Debates of May 2nd, 2017

Reference to Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

That's not true. You moved the order—

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Yes, that is true, Mr. Speaker. Reality will show that. Look at the Journals. Members will see that it is true.

We are not denying the importance of unfettered access. What I am asking the member across the way to recognize is that there is also a responsibility for opposition members to behave in a responsible manner. Some of the things we have seen, such as an opposition wanting to filibuster a matter of privilege, is questionable at best in terms of good opposition.

I sat in opposition for over 20 years and I did not participate in that sort of a filibuster on a privilege for seven days.

[Pat Kelly, Conservative, Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I think that is a question he asked in his earlier intervention. It is disingenuous on his part to wonder why opposition members would want to weigh in on debate on this question when the present government tried to take an unprecedented step, never attempted in the history of Westminster-style parliaments, to bury a question of privilege without a vote.

[Pierre Nantel, NDP, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with my colleague from North Island—Powell River.

I have been listening to the debate and find this quite appalling. I am disappointed at how sterile our deliberations have become, simply because this government seems to need some intense psychotherapy. It has an acute superiority complex.

Clearly, this does not seem to stop my colleague opposite from talking over me and believing that what he has to say is relevant. That is what is funny. He talks non-stop, like a machine. It is like a car alarm that will not stop ringing. Still, no matter what we are talking about, he always has the same perspective. That is typical of this government, which got elected by saying just about anything.

The young members who are in government for the first time cannot believe how badly they have been taken for a ride. They are simply clinging on to that old ideal of the “natural governing party”. Come on. It is appalling that the Liberals pulled such a fast one on Canadian voters. This government came along with an approach based on communications and spin, promising the moon and the stars, and sugar-coating everything.

I would really like to hear the conversation between the communications people and public servants, who have to ask why they said such things during the election campaign, because now they are forced to follow through on them. There are a lot of broken promises.

As the critic for cultural industries, I can tell you that the government is doing nothing. It is fine for the minister to be ambitious and hold big consultations, but it is very clear that there is no movement on the other side. She can say whatever she wants, but right now we do not have the crucial measures needed to protect our entrepreneurs in the cultural industries and in other areas threatened by what is being offered online. Although we cannot be against progress, we nevertheless have to recognize that entrepreneurs have a challenge. However, absolutely nothing is happening. It is really pathetic.

This government comes into power with its blue blood complex and thinks it is the natural governing party and that it is royalty. It may seem that members of this government are blue bloods because they are friends with the Bay Street kings, who have their own agenda. No matter what the little candidate said during the election campaign, they are going to tell him that this is not how things go.

It is sad because regular people expect solid social measures in health or social housing. Regular people who watch television are steadily turning to Netflix. In other words, fewer and fewer people are purchasing ads on network television and in our newspapers. In other words, we have smaller budgets for our productions and our own culture, of which we are so proud. The money is drying up. Our media are suffering and we all know it.

Everyone has a weekly paper that is losing ground because it is no longer able to sell ad space, since everyone is sending our advertisement dollars over the Internet. That money is going to California, Mountain View for Google and Palo Alto for Apple.

These are urgent matters, but there is far too much concern over whether the Crown looks good. It is pathetic. It is crazy because it is runs completely counter to what was presented during the election campaign. They presented themselves as a government of and for the people and the middle class. I am here to tell you that their agenda does not reflect that.

It is quite clear that this government is more interested in listening to its cronies. We have a government that is fuelling cynicism, when it promised there would be none.

When I was here from 2011 to 2015, when the Conservative government was not interested in a word anyone had to say, we knew what we were dealing with. It said it was going to follow its agenda and if we did not like it, then too bad.

However, the Liberals set certain expectations. They say that things could be better, but they are getting worse because issues that are being pushed aside are far more important than what we are seeing here right now.

What a sad situation we are in this week. We are extremely far from the issues that matter to Canadians and Quebeckers.

Those who work short-term, temporary jobs just want to make ends meet. Ultimately, they would like to be able to do more than that. They would like to have ambitions for their children and themselves. They would like to be able to envision a happy retirement. They would like their children to have a better standard of living than they did, and they would like progress to continue. That is not what is happening.

Instead, we now have a government that refuses to listen and is putting on blinders so that it does not have to deal with any issues it does not consider to be a priority. For example, it would be a good idea to ensure that online merchants do not cannibalize the sales of local retailers and entrepreneurs, whether they have an online presence or not. I sometimes get the impression that this government firmly believes that it does not have to listen to us. That is why I was talking about the government's superiority complex, and that is why the entire opposition is united in saying that this does not make sense. We represent the Quebeckers and Canadians who elected us, whether the government likes it or not or believes it or not. There is an alternative to this government. Oh yes, your royal highnesses, there is.

The electors have placed their trust in us, whether we be New Democrats, Bloc members, Greens or Conservatives. It is our duty to speak not only on behalf of our party, but above all on behalf of the citizens who elected us, and even those who did not.

I heard someone mention the magic number of 100,000 constituents. That is a lot of pressure! We have our work cut out for us, as we must represent them all. That is why we are joining together to tell the government that its way of moving its agenda forward is unacceptable. It is elegant in its way of forcing its agenda on us, and its communications are very skilfully put together.

