House of Commons Hansard #131 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was community.

Topics

Second readingControlled Drugs and Substances ActGovernment Orders

5:05 p.m.

NDP

Murray Rankin NDP Victoria, BC

Mr. Speaker, let me begin by saying a few words about how this affects the people of Victoria who sent me here to speak on their behalf. Where I come from this is not an academic debate; it is a crisis across our community.

In the first 11 months of last year, my community lost 60 people to overdoses. I personally know families who have lost loved ones. None of us remain unaffected. We have been robbed of far too many people who might still be our friends, our neighbours, and coworkers today if we had the services to prevent overdoses and provide the treatment that is so desperately needed in our community. Still, people in Victoria and across British Columbia have taken what action they can in the absence of leadership from their federal government.

Last April, British Columbia declared the first public health emergency in our history. In December, the provincial health minister authorized temporary overdose prevention sites. There are now three such sites in my city of Victoria.

On January 4, thanks to the hard work of so many in our community, the Vancouver Island Health Authority submitted an application for the first full service safe consumption site in Victoria, and there will be more. That application is now before the Minister of Health, and I hope that she will do everything in her power as I will do everything in mine to see that this life-saving community initiative is approved without further delay.

The hard work of those who are fighting to save lives on the streets of Victoria has not been in vain. Because of their efforts, we have three small overdose prevention sites in place. In its first month, one such site reported an overdose nearly every day. But because the right services were available, not a single life was lost. That is the difference these services make in the real world. That is why we called for this legislation a year ago. That is why we will not allow it to be delayed any further.

To understand the scale and urgency of this crisis, we need to look beyond our own communities. My home province, British Columbia, lost 914 citizens to illicit drug overdoses just last year. That is not only the deadliest year on record for us, it is on par with the highest overdose rates among the American states. Last year, Ontario lost two citizens a day. That many lives are now lost each and every day in the city of Vancouver alone.

Some 2,000 Canadians died of this in 2015. We know that many more died in 2016 as powerful opioids like fentanyl spread across the country. I know it can be hard to give meaning to numbers like that unless we know some of the victims by name.

Consider what my colleague from Vancouver Kingsway, our NDP health critic, reminded us of yesterday. In 2003, we lost 44 Canadians during the SARS crisis. During the opioid crisis, we are now losing that many fellow citizens every week. If 40 or 50 Canadians were dying of an infectious disease every week, this House surely would not stand idly by. So let me address something head-on.

There are some in this place who think there is nothing we can do to stop the crisis, who think that addiction represents a moral failure, that it has always existed on the margins of society, and all that has changed is that the drugs just get stronger.

For too long, that outdated view guided government policy, and refused to bend to evidence from doctors, courts, and front-line workers. So let us be clear. What we are facing today is unlike anything Canada has ever experienced before.

This is not just about Downtown Eastside Vancouver. It is about suburban kids experimenting with recreational drugs that turn out to be laced with opiates 100 times stronger than heroin, and then they die. It is about athletes and office workers becoming dependent on prescription painkillers, folks who have never struggled before with addiction, but now have nowhere to turn but the street.

It is about firefighters and paramedics who have to wear masks to stop inhaling drugs so powerful that a dose no bigger than a grain of salt can be deadly. Opioid use disorder is a disease and it should be treated as such. One of those firefighters is Chris Coleman. He came from Vancouver to testify before the House health committee. He said this:

It takes a toll...to work extremely hard but to feel that you are having little or no impact on a problem that is growing exponentially, like a tidal wave, on the streets of your city.

...our brothers and sisters who work in the Downtown Eastside are in trouble. They feel abandoned and they feel hopeless.

It has taken the government far too long to act, but now we have a bill before us that can begin to help. By passing this bill we can lift the barriers, some of them at least, that prevent communities from establishing life-saving safe consumption sites. We can send a signal to provinces, like British Columbia, that the federal government will step up and do its part. We can show people like Chris Coleman, and the thousands of firefighters and paramedics, police officers, and front-line workers like him, that they are not abandoned, that their work does matter, that we do care, and that their community has their back.

