Debates of March 20th, 2017

Justice

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as far as I know, the current government is not bound by the commitments of the former government.

Quebeckers from all walks of life, not just separatists, have denounced Ottawa's involvement in this case. The National Assembly even passed a unanimous motion, but it seems the Liberals do not give a damn about that, just as Stephen Harper did not give a damn. They are supporting those who question Quebec's right to independence, but they still expect us to believe that Ottawa is not trying to imprison Quebec in Canada.

Will the federal government withdraw from the legal challenge of Bill 99, yes or no?

[Jody Wilson-Raybould, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, again I am happy to stand up and say our government is committed to upholding constitutional values and to ensuring and upholding co-operative federalism.

As this matter is before the court, it would be inappropriate for me to comment further.

Health

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after shutting Quebec out by negotiating with the small provinces one at a time—the night of the long scalpels—and after resorting to predatory federalism, the Minister of Health and her colleagues are patting each other on the back and saying, “Way to go, man, we got Quebec”.

Instead of arrogantly giving high-fives, will the minister apologize to the patients of Quebec, who will be the first victims of the cuts to federal contributions?

[Jane Philpott, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, over the past few months, I have had very good discussions with all my provincial counterparts, including the Quebec health minister. We were very pleased to have reached new agreements last week.

For Quebec, this means $2.5 billion in new investments in mental health and home care, which are things that Quebec wants to invest in. That is good news, and that is why we gave each other a high-five.

Presence in Gallery

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I would like to draw to the attention of hon. members the presence in the gallery of His Excellency Lubomír Zaorálek, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

Oral Questions

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

Mr. Speaker, during question period, the member for Outremont said that his party voted in favour of Bill C-2. I know that no member of the House would want to mislead Canadians, which is why I am tabling, in both official languages, excerpts from Hansard of September 20, 2016, which shows the member for Outremont and others from his party voting against the middle-class tax cut at third reading in the House.

Foreign Affairs

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Consular Affairs)]

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 treaties entitled “Amendments to Appendices 1 and II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora”, adopted at Johannesburg from September 24 to October 5, 2016; “Amendments to Appendix III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora”, notified on February 9, 2016, August 23, 2016, and October 5, 2016; “Convention between Canada and the Republic of Madagascar for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income”, done at Antananarivo on November 24, 2016; and “Protocol Amending the Agreement on Air Transport between Canada and the European Community and its Member States, to take Account of the Accession of the European Union of the Republic of Croatia”, done at Brussels on January 27, 2017.

An explanatory memorandum is included with each 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 responses to 34 petitions.

Justice and Human Rights

[Anthony Housefather, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 10th report of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights in relation to Bill C-305, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (mischief). The committee has studied the bill and has decided to report the bill back to the House with amendments.

Status of Women

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 7th report of the Standing Committee on Status of Women, entitled “Taking Action to End Violence Against Young Women and Girls in Canada”.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of Her Majesty's loyal opposition, I am proud to present a supplementary opinion regarding the status of women study. Important evidence, such as the effects of violence, pornography and the normalization of violence, the models of e-safety in Canada and elsewhere, as well as strong sentencing for perpetrators of sexual assault were things we did not find, which were needed for the recommendations. They were not sought, and we did not have enough information on those, so we have put that in this.

We are also very proud of the private member's bill, Bill C-337, put forward by our leader, which we believe will have a very positive effect on ongoing things with respect to sexual violence.

Fisheries and Oceans

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL]

Mr. Speaker, it is my honour and privilege to present, in both official languages, the 10th report of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans in relation to a motion adopted by the committee on Thursday, February 25, 2016, by my hon. colleague, the member for Avalon. It is “Newfoundland and Labrador's Northern Cod Fishery: Charting a new sustainable future”.

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

I wish to thank all members of the committee for their hard work and their spirit of collegiality, as it was a unanimous report. I also wish to extend my thanks to the dedicated staff of the committee.

Procedure and House Affairs

[Larry Bagnell, Liberal, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 27th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, entitled, “A Second Interim Report in Response to the Chief Electoral Officer’s Recommendations for Legislative Reforms Following the 42nd General Election”.

