the interpreters, the broadcasting team that makes it possible for Canadians to see our work, the security guards who protect us, and the maintenance staff who keep the buildings on the Hill in order. I want to thank all of them and wish them all a happy holiday season.

I would like say thank you, Mr. Speaker, to you and your team of procedural experts at the table, journals, committees, and across the precinct for your dedication and wish you good health and happiness in the new year.

I would be remiss if I did not also wish the pages a merry Christmas. No doubt they are looking forward to going home to see their families after this first semester in Ottawa. They provide us with professional service, even though they are busy with school work and finals.

I would like to take one final moment to draw to the attention of all members of this House that Ms. Lynn Legault is preparing for a well-deserved retirement after serving as the supervisor in the House of Commons page program for the past 32 years.

Lynn has served this House over the span of eight different prime ministers and has seen the history of our nation unfold on the floor of this chamber.

Lynn's perpetual smile and kind heart have had an impact on the more than 1,200 pages she has supervised. At 40 pages per year, after 32 years, that really adds up. Those former pages include at least three clerks at the table, as well as the hon. member for Hull—Aylmer and the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development.

I have to say that one of my own staff in the House leader's office, Alex Telka, remembers Lynn as one of the first people he met when he moved to Ottawa to take up his role as a page. He tells me that Lynn's kindness and warmth are known in every corner of the Hill, given the number of former pages she has influenced who are now working across the precinct.

Thank you to Lynn Legault for her four years of loyal and dedicated service. I wish her a very happy retirement.

On behalf of the NDP, I wish everyone a happy holiday season and all the best in 2017.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Before proceeding, I would like to thank the hon. member for Victoria for mentioning Lynn Legault. Apparently she is not working in the House today. Perhaps she planned it that way since she is so modest. In any case, we will miss her.

The hon. member for Montcalm.

[Luc Thériault, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to have the consent of the House to extend greetings on behalf of my party. Do I have consent?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[Luc Thériault, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

On behalf of my political party, the Bloc Québécois, and our members here in Parliament, we are pleased to extend our best wishes for Christmas. We wish you the very best for 2017. We salute your sense of fairness and your pursuit of equity in the House.

We would also like to extend our best wishes to the entire team, which serves us with exemplary dedication. As a user of their services, I would also like to acknowledge the excellent work of the interpreters in the House. Finally, we extend our best wishes for Christmas to all our colleagues from all parties. We wish them a very happy new year.

Although we are all proud representatives of our parties, we are also human beings who will be returning to our families today. We hope you will all enjoy the holidays.

Until next time! May 2017 be as eventful as the year drawing to a close.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have not many words to add. We have to thank all the team here on Parliament Hill. The only group that has been forgotten are the wonderful people who serve us in the cafeterias and the dining room, who get laid off right now and are rehired when we get back, so special thoughts for them, for all our security guards, the translators, the table officers, your team, Mr. Speaker, and each and every member of the House.

My best wishes for the holidays! Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas. For some of us, we await the arrival of the birth of our Lord and Saviour. For others, we just celebrate a great time among family and friends. For my dear friends of the Jewish community, it is a bit delayed now, but happy Hanukkah.

To everyone in the Conservative caucus who earlier raised Festivus, I do not want anyone left out, so Festivus for the rest of us.

Merry Christmas.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I thank all those who have spoken, the House leaders and others, for their kind words and generous comments toward all colleagues and for thanking so many folks who work for us.

I want to add my thanks to all members, the clerks, the pages, all the staff of the House of Commons, the Parliamentary Protective Service, and the Library of Parliament, who all provide such great help to us.

As for the staff of members of Parliament and ministers who work either here in Ottawa or across the country, we could not do our jobs without them, and we are very grateful for the wonderful work they do.

I am pleased to offer my best wishes to everyone for a merry Christmas and happy new year, happy Hanukkah, and happy holidays. Have a wonderful and safe season.

Remember, many members of Parliament, and other Canadians, will be driving during this period. Members, especially from large rural ridings, do a lot of driving, and I am always concerned that they be careful when they do so, because sometimes they are tired. It is good to take a rest if need be. Keep that in mind, please.

Extractive Sector Corporate Social Responsibility Counsellor

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, happy holidays to you and your team.

I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the 2016 annual report to Parliament on the activities of the Office of the Extractive Sector Corporate Social Responsibility Counsellor. This covers the May 2015 to May 2016 period. The report was prepared by the extractive sector corporate social responsibility counsellor.

Government Response to Petitions

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, 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 64 petitions.

Interparliamentary Delegations

[Leona Alleslev, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian parliamentary delegation respecting its participation at the election observation mission of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, held in Washington, D.C., and Raleigh, North Carolina, from November 5 to 8, 2016.

Official Languages

[Denis Paradis, Liberal, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

Mr. Speaker, before I go ahead with the official tabling of the report of the Standing Committee on Official Languages regarding the action plan for the next five years, I would like to thank the House of Commons staff who contributed to that report, specifically the clerk, Christine Holke, and the research staff, Lucie Lecomte and Geneviève Gosselin.

A lot of time went into this report. I am proud to chair a committee that feels like a big family. I want to thank my fellow members of the Standing Committee on Official Languages. I congratulate the member for Perth—Wellington, who is a new father to a bilingual son. I thank the member for Drummond for his targeted contributions, the member for Madawaska—Restigouche for his collegiality, the member for Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d'Orléans—Charlevoix for her dedication, the member for Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup for his bilingualism at home, the member for Rivière-des-Mille-Îles for her sensitivity to minority communities, the member for Sudbury for his energy and ability to bring people together, the member for Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook for his joie de vivre as a proud Nova Scotian, and the member for Saint Boniface—Saint Vital for his commitment to his community.

I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the third report of the Standing Committee on Official Languages entitled, “Toward a New Action Plan for Official Languages and Building New Momentum for Immigration in Francophone Minority Communities”. Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.