Debates of Dec. 8th, 2017

Question No. 1266

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

With regard to the 3 metric tonnes of Nova Scotia lobster confiscated by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans on October 16, 2017: (a) what country were the lobsters destined for; (b) who owned or was in possession of the lobsters prior to confiscation; (c) what are the reasons for the confiscation; (d) what was the condition of the lobsters on October 16, 2017 (alive, processed, etc.); (e) what is the current status and condition of the lobsters; (f) where and how were the lobsters stored or located once confiscated; and (g) what is the process by which the lobsters will be disposed of (sold as government surplus, returned to water, etc.)?

[Terry Beech, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary for Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, as this occurrence is the subject of an ongoing investigation, Fisheries and Oceans Canada cannot respond to this question at this time.

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns

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

Mr. Speaker, if the government's response to Question No. 1261 could be made an order for return, this return would be tabled immediately.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed,

Question No. 1261

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

With regard to expenditures on media training or other communications related advice or training for Ministers since April 1, 2016: what are the details of each expenditure, including (i) vendor, (ii) date, (iii) Minister who received the training or advice, (iv) description of goods and services provided, (v) was the contract sole-sourced or competitively tendered, (vi) individual who provided training or advice?

(Return tabled)

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

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

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

The House resumed consideration of the motion that Bill C-66, An Act to establish a procedure for expunging certain historically unjust convictions and to make related amendments to other Acts, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Expungement of Historically Unjust Convictions Act

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

When the House last took up the question, there were eight minutes remaining in the time for questions and comments to the hon. member for Saskatoon West.

The hon. member for Hochelaga.

[Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet, NDP, Hochelaga, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I completely agree with my colleague. The apology and Bill C-66 are a step in the right direction. I also agree with her that there is still lot of work to be done.

At the end of her speech, she made some suggestions to help the government ensure that the rights of LGBTQ2 people are not violated in the future. I would like to know whether she has any ideas about what the government could do to move in that direction.

[Sheri Benson, NDP, Saskatoon West, SK]

Mr. Speaker, in my speech, I talked about some of the additional pieces I would like to see the government move on to continue this important first step we are taking today with Bill C-66. However, there are other things that need to happen quickly after the apology so Canadians, especially LGBTQ2 Canadians, know the government is serious and following through.

For example, they include ending the ban on men who have sex with men being able to donate blood. There is no scientific evidence for that ban, and it needs to be removed right now. People count on people donating blood, and it is simply unacceptable.

The government has also introduced the changes to the Criminal Code around the age of consent, but that has stalled. We do not know what had with that, but we would like to see that come forward very quickly. Those are two things that the government could move on very quickly in order to continue the momentum and to show Canadians that the apology was just a first step toward making Canada more just for LGBTQ Canadians and, in fact, all Canadians.

[Chris Bittle, Liberal, St. Catharines, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is clear the member is a passionate advocate for the LGBTQ2 community in her riding and beyond. I want to thank her for that, as well as all her colleagues in the NDP for the passionate work they do.

I was fortunate to be here for the Prime Minister's apology. I had a different view than a lot of Canadians who watched at home, as the camera was on the Prime Minister. I was able to look up at the gallery and see the faces of the individuals who had suffered, oftentimes for decades, because they were fought by their own government because of who they loved. To see the sign of relief when the government acknowledged the wrongs was significant.

The hon. member mentioned that if it was just an apology, it was only words. However, actions have to be taken. Could she take a moment to expand on that and the importance to the LGBTQ2 community in her riding? I know members from Pride Niagara were present in Ottawa for the speech. The apology was significant, but the actions were significant as well. Could she comment on that?

[Sheri Benson, NDP, Saskatoon West, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I tried to point out the number of times governments and communities had come close to getting changes in legislation only to have another jurisdiction put the community back and deny human rights. That is the long timeline, over 50 years, of resources and people's lives to simply have human rights recognized in the charter extended to LGBTQ2 Canadians.

The apology was heard by many different people. For some people, they will have remembered the incidents and persecution that could have happened to them or a family member. Our parliamentary leader spoke to some of the individuals who were impacted. Everyone had an opportunity to hear the government's words and to apologize, which is important.

However, it is so critical, which was the gist of my comment, that legislation needs to change. We need to get going very quickly so Canadians do not see themselves going back to making a promise and LGBTQ2 Canadians needing to wait years to see that realized through legislation.

I am very proud to support and help the government and Parliament move forward as quickly as possible on Bill C-66, so we can get to some of the other matters I mentioned, which are just as important.

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her hard work on this file, which I have obviously been following very closely. I have seen how dedicated our two LGBTQ2 critics have been. I have to say that I am extremely proud to be associated with such a great team and to be able to support that team as often as possible.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all the people and organizations that have been fighting for apologies and reparations for so long. Many of them live in my riding, Laurier—Sainte-Marie.

I mentioned apologies and reparations because we fought very hard to make sure the apologies would not be mere lip service. We called for concrete action, and I am pleased that the government came around to our way of thinking.

That being said, there is still one small problem. Expunging a criminal record can cost up to $600, and the bill is not clear in that regard.

Can my colleague suggest some way to clarify that in this bill?

[Sheri Benson, NDP, Saskatoon West, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to bring to the attention of those watching the community organizations and individuals who allow us as parliamentarians to continue to bring forward the fight and change law so discrimination ends.

Earlier I asked several questions of the parliamentary secretary. We said that some things within the bill needed to be changed and we wanted the government to be open to that. One change is to ensure there is no cost involved to the victims of the government's discrimination when it comes to moving forward. We also had a bit of a conversation with the parliamentary secretary about the whole issue of pardons, which we need to explore more.

There is still some work to do, but it does not need to delay the legislation. We can move forward today, pass the legislation, and follow the apology with action.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

Is the House ready for the question?

[Some hon. members]

Question.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

The question is on the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

Accordingly the bill stands referred to the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security.

(Motion agreed to, bill read the second time and referred to a committee)

[Chris Bittle, Liberal, St. Catharines, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I believe if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent to see the clock as 1:30 p.m.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

Is that agreed?