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

At this time, I would like to thank Anne Lawson, general counsel and senior director at Elections Canada, and all her staff, who supported the committee with hundreds of hours; the clerk; and the researcher from the Library of Parliament.

This report has major changes to the Elections Act. This is the second report we have put in, and it will make future elections run more smoothly. I want to compliment the members from all parties who worked very hard to come up with this unanimous report.

Excise Tax Act

[Mark Warawa, Conservative, Langley—Aldergrove, BC]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-342, an act to amend the Excise Tax Act (carbon levy).

Mr. Speaker, I am so honoured to present in this Parliament my private member's bill. We will begin debate next month on it. I would like to thank the hard-working member for North Okanagan—Shuswap. It turned out that we were both very interested in the same important issue. The issue is that Canadians are willing to pay their fair share of taxes, but Canadians are being tricked by the government.

The Prime Minister said that we must all pay a new carbon tax on everything. He said that the provinces and territories may make this revenue-neutral, but he said that his new tax on carbon would not create any new taxes for his federal government. However, that is not the case. It has been revealed that the federal Liberal government will be collecting billions of dollars of new taxes by charging GST and HST on top of the price on carbon, which is a tax on the tax. That is not fair. It is not what the Prime Minister promised.

I have introduced this bill to prevent the federal government from collecting GST or HST on the carbon tax. It is a good bill. It is not fair to charge a tax on a tax. I call on all members in this House to support this excellent bill.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Banking Services

[Karine Trudel, NDP, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present hundreds of signatures from people calling for banking services at postal outlets.

We know that there are more than 8,000 postal outlets across Canada. Many municipalities are in great need of this service, 600 of them requesting banking services directly in their community. I have the honour to table this petition in the House on behalf of the petitioners.

Fisheries

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

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour of standing in the House today to present a petition on behalf of constituents in Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, who recognize the fact that climate change is resulting in lower water flows in the all important Cowichan River, which is posing a threat to fish and fish habitat, both of which fall under federal jurisdiction. The petitioners also recognize that the Cowichan River is a designated heritage river and has extreme cultural and historical significance to the Cowichan people.

Therefore, the petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to honour its promises on infrastructure spending and to immediately provide the federal funds necessary for raising the weir, ensuring that water flow rates in the Cowichan River are there not only for fish and fish habitat but for all residents who depend on this vitally important river in my region.

Diabetes

[Sonia Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to table a petition from more than 100 residents of Brampton and Mississauga who are drawing attention to an important issue close to my heart. Diabetes and pre-diabetes affect more than 11 million Canadians. This is almost one in three Canadians in Brampton. One in seven Canadians are affected by pre-diabetes and diabetes. It can result in high financial and personal costs, and it can lead to other complications. It is also a significant burden on the health care system.

The petitioners seek to create awareness of diabetes and pre-diabetes and to show support for my motion, Motion No. 118. Motion No. 118 calls for Parliament to officially mark November as Diabetes Awareness Month, to recognize that this is a mounting public health crisis, and to ask the health committee to study this important issue.

I want to thank and commend all who signed the petition. It is my honour, as the diabetes caucus chair, to table this petition today.

Impaired Driving

[Mark Warawa, Conservative, Langley—Aldergrove, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to present this petition on impaired driving.

Families for Justice is a group of Canadians who have had a loved one killed by a drunk driver. They believe that Canada's impaired driving laws are much too lenient. They want the crime to be called what it is, vehicular homicide. It is the number one cause of criminal death in Canada. More than 1,200 Canadians are killed every year by drunk drivers.

The petition calls for mandatory sentencing for vehicular homicide and for this Parliament to support Bill C-226, impaired driving act, and Bill C-247, Kassandra's law.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent of the House to revert to Motions.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Is it agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Industry, Science and Technology

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

Mr. Speaker, I move that:

That, in relation to its study of Canada-United States Cooperation in Innovation and Jobs Creation, seven members of the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology be authorized to travel to Washington, D.C., United States of America, in the spring of 2017, and that the necessary staff accompany the Committee.

[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.