We have to be realistic. This bill alone will not solve the opioid crisis. We are here because government after government has failed to invest in detox, treatment, education, and prevention. The government has failed to put in place that foundation of services that would save lives and connect drug users to the support they need to stabilize and begin the long journey out of addiction.

Hundreds of Canadians are now dying in the gaps that governments have let grow year after year. For more than a year, we have been calling for a bill to repeal the Conservatives' Bill C-2 and lift the barriers that the previous government erected to make it harder for communities to open life-saving safe consumption sites. When I spoke to that bill, I called it the “24 ways to say 'no' act”.

It has taken far too long to get here. I regret that the government took so long to come around to our point of view and accept that legislative action repealing Bill C-2, or replacing it, was necessary. Thankfully, here we are.

Bill C-37 would save lives. We must pass it as soon as possible. For that reason, the NDP moved in December to fast-track the bill right to the Senate. It was blocked. I want to make sure that does not happen again and that we get this done.

I will continue to urge the minister to declare a public health emergency and allow emergency overdose prevention sites to operate legally across the country. I will continue to call on the government to use the powers it already has and expedite applications from cities like Montreal, Victoria, and Toronto, that have been gathering dust as Health Canada sits around and looks at them for months at a time. I will continue to ask why the government continues to ignore the recommendations from major cities, medical authorities, and even Parliament's own health committee, on other steps to turn the tide on this crisis.

In conclusion, passing this bill is not sufficient, but it is necessary. Therefore, on behalf of a Canadian community at ground zero in this crisis, I urge all members to support this life-saving bill and pass it now before more Canadians are lost to this preventable crisis.

Second readingControlled Drugs and Substances ActGovernment Orders

5:15 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

It being 5:15 p.m., pursuant to order made earlier today, it is my duty to interrupt the proceedings and put forthwith every question necessary to dispose of the second reading stage of the bill now before the House.

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

Second readingControlled Drugs and Substances ActGovernment Orders

5:15 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

No.

Second readingControlled Drugs and Substances ActGovernment Orders

5:15 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

All those in favour of the motion will please say yea.

Second readingControlled Drugs and Substances ActGovernment Orders

5:15 p.m.

Some hon. members

Yea.

Second readingControlled Drugs and Substances ActGovernment Orders

5:15 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

All those opposed will please say nay.

Second readingControlled Drugs and Substances ActGovernment Orders

5:15 p.m.

Some hon. members

Nay.

Second readingControlled Drugs and Substances ActGovernment Orders

5:15 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

In my opinion the yeas have it.

And five or more members having risen:

Call in the members.

(The House divided on the motion, which was agreed to on the following division:)

Vote #185

Controlled Drugs and Substances ActGovernment Orders

5:55 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

I declare the motion carried. Accordingly, the bill stands referred to the Standing Committee on Health.

(Bill read the second time and referred to a committee)

The House resumed from January 30 consideration of the motion that Bill C-309, An Act to establish Gender Equality Week, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Gender Equality Week ActPrivate Members' Business

5:55 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

Pursuant to order made on Tuesday, January 31 the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion at second reading stage of Bill C-309.

(The House divided on the motion, which was agreed to on the following division:)

Vote #186

Gender Equality Week ActPrivate Members' Business

6:05 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

I declare the motion carried. Accordingly, the bill stands referred to the Standing Committee on the Status of Women.

(Bill read the second time and referred to a committee)

A motion to adjourn the House under Standing Order 38 deemed to have been moved.

TransportationAdjournment Proceedings

February 1st, 2017 / 6:10 p.m.

NDP

Sheila Malcolmson NDP Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC

Madam Speaker, when I last rose in the House to address the issue of abandoned vessels, we were clear about what the problem was.

For maybe 15 years now coastal communities have been describing a myriad of bureaucracy that has made it impossible for them to identify which federal department, oceans being under federal jurisdiction, would deal with an abandoned vessel creating a navigation problem, or an oil spill, or visual harm to their community. People would phone Nav Canada and be told to phone Coast Guard. Coast Guard would tell them to phone Environment. Environment would tell them to phone the province if the vessel was washed up on the land.

