House of Commons Hansard #44 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was producers.
The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan
The hon. member for Abitibi—Témiscamingue will have three more minutes for questions and comments after question period.
Marco Mendicino Liberal Eglinton—Lawrence, ON
Mr. Speaker, the contributions of Italian-Canadians in building up the foundations of this country are well known and a source of great pride for me as a member of that community, as I hope it is for all members of this House.
Throughout the 20th century, Italian immigrants worked tirelessly in the mines of northern Ontario. They also helped build the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor and railways, among other things.
Tragically, it was not just blood, sweat, and toil that was sacrificed: thousands of immigrants lost their lives while labouring in the most arduous of conditions. Thankfully, the community has come forward to commemorate those who fell.
I am proud to announce that a monument honouring the Italian fallen workers will be officially unveiled in my riding at Columbus Centre in Toronto, Ontario, on April 28.
Eleven columns will bear the names of each fallen worker and memorialize them forever.
I would like to acknowledge the efforts of the committee and invite all members in this House to join the ambassador and the consul general of Italy, along with other representatives, to commemorate the grit, resilience, and hard work of the Italian-Canadian community—
Mel Arnold Conservative North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC
Mr. Speaker, all small towns have great community spirit, but a couple in the North Okanagan—Shuswap deserve special recognition.
The first is Falkland, which will be holding the 98th annual Falkland Stampede on the Victoria Day weekend. One of the oldest and best rodeos in Canada only shows part of the spirit of this small town. Falkland is also home to the largest Canadian flag in western Canada. The flag is visible from over seven kilometres away, showing Falkland's community and Canadian spirit.
The second town is Lumby, now known as Hockeyville 2016. With over 1.2 million votes, Lumby out-voted all its competitors to bring home the $100,000 prize. Hockeyville events, including an NHL pre-season game, are now being planned throughout the community to celebrate the victory.
Falkland and Lumby, two great small towns with big hearts and great big spirit in the North Okanagan—Shuswap.
Darshan Singh Kang Liberal Calgary Skyview, AB
Mr. Speaker,
[Member spoke in Punjabi as follows:]
Wahe Guru Ka Khalsa waheguru ji ki fateh.
[English]
We live in a great nation where we can all stand in the House to share our own cultural values, religions, and beliefs but still remain united as one country.
It was made possible because of our Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which was signed into law on April 17, 1982, by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second.
The charter is one of the most enduring legacies of the Liberal Party under the Right Honourable Pierre Trudeau.
It is the charter that continues to make our nation the envy of the world. It guarantees Canadians the following, regardless of gender or ethnicity: the right to free speech; the right to vote and serve as members of a legislature; the right to life, liberty, and security of the person.
It is the spirit of the charter that has made celebrations like Vaisakhi possible in this great nation of ours. Every Canadian should be proud of the charter, because it reminds our children and families that in Canada, better is always possible.
Anne Minh-Thu Quach NDP Salaberry—Suroît, QC
Mr. Speaker, April 30 is the national day of commemoration of the boat people. My parents and my brothers were boat people who, like thousands of other boat people fleeing the Vietnam War, arrived in Canada with the dream of a better life.
I would like to highlight Canada's generosity and openness and remind everyone that refugees and their children contribute economically, socially, and culturally.
Many people of Vietnamese origin are models of success and involvement. Kim Thúy, a famous Quebec writer who shared her universe in her books, Ru, À toi, Mãn, and Vi, is one of them.
Paul Nguyen, a Toronto filmmaker and winner of the 2010 Outstanding Achievement Award, is another. In his work, he speaks out against racism.
As the daughter of refugees, I am proud to call both cultures, Vietnamese and Canadian, my own, to pass my mother's traditions on to my own daughter, and to give her the opportunity to enjoy freedom and democracy in our country.
I will continue to fight hard for social justice and human rights for all Canadians and Vietnamese.
Cam on .
Hedy Fry Liberal Vancouver Centre, BC
Mr. Speaker, World Theatre Day is celebrated on March 27 around the globe.
World Theatre Day is meant to honour and further UNESCO's goal of celebrating the power of theatre as an indispensable bridge-builder for international understanding and peace.
