House of Commons Hansard #180 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was families.
The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan
I have the honour to inform the House that a message has been received from the Senate informing this House that the Senate has concurred in the amendment made by the House of Commons to amendment No. 1(b) to Bill C-37, An Act to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and to make related amendments to other Acts, without amendment.
Kevin Lamoureux LiberalParliamentary 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 one petition.
Marie-Claude Bibeau LiberalMinister of International Development and La Francophonie
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 83(1), I wish to table a notice of a ways and means motion to amend the Income Tax Act.
Pursuant to Standing Order 83(2), I ask that an order of the day be designated for consideration of the motion.
Rob Oliphant Liberal Don Valley West, 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 Canada-Africa Parliamentary Association respecting its participation in the bilateral mission to the Republic of Tunisia and the Arab Republic of Egypt, in Tunis, Tunisia, and Cairo, Egypt, from January 16 to 25, 2017.
Blake Richards Conservative Banff—Airdrie, AB
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 31st report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs in relation to its study of the main estimates 2017-18.
Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-355, An Act to amend the Navigation Protection Act (North Thames River, Middle Thames River and Thames River)
Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to reintroduce this bill to amend the Navigation Protection Act in order to ensure the integrity of the Thames River.
In 2000, the Thames River was designated a heritage river. It stretches 273 kilometres, extending from southwestern Ontario to Lake St. Clair. It flows past communities large and small, including the cities of London and Chatham.
The Thames River is lined by rich Carolinian forests, tulip trees, pawpaw trees, Kentucky coffee trees, and sassafras. It is home to many species of wildlife and fish that are rarely found elsewhere in Canada, including the eastern spiny softshell turtle, the queen snake, the black redhorse, and Virginia opossum.
In addition to a diverse species population, the Thames River has a rich cultural history. It has provided a home for people for over 11,000 years, wars have been fought along its shores, and its fertile land helped bring commercial farming to Canada.
For the past 200 years, the Thames River has remained largely unchanged, with many early buildings still standing. This environmental and cultural diversity must be preserved for future generations.
In 2000, the Canadian Heritage Rivers System named the Thames River a designated heritage river. Its existence is a crucial part of our heritage, and it must be protected.
This amendment was first introduced in 2013 but was ignored by the government of the day. During the 2015 election, the Liberals promised the Canadian people that it would prioritize the amendment to the Navigation Protect Act. Today, I am calling upon the Liberals to keep their word and protect the Thames River.
Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Gord Brown Conservative Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON
Mr. Speaker, if you seek it, I believe you would find consent for the following motion:
That, at the conclusion of today's debate on the opposition motion in the name of the Member for Edmonton—Wetaskiwin, all questions necessary to dispose of the motion be deemed put and a recorded division deemed requested and deferred until Tuesday, May 30, 2017, at the expiry of the time provided for Oral Questions.
The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan
Does the hon. member have unanimous consent of the House to propose the motion?
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?
Cheryl Gallant Conservative Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition signed by campers who stayed at the Chippawa Cottage Resort in Barry's Bay, Ontario, a great family place for camping in the wonderful riding of Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke.
The petitioners call on government to ensure that campgrounds with fewer than five full-time, year-round employees be treated and taxed as small businesses.
Carol Hughes NDP Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON
Mr. Speaker, I rise to table petitions from individuals in my riding from Webbwood, Massey, Espanola, Iron Bridge, Thessalon, Spanish, Manitoulin, Elliot Lake, many others from communities within the city of Greater Sudbury, and others across northern Ontario.
The petitioners raise concerns regarding the United Nations protocol against the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, their parts, components, and ammunition. They indicate that the RCMP firearms tracing unit successfully traces firearms through the use of the firearms' make, model, and serial number. There are a couple of other paragraphs, including that the implementation of the firearms-marking regulations will impose costly, onerous, and unnecessary requirements on manufacturers and importers of firearms.
The petitioners are asking the Government of Canada to revise the firearms-marking regulations to recognize that a simple requirement for a serial number on all new firearms imported into Canada will satisfy the United Nations request and adequately address the tracing requirements of police services.
Salma Zahid Liberal Scarborough Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present petition e-761, which has been signed by more than 2,000 Canadians across Canada. Many of them are my constituents from the riding of Scarborough Centre.
These citizens and the residents of Canada call upon the Government of Canada to do all that is in its power to help the Rohingya Muslim community, including to put pressure on the government of Myanmar to fulfill its moral and legal obligation to ensure the safety of its Rohingya Muslim minority; to pressure the government of Myanmar to allow humanitarian assistance and international NGOs to reach Rakhine State and those Rohingyas in camps for internally displaced persons; to arrange for a visit to Rakhine from the Canadian ambassador to Myanmar to view the situation first hand and report back to the government; to provide increased assistance and support for those countries that are housing Rohingya refugees as well as for Rohingyas in camps for internally displaced persons; and to support the commission led by the former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan studying the situation in the Rakhine state.
