House of Commons Hansard #75 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was money.

Topics

FinanceCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

12:15 p.m.

Liberal

Andrew Leslie Liberal Orléans, ON

Mr. Speaker, I move:

That, in relation to its pre-budget consultations in advance of the 2017 budget, seven members of the Standing Committee on Finance be authorized to travel to Kelowna, British Columbia; Edmonton, Alberta; Regina, Saskatchewan; Winnipeg, Manitoba; Quebec, Québec; Toronto, Ontario; Fredericton, New Brunswick; Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island and to Halifax, Nova Scotia, in the Fall of 2016, and that the necessary staff accompany the Committee.

(Motion agreed to)

Foreign Affairs and International DevelopmentCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

12:15 p.m.

Liberal

Andrew Leslie Liberal Orléans, ON

Mr. Speaker, I move:

That, in relation to its studies on women, peace and security and on the Canadian government's countries of focus for bilateral development assistance, seven members of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development be authorized to travel to Guatemala City and Cobán, Guatemala; Bogotá and Villavicencio, Colombia, in the Summer-Fall of 2016, and that the necessary staff do accompany the Committee.

(Motion agreed to)

Agriculture and Agri-FoodCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

12:15 p.m.

Liberal

Andrew Leslie Liberal Orléans, ON

Mr. Speaker, I move:

That, in relation to its study of the next agricultural policy framework, seven members of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food be authorized to travel to Vancouver and Chilliwack, British Columbia; Calgary, Alberta; Winnipeg, Manitoba; Toronto, Niagara Region and Guelph, Ontario; Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec and to Kentville, Nova Scotia, in the Fall of 2016, and that the necessary staff accompany the Committee.

(Motion agreed to)

Indigenous and Northern AffairsCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

12:15 p.m.

Liberal

Andrew Leslie Liberal Orléans, ON

Mr. Speaker, I move:

That, in relation to its study on the suicide among indigenous peoples and communities, seven members of the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs be authorized to travel to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; Nelson House and Thompson, Manitoba; Sioux Lookout and Thunder Bay, Ontario; Iqaluit, Nunavut; Kuujjuaq, Quebec; Inuvik and Yellowknife, Northwest Territories; Prince George and Vancouver, British Columbia; Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador; Sept-Îles (Uashat), Quebec; and to Eskasoni, Nova Scotia, in the Fall 2016-Winter 2017, and that the necessary staff do accompany the Committee.

(Motion agreed to)

Government Operations and EstimatesCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

12:15 p.m.

Liberal

Andrew Leslie Liberal Orléans, ON

Mr. Speaker, I move:

That, in relation to its study on Canada Post, seven members of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates be authorized to travel to Blainville and Montreal, Québec; Toronto, Kitchener, Windsor, Dryden and Sandy Lake, Ontario; Corner Brook and St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador; Halifax and Sydney, Nova Scotia; Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island; Bathurst, New Brunswick and to Lévis and Québec, Québec, in the Fall of 2016, and that the necessary staff accompany the Committee.

(Motion agreed to)

Mr. Speaker, it has been an honour and a pleasure. With all sincerity, I am going to miss this place. I hope that all of us enjoy our time back in our ridings should we not have a chance to speak again before the autumn.

IranPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:15 p.m.

Conservative

Dean Allison Conservative Niagara West, ON

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition calling on the Government of Canada to maintain the listing of the Islamic Republic of Iran as a state supporter of terrorism, pursuant to section 6.1 of the State Immunity Act, for as long as the Iranian regime continues to sponsor terrorism.

Hospice Palliative CarePetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:15 p.m.

NDP

Kennedy Stewart NDP Burnaby South, BC

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present today.

The first petition is from residents in my riding of Burnaby South. It is calling on the federal government to add coverage for hospice palliative care as a medically essential service under the Canada Health Act. I have heard from many constituents that this issue is very serious, and I urge the government to take this matter seriously.

TaxationPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:15 p.m.

NDP

Kennedy Stewart NDP Burnaby South, BC

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is with regard to lump sum payments of long-term disability and registered disability savings grants. The petitioners call on the government to request that Revenue Canada automatically apply the T1198 form to the previous year's income taxes and show the true income amount for each tax year, as well as a number of other measures.

I ask the government to consider both of these petitions seriously.

The EnvironmentRoutine Proceedings

12:15 p.m.

Bloc

Monique Pauzé Bloc Repentigny, QC

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition signed by 519 people who oppose the energy east pipeline because they do not want Quebec to become an oil sands superhighway. They want the federal government to respect Quebec's environmental jurisdiction.

Hospice Palliative CareThe EnvironmentRoutine Proceedings

12:15 p.m.

Liberal

Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by many constituents of Winnipeg North. They are calling on the government to specifically identify hospice palliative care as a defined medical service covered under the Canada Health Act so that the provincial and territorial governments will be entitled to funds under the Canada health transfer system to provide accessible hospice palliative care to all residents of Canada in their respective provinces and territories.