It was a mess. It was embarrassing. I know a local community organization which for 10 years tried to find a federal or a provincial partner that would work with it to remove these abandoned vessels. Whether they are old commercial fishing vessels, whether they are worn-out fibreglass vessels, and whether it is because we are having more and more storms or more and more bankruptcies, more of these vessels are showing up on our shorelines.

Coastal communities have been very patient and very persistent on this matter. I want to give a special shout-out to leaders in my own riding of Nanaimo—Ladysmith, particularly Stz'uminus Chief John Elliott, Ladysmith Mayor Aaron Stone, and former mayor Rob Hutchins, who are very strong leaders. Together we got a significant vessel removed with the help of the former minister of fisheries and oceans, the member for Nunavut. We are very grateful for that, and it was a big win for our community.

However, we are looking for permanent solutions so that communities do not have to work as hard as Ladysmith did to have this four-year-old problem resolved. This problem was from a vessel towed into the harbour by Transport Canada. This did not originate in Ladysmith.

I will mention the solutions that I have been proposing, both in my role as local government and now as member of Parliament. One is to make Coast Guard one-stop shopping so people do not get the runaround. Coast Guard can negotiate with its various other member departments regarding who will take ultimate responsibility, but it is one-stop shopping. There should be more resources for Coast Guard obviously, because it is already doing this work off the side of its desks. Other things would be fibreglass recycling, innovation and research, and investment, because we need to find a market for this product. There should be an amnesty on abandoned boats, a kind of “bring in your boat” program, so that we can partner with local governments and try to get ahead of the problem. Vessel registration needs to be fixed. We should look at taking the load off taxpayers, who right now are paying 90% of the cost. We need to find solutions to take that cost off the backs of the taxpayers.

The national oceans protection plan was announced by the government back in the fall, and I was glad to see that leadership as the Conservatives certainly did not do it. However, we still do not know what that would include. One of the pieces that is a bit of a worry is the indication that, like the Conservatives, the Liberals think a solution to abandoned vessels is to criminalize the problem. We cannot penalize people we cannot find, and in any case, there are already remedies to take a person who has abandoned their vessel to court.

I am looking for the government's assurance that the national oceans protection plan was not just PR to soften the blow of a Kinder Morgan oil tanker approval that we sure did not want on our coast. That was all downside for us. There was no upside.

Please let me know when this legislation will be tabled, when we will finally have solutions for coastal communities to solve the impossible problem of abandoned vessels.

TransportationAdjournment Proceedings

6:10 p.m.

Kanata—Carleton Ontario

Liberal

Karen McCrimmon LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for Nanaimo—Ladysmith for her question, and for her advocacy for her community. I wish to assure the House that this government takes the issue of abandoned, derelict, and wrecked vessels very seriously.

While most vessel owners do properly dispose of their property, the few that do not, we agree, pose risks to safe navigation, the marine environment, public health, safety, and local economies. That is one of the reasons we supported the member's Motion Nr. 40 back in October, which called for meaningful steps in this area. We agree.

This is also the reasoning behind the announcement on November 7 about the $1.5 billion for the oceans protection plan. It is what she is asking for. It is a comprehensive strategy to address abandoned, derelict, and wrecked vessels, that focuses both on prevention and removal, and includes a robust polluter-pay approach for future vessel clean-up.

One only has to look at the dedicated efforts to manage the threats posed by the Kathryn Spirit in Beauharnois, Quebec or the Viki Lyne II in Ladysmith Harbour to see how imperative it is that we hold vessel owners to account. These kinds of situations cannot continue, and we are working hard to prevent them, and manage these complex situations.

During consultations last summer, partners and stakeholders across the country repeatedly told federal officials that the current suite of legislation, policies, and programs are not effective in addressing the problem. They also called for clear federal leadership.

This government has listened to Canadians, and will put into place new legislation that puts the responsibility and liability on vessel owners to properly remove and dispose of their vessels. This will include a new prohibition on the act of abandoning a vessel. We will create measures to improve owner identification, so that vessel owners can be held accountable.

Addressing this issue requires concerted effort from various levels of government. Our government will work with provincial, territorial, and local governments, and indigenous groups to support the clean-up of smaller, high priority vessels posing risks to coastal communities, and develop plans to address large commercial problem vessels according to the risk they pose.

