Debates of Feb. 8th, 2017

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, on Saturday, at every single law school in Canada, students volunteered, doing research to figure out how they could help refugees potentially affected by President Trump's attempt to stop their flight to safety. Now those same law students, starting at the University of Victoria, picked up on by the University of Toronto, the University of Alberta, and Dalhousie law school, have written the government to ask for the immediate suspension of the Safe Third Country Agreement.

Can the Prime Minister, as our Prime Minister and the minister responsible for youth, hear and heed their voices?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are a country of immigrants and Canadians have always acted with compassion to those seeking safety for themselves and their families. We will continue to welcome people in need of protection. As I have often said, Canada is stronger not in spite of our differences, but because of them. That is why it was such a source of pride that so many Canadians worked so hard to welcome over 46,000 refugees just last year.

We will continue to do everything we can to welcome people to Canada, because we know that makes us better, makes us stronger, makes us better off.

Lynn Legault

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Colleagues, one of the advantages of being Speaker is that I get to know some of the people who help to make things run smoothly in this place. Some of them have had impressive and sometimes long careers at the House and I have known some of them a long time.

This week, one of the page supervisors, Lynn Legault, is retiring after 32 years of service in the House. Lynn has been a pillar of the page program for decades and has helped to train over 1,200 first-year university students as pages.

I am sure I speak for all of my colleagues, those here today and the hundreds who have come and gone during Lynn's years of service, when I say thank you, Lynn, and enjoy a well-earned retirement.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

Interparliamentary Delegations

[Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, Liberal, Beaches—East York, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union respecting its participation at the 135th Assembly of the IPU and related meetings held in Geneva, Switzerland from October 23 to 27, 2016.

Procedure and House Affairs

[Larry Bagnell, Liberal, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 21st report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. The committee advises that, pursuant to Standing Order 92(3)(a), the committee reports that it has concurred in the report of the Subcommittee on Private Members' Business arising that Bill C-324, An Act to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (production of or trafficking in substances) should be designated non-votable.

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

Mr. Speaker, there have been consultations with all parties, and I believe that if you seek it, you will find that there is unanimous consent for the following motion.

I move:

That the membership of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs be amended as follows: Ms. Tassi (Hamilton West Ancaster—Dundas) for Ms. Petitpas Taylor (Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe), and Mr. Simms (Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame) for Ms. Vandenbeld (Ottawa West—Nepean).

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Does the hon. parliamentary secretary have the unanimous consent of the House to propose 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)

Taxation

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition signed by campers who stayed at the Rideau Heights Campground in Nepean, Ontario, an urban campground located in the riding of Ottawa West—Nepean.

The petitioners call upon the government to ensure that campgrounds, with fewer than five full-time year-round employees, continue to be recognized and taxed as small businesses.

Organ Donations

[Len Webber, Conservative, Calgary Confederation, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition in support of my private member's bill, Bill C-316, which was submitted by Mr. Brad Arnold of Calgary. The petitioners are calling on this House to improve the organ donation system in Canada by making the process to register as an organ donor easier.

This would be achieved by adding a simple question to our annual tax returns. Mr. Arnold, a recipient himself, collected signatures from throughout Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, showing that there is indeed national support for this sensible change to our tax forms.

It is also my pleasure to rise today to present a petition in support of my private member's bill, Bill C-316. The petitioners are calling on this House to improve the organ donation system in Canada by making the process to register as an organ donor easier. This would be achieved by adding a simple question to our annual tax returns.

I would like to thank Don Axford for collecting all these signatures from around Calgary. There are 4,600 Canadians awaiting an organ transplant, who stand to benefit from his efforts.

Impaired Driving

[Kennedy Stewart, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition gathered by George Sojka and many residents of Burnaby.

The petition concerns the death of Helen Sonja Francis, who was tragically killed by an impaired driver. The driver was not charged because the four-hour time limit for the warrant had expired. Mr. Sojka and those who signed the petition would like the time for warrants to be increased from four hours to six hours.

In the last Parliament, this condition was added to new changes to the Criminal Code. However, that bill was not passed, so the petitioners are calling on this new justice minister to make sure that the time for warrants is increased from four hours to six hours.

Human Rights

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition that was submitted to me by a constituent of mine, Mr. Samuel Laldin, calling on the government to assist over 12,000 members of minority groups from Pakistan who have fled that country due to human rights violations and discrimination.

In particular, the petitioner requests that the government show compassion and bring these asylum seekers to Canada, and that in the meantime the Government of Canada ask the government of Thailand to give them the necessary protection they need.

150th Anniversary of Confederation

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, York—Simcoe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present petitions from Canadians who are concerned that the government is ignoring Confederation and history as themes of the 150th anniversary of Confederation due to the current government's war on Confederation.

I have two petitions today. This first petition states that Rideau Township Historical Society has close ties to the Confederation years. They operate Dickinson House in Manotick, Ontario. The site was home to Moss Kent Dickinson, a member of Parliament, and a mayor of Ottawa. He was also a friend of Canada's first Prime Minister, and the house actually served as a campaign headquarters for Sir John A. Macdonald in 1887.

The second petition is from members of the Stayner Heritage Society, who have also committed to the mission of preserving local history.

Originally named Nottawasaga Station, this community was founded alongside a new railway line from Toronto, and developed with its ability to move agricultural and lumber products. Of course, we know how critical the railways were to our founding of Confederation.

The petitioners call on the government to reverse the decision to exclude Confederation as a theme of the 150th anniversary of Confederation, and respect our history by making Confederation a theme of that very important anniversary.

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 supplementary responses to Questions Nos. 674, 678, and 727, originally tabled on January 30, 2017, could be made orders for return, those returns would be tabled immediately.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Question No. 674

[Matt Jeneroux, Conservative, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

With regard to relocation costs for exempt staff moving to a location outside of the National Capital Region, since January 1, 2016: (a) what is the total cost paid by the government for relocation services and hotel stays related to moving these staff to a location outside of the National Capital Region; and (b) for each individual reimbursement, what is the (i) total payout, (ii) cost for moving services, (iii) cost for hotel stays?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 678

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

With regard to relocation costs for exempt staff moving to the National Capital Region since October 19, 2015, excluding costs revealed in the government’s response to Q-258: (a) what is the total cost paid by the government for relocation services and hotel stays related to moving these staff to the National Capital Region; and (b) for each individual reimbursement, what is the (i) total payout, (ii) cost for moving services, (iii) cost for hotel stays?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 727

[Karen Vecchio, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

With regard to the government’s response to Q-258: what are the finalized amounts for all relocation costs referred to in the initial response to Q-258?