Debates of Sept. 19th, 2016

Status of Women

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

Mr. Speaker, in Quebec, we believe that gender equality is fundamental and non-negotiable. This government clearly does not agree.

Does the Minister of Status of Women think it is acceptable for her Prime Minister to speak in a gender-segregated mosque? Is that what Liberal Canada looks like?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, a fundamental component of feminism is supporting women's right to choose. When we respect communities, and the faith of communities, and we meet them in a place where they have determined the rules of engagement, that is exactly what we believe in when we support feminism in our country.

Business of Supply

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to inform the House that Thursday, September 22 shall be an allotted day.

Veterans Affairs

[Kent Hehr, Liberal, Minister 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 government's response to the PACP report Chapter 3, Mental Health Services for Veterans of the fall 2014 report of the Auditor General of Canada.

International Trade

[David Lametti, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the treaty entitled “Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement”, signed in Kiev on July 11, 2016. An explanatory memorandum is included with the treaty.

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 58 petitions.

Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities

[Bryan May, Liberal, Cambridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fourth report of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities entitled “Temporary Foreign Worker Program”. I would like to thank everyone on the committee, the clerk, the analysts, and all the staff involved in producing this report.

Pursuant to Standing Order 109 the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.

National Defence

[Stephen Fuhr, Liberal, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present today, in both official languages, the second report of the Standing Committee on National Defence in relation to the study of Canada and the defence of North America from an aerial readiness perspective.

Pursuant to Standing Order 109 the committee requests the government table a comprehensive response to this report.

Procedure and House Affairs

[Larry Bagnell, Liberal, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Orders 104 and 114, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the twelfth report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs regarding the membership of committees of the House. If the House gives its consent, I intend to move concurrence in the twelfth report later this day.

Justice and Human Rights

[Anthony Housefather, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fourth report of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights entitled “Access to Justice Part 1: Court Challenges Program”. Pursuant to Standing Order 109 the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.

Procedure and House Affairs

[Larry Bagnell, Liberal, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, if the House gives its consent, I move:

That the twelfth report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, presented to the House earlier this day, be concurred in.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Does the hon. member 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)

Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

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

The first petition is Electronic Petition No. 195, which calls on the government to continue to enforce the Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Act as it applies to former KGB agent Mikhail Lennikov, somebody who was in refuge in Vancouver but has since left the country. He now wants to return to Canada. Anyone who is associated with the KGB should be denied entry into Canada.

Public Safety

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition I wish to present is signed by many people from across Canada.

The petitioners are looking to the Government of Canada to maintain the listing of the Islamic State of Iran as a terrorist organization. We all know that the government of Iran is a major sponsor of terrorism around the world. We want to ensure that the Government of Canada, although it has decided to open up a diplomatic relationship with the regime, does not take it off the terrorist list both as a government but also with its Quds force as well.

Arva Flour Mill

[Bev Shipley, Conservative, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by a few hundred people about the Arva Flour Mill in my riding. It is nearly 200 years old. It has an exemplary, pure accident record, with no accidents. It is the only operating mill in Canada. It is important historically and for tourism. It does not meet certain conditions of the labour code because it is 200 years old.

The petitioners ask for an exemption from the Canadian Labour Code.

Justice

[Cathay Wagantall, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to stand today to present three more of many more petitions to come in support of Cassie and Molly's law. These signatures are representative of tens of thousands that have already been presented to the House and represent Canadians of all walks of life, affirmed by my Nanos poll with 97% of respondents identifying as pro-choice and 52% to 73% of those pro-choice individuals agreeing that there is a need for a law to protect pregnant women and their preborn children.

Trans-Pacific Partnership

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to present Electronic Petition No. 193. I have 1,410 signatures on the petition.

The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to task the parliamentary budget officer to do a thorough analysis of the trans-Pacific partnership impact on jobs, copyright, our health care, and so on.

Taxation

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure today to present two more petitions signed by Canadians who are calling on members of Parliament to support Bill C-241, which seeks to amend the Excise Tax Act to refund 100% GST paid by Canadian school authorities.

Questions on the Order Paper

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the following questions will be answered today: Nos. 193, 194, 199, 201, 202, 220, 221, 241, 243, 254, 255, 262, 263, 267, 269, 276, 277, 284, 286, 288, 298 to 300, 307 to 309, 312 to 314, 319, 321, 322, 323, 326, 328, 329, 334, 336, 340, 342, 343 and 347.

Question No. 193

[Gerry Ritz, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

With regard to the Minister of International Trade and the Canada-European Union: Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: (a) when did the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development start drafting an Explanatory Memorandum for tabling with the treaty; (b) what deadline was given to the department in order to draft an Explanatory Memorandum; (c) will the Minister table a copy of the Canada-European Union: Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement and Explanatory Memorandum, and, if so, when; (d) is the Minister considering a request for an exemption from the Policy on Tabling of Treaties in Parliament; and (e) has the Minister instructed her Department to start drafting implementing legislation for the Canada-European Union: Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, and, if so, (i) what deadline was given to the Department for completion of drafting, (ii) what other departments has the Department consulted with in regard to the legislation, (iii) when does the Minister anticipate introducing the implementing legislation?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to parts (a) and (b), Global Affairs Canada, GAC, has not been tasked with drafting an explanatory memorandum for the tabling of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, CETA.

With regard to parts (c) and (d), the Minister of International Trade intends to table the final text of CETA in the House of Commons this fall to facilitate parliamentary debate of the agreement. For part (e), work related to implementation of the agreement is ongoing.

With regard to (i), implementing legislation will need to be completed in advance of entry into force of CETA. The minister has indicated that she is targeting entry into force of CETA in 2017.

With regard to (ii), all departments and agencies that need to make legislative changes will be involved in the drafting process.

With regard to (iii), implementing legislation will be introduced following the signature of CETA. CETA is currently is expected to be signed in the fall of 2016.