Theatre promotes and protects cultural diversity and identity throughout the world. Theatre reflects life; it speaks of love, passion, joy, anger, pain, and death. It can elevate us and inform us.
In Vancouver we have 70 vibrant theatre companies, including the Arts Club, Bard on the Beach, Carousel, Pacific Theatre, and Frederic Wood at UBC.
We need theatre. We need theatre that challenges us, opens us to diversity, and takes us to places we would never go.
I am proud our government is restoring and adding funding to the performing arts across Canada. Let us make every day World Theatre Day. Canadians should attend a performance in their communities.
Blaine Calkins Conservative Red Deer—Lacombe, AB
Mr. Speaker:
I thank you for this chance to rise
To tell members a tale
from Manitoba's “blue” skies:
The Generals of Bentley are my subject today,
Who went undefeated
In Allan Cup play.
They faced the best teams from Canada wide,
Winning each game,
Their fans beaming with pride.
Stoney Creek, Ils-des-Chênes, and Sunnybrook fell;
The tournament hosts,
Prairie Thunder, as well.
It was a hard-played final between these last two;
An overtime victory
Secured Bentley's due.
Three times in 8 years they've repeated this feat.
I could not be more proud
To be their MP.
To Heemskerk, the goalie who stood on his head;
To Matt Stefanishion;
Tournament scoring he led.
They all played great to ensure victory that day:
Rigby netted the goal
That we watched on replay.
Thank you Steinbach, Prairie Thunder, and the Army, our Fans
For supporting the Generals,
2016 Allan Cup champs.
Darren Fisher Liberal Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honour the fiercest warrior from my hometown, the legendary last mayor of Dartmouth, Gloria McCluskey. My six years on city council would have been far less interesting if I had not had the pleasure of being seatmates with Gloria.
Gloria entered politics as an alderman for the City of Dartmouth back in 1985. Then, in 1992, she became the last mayor of Dartmouth, and she has represented Dartmouth on HRM council with passion and loyalty ever since.
Known for never giving up and for working tirelessly for Dartmouth, Gloria has gone to bat for numerous projects. To Gloria, it never matters how large or small a project is; if it matters to Dartmouth, it matters to her.
HRM council will be far less colourful in a few months, as Gloria McCluskey has announced her retirement from politics.
On behalf of everyone in Dartmouth, I want to thank Gloria for her dedicated service to our community. We wish her the best.
Wayne Long Liberal Saint John—Rothesay, NB
Mr. Speaker, as a member of Parliament for a riding with some of the highest poverty rates in Canada, I find our government's focus on innovation and poverty reduction refreshing and exciting. Low-income single seniors will now receive a 10% increase in the GIS, and now we are introducing the new horizons for seniors program.
Many of my constituents and our seniors live in poverty. For that reason, I rise in the House today with particular excitement to stand beside the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development to endorse funding for the Saint John Free Public Library under the new horizons for seniors program. This funding will assist in creating education-based programming for seniors in my riding by having a writer-in-residence program. This will work toward creating a better standard of living for seniors through engagement, social participation, and inclusion in my great riding of Saint John—Rothesay.
Arnold Viersen Conservative Peace River—Westlock, AB
Mr. Speaker, perhaps there was something in the air yesterday. The Minister of Health was in New York championing pot policy, while the Prime Minister's pipeline policy continues to be half-baked. With tens of thousands of unemployed western Canadians, the current government is far too unmotivated toward the energy east and Trans-Mountain pipelines at a time when international markets have a huge appetite for Canadian oil. Canadians are wondering, “Dude, where's my pipeline?”
If the Prime Minister was serious about supporting Canadian oil, he would seize this budding opportunity and end our addiction to foreign oil. Despite the paranoia, pipelines have been by far the safest option to transport oil for 20 years or more.
Let me be blunt. These families who rely on the resource sector are watching their hopes for prosperity go up in smoke. I call upon the Prime Minister to work jointly with the provinces to ensure that oil moves to market quickly and safely.
The Liberal government's priorities should be pipes—pipes for oil.