Provinces, territories, and local governments must be involved, given their shared responsibility for managing the environment, and their lead roles in waste and land management, as well as in protecting the rights of private property owners. They have the sight lines locally. They know what is happening locally to support monitoring and enforcement activities.

The strategy also calls for targeted education, outreach, and research activities to help inform vessel owners of their responsibilities for proper vessel disposal, and to develop enhanced disposal options.

In addition, we will signal our intent to accede to the 2007 Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks, which will provide added protection going forward for Canadian taxpayers by increasing vessel owner responsibility and liability for cleaning-up hazardous wrecks in Canadian waters.

Our approach is modelled on the success of other jurisdictions that are actually ahead of Canada on this issue. Our government is intent on getting the solutions right. We believe the comprehensive approach laid out in the oceans protection plan will get us there.

TransportationAdjournment Proceedings

6:15 p.m.

NDP

Sheila Malcolmson NDP Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC

Madam Speaker, I am still eager to hear when this legislation is going to be tabled. So far, it is only New Democrats who have ever brought legislation to the House. I would love to know if the member intends to support my Bill C-219.

We hope to have it debated this spring. Will the government legislation beat me to it? I would love to know that there is a comprehensive solution out there. However, we need to legislate a solution, so details, please.

Coastal people have been very patient, but I am hearing that with another boating and tourist season advancing, with jobs and the shellfish industry at risk, even the smallest spill from an abandoned vessel would put jobs, the ecology, and community at stake.

Frankly, I am feeling optimistic, yet fed up. We need to know when you are going to table this legislation, so we can give that assurance to coastal communities.

TransportationAdjournment Proceedings

6:15 p.m.

NDP

The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes

I want to remind the member not to use the word you, because it is addressing the member opposite, and the member should be addressing the chair.

The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport.

TransportationAdjournment Proceedings

6:15 p.m.

Liberal

Karen McCrimmon Liberal Kanata—Carleton, ON

Madam Speaker, this was mandated by the Prime Minister for the Minister of Transport, and we are taking those significant steps to improve marine safety coast to coast to coast.

The oceans protection plan is worth $1.5 billion. The details will be coming. The more specific measures will be announced as part of a comprehensive plan. But comprehensive plans are not made overnight. They take time. They consulted with communities. They consulted with the provinces. They want to get this right. That new legislation is expected soon. It will do everything that I mentioned earlier. We need to work with the different levels of government to support these cleanup efforts.

We do know the risks that are posed by these derelict and wrecked vessels to Canadians and to our environment. We are taking a responsible and comprehensive approach to addressing that. By working together with our partners and stakeholders, we will stand a better chance of actually being successful and making this happen. We are committed to improving marine safety and—

TransportationAdjournment Proceedings

6:20 p.m.

NDP

The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes

Unfortunately, the time is up.

The hon. member for Calgary Nose Hill.

Immigration, Refugees and CitizenshipAdjournment Proceedings

6:20 p.m.

Conservative

Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB

Madam Speaker, this evening in the House of Commons, I would like to raise the issue of the Yazidi genocide.

The Yazidi people are a highly persecuted ethnic and religious minority primarily based in Iraq. They are some of the most persecuted people in the world. In the last two years, they have suffered extreme atrocities at the hands of extremists within the religious majority in the area. That is ISIS. The Yazidi people have suffered rape and mutilation. Their people are in mass graves in the area, and their women have been taken as sexual slaves.

In October, after many, many months and much pushing, the House unanimously adopted a motion to prioritize Yazidi victims of genocide to come to Canada as refugees.

For people who are listening, Canada has two main ways for refugees to come into the country. First, privately sponsored refugees are those who come through the generosity of Canadians who have raised funds to sponsor refugees. The second is through government-assisted refugees. That is where the United Nations refers cases to Canada and then the government pays for the sponsorship of the refugees. The sad reality is that exactly zero out of tens of thousands of refugees who have been referred to Canada by the United Nations have come from this group of people. That is shameful.