Richard Cannings NDP South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC
Mr. Speaker, I rise again to present a petition from citizens of British Columbia regarding the woodland caribou. The woodland caribou is designated as endangered in Canada, and one of the core areas of its population is in the Wells Gray Provincial Park and Clearwater Valley area of British Columbia. The Clearwater Valley area has been designated as critical habitat for the species, yet the British Columbia government has allowed continued logging within this critical habitat.
The petitioners ask that the government bring in a protection order to stop industrial logging in these critical habitats for woodland caribou in the Wells Gray Provincial Park and Clearwater Valley area of British Columbia.
Denis Paradis Liberal Brome—Missisquoi, QC
Mr. Speaker, here is another petition about water quality in Lake Champlain. Ten percent of Lake Champlain is located within Canada and 90% within the United States, and it is full of blue-green algae. When it gets hot in the summer, the water is like pea soup. That is unacceptable.
I congratulate the mayors of Clarenceville, Saint-Armand, Bedford, and Venise-en-Québec for getting involved in their communities, and I thank them for forwarding their citizens' wishes regarding Lake Champlain's water quality to us.
This petition is addressed to the minister responsible for Global Affairs Canada.
Tracey Ramsey NDP Essex, ON
Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition with more than 500 signatures from Canadians calling on the government to stop the trans-Pacific partnership and to not ratify this dangerous trade agreement.
The petitioners cite that it could cost tens of thousands of good Canadian jobs, leading to growing income inequality; raise the cost of medications; pose a barrier to a national pharmacare program; ease the path for foreign takeovers; and there are many other issues that they cite as being dangerous in the trans-Pacific partnership.
Currently, we do not know where the government is going with the trans-Pacific partnership.
These petitioners would like the government to not ratify it.
Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present three petitions.
The first petition is a very specific one relating to the Kipawa lakes area, which is a unique ecological, cultural, and historical area. The petitioners see it as an area that is being threatened by Matamec Explorations Inc., which proposes to mine rare earths. Rare earths are known to have a number of contaminants associated with their mining, which would be inappropriate for the Kipawa lakes area.
Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
Mr. Speaker, the second petition is from hundreds of Canadians calling for the government to speak clearly to the People's Republic of China to express our disapproval and, indeed, outrage at the treatment of practitioners of Falun Dafa and Falun Gong, including forced organ harvesting from these practitioners.
Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
The third petition, Mr. Speaker, relates to an issue we debated just recently in this place, but it does not go away.
The petitioners are calling for action to label genetically modified organisms as they appear and are contained in consumer products, particularly in food. Labelling is a matter of consumer choice, and products should be labelled with information consumers want to have.
Robert-Falcon Ouellette Liberal Winnipeg Centre, MB
Mr. Speaker, Jeff Ward from Victoria, British Columbia, asked me to table petition e-607, national holidays.
The petitioners call upon the House of Commons to designate June 21st of each year as a legal holiday to be kept and observed throughout Canada. They feel that this day should serve to create and strengthen opportunities for reconciliation and cultural exchange among Canadians. This day should facilitate connections between indigenous and non-indigenous Canadians in positive and meaningful ways and should solidify the original intent of National Aboriginal Day as a day for Canadians to recognize and celebrate the unique heritage, diverse cultures, and outstanding contributions of first nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples.
Tapwe akwa khitwam.
Peter Van Loan Conservative York—Simcoe, ON
Mr. Speaker, commemorative medals have been issued on significant milestones of Canadian history to recognize the contributions of ordinary citizens who have done remarkable things for their local communities, which might otherwise go unacknowledged. A medal was issued in our Confederation year, 1867; in the diamond jubilee year, 1927; in the centennial year, 1967; and in 1992, which was the 125th anniversary of Confederation.
As part of the Liberal war on history, the government has cancelled plans to have a medal to honour contributions of ordinary Canadians in this year, the 150th anniversary of Confederation. Tradition is being ignored and community-leading Canadians are being forgotten.
I have several petitions to present today on this subject. The petitioners come from Gatineau, Quebec; Forestville, Quebec; the very famous Baie-Comeau, Quebec; Southey, Saskatchewan; Melville, Saskatchewan; Regina, Saskatchewan; Manotick, Ontario; Osgoode, Ontario; Nepean, Ontario; and Ottawa, Ontario.
The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to respect tradition in history, recognize deserving Canadians, and reverse the very unfortunate decision to cancel the commemorative medal that was planned to honour Canadians on the 150th anniversary of Confederation.
Kevin Lamoureux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, the following questions will be answered today: Nos. 949 and 954.
Mark Strahl Conservative Chilliwack—Hope, BC
With regard to a federal carbon tax or a price on carbon: (a) what analysis was conducted between 2015-2017 by the Department of Natural Resources with regard to the economic impact on the oil, gas and mining sectors, broken down by province and territory, on (i) future employment, (ii) investment, (iii) provincial royalties collected, (iv) tax collected provincially and federally, (v) the effects on Canada’s gross domestic product; (b) of the economic impacts identified in (a) what were the various carbon price levels analyzed by the Department of Natural Resources; and (c) of the various price levels identified in (b), what were the estimated reductions in greenhouse gas emissions?