Lloyd Longfield Liberal Guelph, ON
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Hon. Peter Adams, member of Parliament from 1993 to 2006 representing the riding of Peterborough, who turned 80 years old on April 17.
Peter represented his constituents well, keeping in touch with residents by regularly jogging through downtown Peterborough, and he continues to serve in various capacities today.
Peter has had a distinguished career as an academic, author, school trustee, and MPP. In 2012 he was awarded the Order of Ontario.
One of Mr. Adams's most significant contributions in this place was to found the post-secondary education caucus, through which he showed how backbench MPs can be change agents and to which he continues to provide sage advice.
I am pleased to count Peter as a new friend and mentor.
I wish a happy birthday to Peter and I thank Jill for sharing him with us.
Anju Dhillon Liberal Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, QC
Mr. Speaker, this morning the Governor General handed out the 2015 Awards in Commemoration of the Persons Case to five remarkable Canadian women.
Those women are here with us today: the Honourable Monique Bégin, a respected politician, activist, and professor; Marie-Thérèse Chicha, a professor and advocate for gender equality; Dr. Ruth Elwood Martin, a family physician and advocate for incarcerated women; Sheila McIntyre, a legal activist, scholar, and educator; and the youth recipient, Dee M. Dooley, a leader in her community.
On October 18, 1929, women in Canada were declared persons under the law. To commemorate this historic event and to remind Canadians that we must continue pushing for gender equality, these awards are presented each year.
Along with all Canadians, I wish to say a heartfelt thanks to these outstanding individuals for helping to advance equality to all Canadians.
Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC
Mr. Speaker, fishing season is here, so the Prime Minister first convinced Canadians to swallow hook, line, and sinker his promise to run modest deficits. Then he flip-flopped, announcing huge deficits and breaking his promise to balance the budget.
Canada's small businesses, hoping to reel in a tax cut, were betrayed by the finance minister, who wormed his way out of keeping that promise.
The justice minister then took the bait and got snagged on a conflict of interest by attending a fundraiser at which lawyers angled for a trophy catch.
The floundering trade minister was lured into swallowing $20,000 of taxpayers' money just to appear on the Bill Maher show, and we all know what a flop that was.
Then casting her line directly at the premiers, the environment minister failed to land the big one, a national climate change plan.
The fishy smell is from the Liberal government, which, like a fish out of water, has flipped and flopped on every promise it has made. Canadians cannot wait for the end of the fishing season.
Julie Dzerowicz Liberal Davenport, ON
Mr. Speaker, on Monday, April 18, three days ago, a major earthquake hit the coastal region of Ecuador. Early yesterday morning, Wednesday, a second earthquake hit the same area, causing further destruction. Over 550 are dead, including four Canadians. Thousands are missing, and unfortunately the numbers are increasing daily. Three towns have been almost completely destroyed. Many people have been left homeless.
Canada stepped up immediately with an initial million-dollar humanitarian contribution. The Canadian disaster assessment team has been dispatched to do a critical assessment of the needs on the ground as the events continue to unfold, and additional resources to support embassy and consular services were also sent.
My riding of Davenport is home to many vibrant cultures, including Ecuadoreans from the Latin American community. I want to let them know that we are thinking of them and that our hearts go out to friends, colleagues, and family members affected by this devastating earthquake.
In the days and weeks ahead, I encourage all of us to be generous as Ecuador calls on the Canadian community for help and support as it heals and rebuilds the towns affected along its beautiful coast.
Scott Duvall NDP Hamilton Mountain, ON
Mr. Speaker, next Thursday, April 28, Canadians will be marking the National Day of Mourning for workers killed and injured on the job and those who have become ill because of their workplace.
The National Day of Mourning is not only a time of reflection and remembrance; it also is a day to rededicate ourselves to the goal of keeping workers safe at their jobs.
Canadian workers die at a rate of 1,000 per year because workplace safety is sacrificed to serve the interests of the bottom line. Often workers are killed because they have been pressured into doing unsafe work. This has to stop.
Workers in Canada are actively campaigning to have the Westray law, which was passed unanimously by the House over a decade ago, properly enforced so that corporations that kill and injure workers are held criminally accountable.
An injury to one is an injury to all. Let us protect workers and enforce the law.