I've had United Nations officials in my office. I have asked them why there are no cases being referred to Canada. They actually told me that because of the time constraint the government placed on them last year for the refugee initiative, it was easier just to pick out of the religious majority in these camps. That is shameful, because these people cannot actually get to refugee camps in most cases. They are internally displaced and they cannot get to refugee camps, because they are persecuted the whole way there. Then when they get to the refugee camps, in order to make these United Nations lists, oftentimes there are great delays. We have heard allegations of discrimination against these people by UN processing agents. The reality is that they are not making the lists. They are not being referred to Canada. That is an issue the government needs to look at.

The reality is there are non-governmental organizations on the ground that have been working very hard and which are highly reputable. The government could use them in order to bring those refugees to Canada. That is completely within the government's jurisdiction. It should be doing that, but what have the Liberals done to date? They have not talked to any of those non-governmental organizations and they are not working to bring those people here.

We are now in February, almost four months after the motion passed. None of the non-governmental organizations have heard any word about how many Yazidi refugees are going to be processed or how they are going to come here.

This weekend the Prime Minister sent out a fairly asinine tweet saying that we are open and welcoming refugees. Where are the Yazidis? Why, when I stand in this House of Commons, can the government not tell me how many Yazidis will come to Canada in the next couple of weeks? My gut says it is because it is lip service. The Liberals do not have a plan. They are not going to meet the terms of this deadline.

My question tonight is very simple. How many Yazidis will the government bring to Canada before the motion's deadline?

Immigration, Refugees and CitizenshipAdjournment Proceedings

6:20 p.m.

Cape Breton—Canso Nova Scotia

Liberal

Rodger Cuzner LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment

Madam Speaker, let me first explain that it is me that the member is saddled with this evening as my colleague, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, is in Acadie, Bathurst with his people attending to—

Immigration, Refugees and CitizenshipAdjournment Proceedings

6:20 p.m.

NDP

The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes

I would remind the hon. member not to tell the House who is here and who is not.

Immigration, Refugees and CitizenshipAdjournment Proceedings

6:20 p.m.

Liberal

Rodger Cuzner Liberal Cape Breton—Canso, NS

You would think a fellow would catch that after 17 years, Madam Speaker, but my apologies.

The member for Calgary Nose Hill knows the respect I hold for her and her passion on this issue.

Canadians have joined with people all across the world to deplore the murderous actions of Daesh. Canada has been a key contributor in the international efforts to address the crisis and resettle those who have been displaced from their homes. Since November 4, 2015, we have welcomed almost 40,000 Syrian refugees. Also, the Government of Canada has fulfilled its 2009 commitment to resettle 23,000 Iraqi refugees by 2015.

I am pleased that all parties are co-operating to help the vulnerable Yazidi population, as evidenced by the unanimous support to bring Yazidis to Canada within 120 days.

We are committed to meeting this 120 day time limit, but it is equally important to take the necessary time to do this right and to ensure that we have in place such things as settlement supports, welcoming communities, interpreters, and plans to meet the psychological and social needs of those we are welcoming.

That is why, as the former minister said in his response to this question, we have been working very actively on a two-part strategy.

We will bring individuals who are residing outside of Iraq, in Turkey and Lebanon, and while this work is being done, we will concurrently explore options for those residing in Iraq.

While we recognize the need for protection for victims of Daesh, Canadians realize the region's continued instability presents challenges in identifying and interviewing them, not to mention getting them out of Iraq, while ensuring the safety of our immigration officers and members of vulnerable groups.

The internationally agreed upon approach to resettlement is to focus on refugees, in other words, those persons who have been forced to flee their country.

Canada's resettlement program is designed to provide protection for refugees who are outside their country of origin. Individuals who have had to flee their home but remain within their home country are known as internally displaced people.

The safety of individuals, staff, and partners is a top priority when developing operational plans. It takes considerable resources to process difficult-to-access populations.

That said, the Government of Canada is looking at ways to respond to the challenges in northern Iraq. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada officials recently completed a third visit to the region. They interviewed a large number of Syrian refugees, as well as some internally displaced persons, and met with key partners to gather as much information as possible on the situation on the ground.

Canada has a long, proud, and well-respected tradition of helping to protect persons in need. While we want to continue to be a world leader in this area, there is no quick fix.

We are continuing to explore options and to work with our partners in the region to respond to these challenges to determine how best to extend protection to these vulnerable populations in northern Iraq.