It is obviously something the petitioners truly believe is important to our health care providers.

Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

12:15 p.m.

Winnipeg North Manitoba

Liberal

Kevin Lamoureux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, the following questions will be answered today: Nos. 185 and 189.

Question No. 185Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

12:15 p.m.

Conservative

Chris Warkentin Conservative Grande Prairie—Mackenzie, AB

With regard to the Canadian seal hunt and sealing industry: (a) is the government involved in any programs or initiatives to combat the international misinformation campaigns against the hunt and, if so, (i) what are the details of any such programs or initiatives, (ii) what government departments are involved, (iii) what was the start date of each such involvement, (iv) what was the reason for termination and the end date of any such program or initiative that is not ongoing, (v) how much did the government spend on each such program or initiative, broken down by year and total amount spent to date; and (b) does the government have plans for any further involvement in such programs or initiatives?

Question No. 185Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

12:15 p.m.

Acadie—Bathurst New Brunswick

Liberal

Serge Cormier LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries

Mr. Speaker, in response to part (a) of the question, while the department does not have dedicated programming to specifically combat misinformation, it does undertake efforts to dispel myths and misinformation through three key areas.

In response to part (a)(i), first, Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s website includes a dedicated page to Canada’s seal harvest. This page provides information on how the seal hunt is managed to be safe, sustainable, and humane. It also contains information on how the seal harvest is tightly regulated, closely monitored, and strictly enforced. Additionally, DFO responds to media requests on the seal harvest on a regular basis. All of this information contributes to combating misinformation about Canada's seal harvest.

DFO responds to media requests on the seal harvest on a regular basis. All of this information contributes to combatting misinformation about Canada’s seal harvest. DFO also operates the certification and market access program for seals, CMAPS, which is intended to support efforts to establish tracking systems to certify indigenous seal products for export to the European Union, EU; build the capacity of indigenous communities to improve exporter readiness; and support the Canadian seal products industry’s efforts to change the narrative on seal products and enable access to alternative markets to become more competitive over the long term. As such, the development of strategies and social media to address misinformation about the Canadian seal harvest is eligible for support under the CMAPS.

Regarding parts (a)(ii) and (a)(iii), CMAPS is a five-year, $5.7 million program that was established in 2015 that is shared with the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.

The CMAPS was officially approved in July 2015 and is set to expire at the end of the 2019-20 fiscal year.

The answer to part (a)(iv) of the question is nil.

Regarding part (a)(v), in 2015-16, the CMAPS provided $183,350 in funding to Canadian seal products stakeholders for projects that include capacity building for Inuit communities and women in Nunavut and the development of a long-term strategy, which has communications to change the narrative around seal products and countering misinformation as one of its goals.

In response to part (b), a 2016-17 call for proposals is currently under way and DFO has yet to officially receive additional proposals at this time.

Question No. 189Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

12:15 p.m.

Conservative

David Sweet Conservative Flamborough—Glanbrook, ON

With regard to changes to government advertising policies, and as of April 22, 2016, what are the details of any changes made during the prior six-month period?

Question No. 189Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

12:15 p.m.

Kings—Hants Nova Scotia

Liberal

Scott Brison LiberalPresident of the Treasury Board

Mr. Speaker, the previous communications policy of the Government of Canada, which included policy requirements related to Government of Canada advertising, did not change during the six-month period up to and including April 22, 2016.

On May 12, 2016, the new policy on communications and federal identity and the directive on the management of communications came into effect. The new policy instruments include a number of new policy requirements related to advertising including a definition of “non-partisan communications” for all government communications. Furthermore, the policy now prohibits government programs and initiatives that require parliamentary approval from being advertised until approval has been received. The policy also states that no advertising activities can take place 90 days before a fixed general federal election date.

All federal government advertising with a budget greater than $500,000 is subject to a mandatory external review by Advertising Standards Canada, which will conduct a thorough assessment of proposed advertisements in line with the new policy and its definition of “non-partisan”. These reviews will be published online.

Advertising Standards Canada will ensure that advertisements are

objective, factual, and explanatory;

free from political party slogans, images, identifiers, bias, designation, or affiliation;

not using the primary colour associated with the governing party in a dominant way, unless an item is commonly depicted in that colour;

evoid of any name, voice, or image of a minister, member of Parliament, or senator;

and initiatives that require parliamentary approval or trade agreements that require ratification are not advertised until such approval has been received.

The government has asked the Office of the Auditor General to conduct an audit of this review mechanism and his office will determine its scope and timing.

Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

12:15 p.m.

Winnipeg North Manitoba

Liberal

Kevin Lamoureux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, if Questions Nos. 186 to 188 could be made orders for return, these returns would be tabled immediately.

Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

12:15 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

Is it agreed?

Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

12:15 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

Question No. 186Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

12:15 p.m.