Rob Nicholson Conservative Niagara Falls, ON
Mr. Speaker, it is my honour today to pay tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on the occasion of her 90th birthday.
I join with all Canadians to express our gratefulness for her selfless dedication in giving her life to service. No one has a better record than Her Majesty.
I remember as a teenager when world leaders would come to North America, they normally would frequent New York or Washington. However, the Queen always made a visit to Canada because that was her priority, and I always appreciated that.
Her inspiring role during World War II continues today, as she emboldens us all to become better citizens and global neighbours. In her own words, “the true measure of all our actions is how long the good in them lasts”. Well, the good in her own actions will not only last a lifetime but indeed will be timeless.
I am proud to be one of her loyal subjects and greatly honoured to be given this privilege. I wish Her Majesty a happy birthday, and may God bless her.
Alexandra Mendes Liberal Brossard—Saint-Lambert, QC
Mr. Speaker, I join my colleague in offering our best wishes to Her Majesty the Queen of Canada, who is celebrating her 90th birthday today.
She is the first reigning sovereign to reach that age, which is admirable in and of itself. However, what really deserves our recognition and admiration is the fact that Her Majesty continues to devote herself entirely to the service of her subjects after reigning for 64 years.
Our Queen has devoted her entire adult life to service, a word so often scorned and yet so notably lived by a sovereign who brilliantly has reinvented the role to which she was born.
Whatever our personal beliefs may be, I think we can all unite in congratulating our Queen on 90 successful years of serving the people of the Commonwealth.
With deep gratitude for such an inspiring life, I wish Her Majesty a happy birthday.
[Members sang Happy Birthday and God Save the Queen]
The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan
Following discussions among representatives of all the parties in the House, I understand there is an agreement to observe a moment of silence to commemorate the National Day of Mourning and to honour the memory of workers killed or injured at work.
I invite all hon. members to rise.
[A moment of silence observed]
Rona Ambrose ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, families relied on the children's fitness tax credit to help offset the cost of their kids' sports and fitness programs, but unfortunately the Liberals scrapped it.
Now the Prime Minister can use those same tax dollars of families and fly to New York to work out in front of TV cameras, while families are struggling to pay for their kids' sports. Instead of focusing on self-promotion, will the Prime Minister focus on promoting children's fitness and reinstate the child fitness tax credit?
Bill Morneau LiberalMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, in our budget, we have come through with a real commitment to Canadian families that will make a real difference for those families that want to help their children to lead better lives. We will move forward on changing our tax system so the wealthiest will not be advantaged. In fact, we will help those Canadians who need it most.
The imposition of the Canada child benefit will help nine out of ten families with children, with $2,300 more on average per year. This will help Canadian families more than anything else, putting more children on sports fields this year.
Rona Ambrose ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, millions of parents appreciate the children's fitness tax credit, which helps them to pay for soccer, hockey, or football fees. It is impossible for them to go to New York to play their favourite sport in front of the cameras.
Instead of promoting himself, why does the Prime Minister not promote physical activity for young people by keeping the children's fitness tax credit?
Bill Morneau LiberalMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, our budget is clear. The Canada child benefit is much better for the middle class, for families across Canada. With this measure, nine out of 10 families with children will be in a better position this year, with an average of $2,300 more per family. That is much better for families.
Rona Ambrose ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, yesterday we introduced a motion to recognize the atrocities that ISIL was committing as a genocide. By rejecting the motion, the Liberals have confirmed to the world their naive idea of the threat of ISIL, and they have let down Syrians and Iraqis who are being slaughtered, tortured, and raped.
We know ISIL is trying to wipe out entire cultural and religious communities, including Christians, Yazidis, and Shia Muslims. Therefore, for the Liberals to say that this is not a genocide is deeply unsettling. Why do the Liberals refuse to call this genocide what it is?
Stéphane Dion LiberalMinister of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition also rejected our motion, so she should stop making partisan politics about this.
We agree that awful atrocities and horrors committed by ISIL have the hallmarks of genocide. However, the official recognition of genocide is so serious that it should only happen following a proper international investigation. That is what we are pushing, and it is absolutely in line with our allies.