NDP

Sheila Malcolmson NDP Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC

With regard to the strategy to deal with abandoned and derelict vessels by Transport Canada: (a) how many abandoned and derelict vessels are there in Canada; (b) for each of the vessels identified in (a), (i) what are their locations, (ii) how long have they been considered abandoned and derelict, (iii) what are the removal plans for each vessel, (iv) in which state of removal are each of the vessels, including but not limited to, assessing, removing or disposing, (v) what are the cost estimates for removal, (vi) what are the assessments on options available for carrying out the physical removal of the vessels, (vii) have the owners been identified, (viii) what has prevented the government from identifying the vessel owners, (ix) are they registered or licensed, and have the registrations or licenses been cancelled or suspended at any point, (x) are they a threat to navigation or to the marine environment; (c) how many abandoned and derelict vessels in Canada are 300 Gross Tons (GT) and over; (d) what would be the total estimated cost for the removal of all vessels in the derelict vessel inventory; (e) how many marine casualties have involved vessels that became shipwrecks in Canada’s internal waters and territorial sea, broken down by year for each of the past ten years; (f) how many accidents and maritime casualties are caused by abandoned and derelict vessels, broken down by year for each of the past ten years; (g) what are the risk factors that could lead to a vessel becoming a shipwreck and how is Transport Canada preventing those risk factors; (h) how many “responds to incidents” did the Canadian Coast Guard complete on abandoned and derelict vessels, broken down by year for each of the past ten years, and for each of these incidents please indicate (i) the date, time, and location of the incident, (ii) a description of the incident, (iii) the names of the vessels involved, (iv) the actions that were taken, if any, with regard to the abandoned vessel, (v) the current status of the abandoned vessel, boat or wreck and whether or not the abandoned boat, wreck, or vessel were decommissioned or disposed of, (vi) the plans to decommission or dispose of the vessel, if any exist; (i) what are the reasons for which vessels in Canadian waters would either be unregistered or unlicensed, or for which the registration or license has been cancelled or suspended; (j) for the vessels identified in (a), how many of these vessels then continue to float at anchor or tied to a dock; (k) how many lawsuits have involved the owner of the vessel and have had the aim of recovering the money to cover the cost of removal for abandoned and derelict vessels; (l) what has the government’s strategy been to date and what are the next steps for dealing with abandoned and derelict vessels, including (i) objectives, (ii) government departments and agencies involved in the strategy, (iii) other stakeholders; (m) what consultations has the government conducted and what are the next steps for future consultations with regard to abandoned and derelict vessels, broken down by (i) date and time, (ii) federal government participants, (iii) other participants, (iv) goal of the consultations, (v) method of inviting participants, (vi) length of time given for participation in the consultations; (n) has the government consulted with (i) municipalities, (ii) provinces and territories, (iii) First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities, (iv) representatives of Canadian ship owners, (v) maritime lawyers, vi) marine underwriters, (vii) shoreline property owners, (viii) the shellfish industry, (ix) the fishing industry, (x) the lobster industry, (xi) the tourism industry, (xii) First Nations and Indigenous People, (xiii) the Canadian Maritime Advisory; (o) if the answer to (n) is in the affirmative, what are the names of each person consulted; (p) has Transport Canada held any conversations with the Coast Guard regarding the possibility of making the Coast Guard responsible for abandoned and derelict vessels in Canadian water; (q) which options are examined by Transport Canada to address the issue of abandoned vessels and wrecks; (r) what did the department recommend with regard to Canadian membership to the International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks (IWR); (s) if the answer to (r) is in the affirmative, when did Transport Canada first make this recommendation; (t) does the strategy propose a manner in which to deal with the wrecks that were in existence prior to its coming into force; (u) how does Transport Canada plan to deal with existing abandoned and derelict vessels; (v) how would the IWR Convention address several of the limitations inherent in Canada’s current legislative framework; (w) has there been any consideration as to the use the IWR Convention as the centrepiece for a new legislative regime; and (x) has the government considered regulatory frameworks from other jurisdictions, and if so, which ones?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 187Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

12:15 p.m.

Conservative

David Sweet Conservative Flamborough—Glanbrook, ON

With regard to the Prime Minister’s Office, ministerial exempt staff, and Ministers, for the period of November 4, 2015, to April 22, 2016, what is the total amount incurred for airline change fees, as well as the details of each change fee incurred including the date, amount, and reason for change?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 188Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

12:15 p.m.

Conservative

David Sweet Conservative Flamborough—Glanbrook, ON

With regard to the renting of venues or properties for executive retreats or meetings outside of a government department, agency, or Crown corporation’s own offices, for all government departments, agencies and Crown corporations, and for the period of November 4, 2015, to April 22, 2016: (a) what was the total cost of the rental of these venues, broken down by department, agency, and Crown corporation; (b) how many times were venues or properties contracted for or rented, broken down by department, agency and Crown corporation; and (c) in each case, (i) what was the name and location of the venue or property, (ii) what was the purpose of the venue or property rental, (iii) how many people attended the retreat or meeting, (iv) what was the overall cost of the rental of the venue?

(Return tabled)

Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

12:15 p.m.

Liberal

Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB

Mr. Speaker, I ask that all remaining questions be allowed to stand.