I met with some friends, and there was a seven-year-old girl who asked me what I did for a living. I told her I was a politician. She asked me what a politician was. I told her that my job was to represent the people who chose us in an election, so we could represent their values, their needs and their aspirations. She asked me if it was enjoyable. I told her that usually it was enjoyable, but that for a while now it had started becoming not so much fun. She asked me why. I told her that we were used to expressing ourselves in a parliament that truly respected democracy, but that at the moment, we had the feeling that we had fallen under the influence of certain, let us say, unsavoury countries. She told me that she liked the prime minister a lot. I will not tell him she said so, naturally. She said she thought he was handsome. I told her that was great, that he is very handsome, very nice, which is what we were sold during the election campaign. Behind all that, however, you might say there are some older gentlemen who are not so nice, people who have some very specific priorities and are responsible for this government saying one thing and doing the opposite.

The government talks about its election promises; it is always harping on about them. It says it is doing what it promised in its platform. Come on! The government never once mentioned this sort of change. If we have succeeded today in getting this government to listen to reason a little, it is because we, in the opposition, stood firm. We are still a long way from all the promises it made. Funnily enough, what comes to mind is Bill C-51. What is the government going to do with that?

I am looking at my colleagues who were with me in the last parliament, who were ranting and raving, saying that the bill was scary, that they were going to vote in favour of it but then amend it later on. The Liberals have been in power for a year and a half. Let them get on with it, then, let them do something. One might say the government is suffering from acute “consult-itis”: it consults and then consults again on the consultation.

We need to get going. There are important subjects to address. I understand that most of them are deserving of wise reflection, but what is certain is that we need action. When we look at the situation of the portfolio I am responsible for, culture and the news media, it is a wholesale massacre. The government must hurry up and do something, and must take advice from the people who are there to express the views of their fellow citizens.

[Filomena Tassi, Liberal, Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON]

Mr. Speaker, referring to new members being surprised, I actually am surprised. I am surprised by the antics of the other side of the House over this issue.

Let us just summarize what is happening here. We are all in agreement that unfettered access for members of Parliament is critical. It is first and foremost. We have speaking about this for seven days. What we are speaking about is having this move to PROC. I believe everybody in the House agrees on that. There is not more time to talk about this. We are on day seven of that. We are all in agreement that PROC is the place to study this. That is what we want to have happen.

It is not the first time this has happened. Over the past few years, this has happened on a number of occasions. PROC is the place where we can have the in-depth study take place. We can call witnesses. In the past, witnesses have been called in from various departments: the RCMP, the Sergeant-at-Arms, the Clerk. That is the place to have this discussion.

In the interests of time, why will the member not agree that now is the time to send this to PROC so we can do what we need to do?

[Pierre Nantel, NDP, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to note my colleague opposite’s very high regard for the work that must be done in committee. That is indeed the place where all members who take this role seriously can contribute to the debate. However, why do they not stop basically wasting this Parliament’s time with their grand proposals, their bullying, which as we know will inevitably provoke protest from the other side? Why are they doing this? Because they want to buy time to try and fulfill the grand, wild promises they made, when they had no chance of being elected at the time. Finally, they are running this government and wondering how they will go about keeping all those promises. Well, they can take their time.

[Dianne Lynn Watts, Conservative, South Surrey—White Rock, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in light of the history of the government trying to change the Standing Orders, removing opposition days, invoking closure, shutting down debate, and what happened today at PROC, I am wondering if the member has any confidence that these issues will be dealt with appropriately at PROC.

[Pierre Nantel, NDP, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague asked an excellent question. I must say that, to this point, from my experience in committee, we have always been able to have respected representatives, delegates of our populations and MPs, given the limitations of the number of members elected, of course. Obviously, if part of a minority, one has less weight than as part of a majority. Can we hope that, in committee, individuals on the government side will conduct themselves in a manner that is responsible, dignified and, honest? That is generally the case, and fortunately committees can decide not to follow the official party line. Naturally, I have to retain confidence in this process, since when we are in committee we can also look each other in the eye and talk.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is notable again the abuses we are seeing in democracy by the government. There is a last minute change to the opposition day now, and we can all guess what the real architect of that change was in terms of discussions the government wanted to have and did not want to have.

I would like the member to reflect on the broader trend we see from the government. There was Motion No. 6. Initially the government said all it wanted to do at PROC was have a conversation about changes to the Standing Orders. Then on Sunday the Liberals admitted that they were not just trying to have a conversation, that they were prepared to bring forward a motion in the House without study at PROC to unilaterally push through those changes. No one in the opposition said we should not have a study at PROC. We just said it should not happen in a way that allows unilateral change, yet the chair unilaterally ended the meeting today while opposition members were raising objections to that.

What does the member think about the broad direction of the government? Is this real change that people expected, or is this simply a change in the other direction, the denial of any kind of respect for our democratic institutions?

[Pierre Nantel, NDP, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. Sincerely, coming from him, I find this absolutely fascinating, because if there is a member who aptly represents a fresh wind and new influences entering a party, it is surely him.

My colleague opposite was talking about wasted time. We can say that the former Conservative government knew what it wanted. It went off in a very specific direction, driving along like a tank, with determination. It was not afraid of the authoritarian image it presented. Of course I always stood against what it presented us, but at least we knew the type of government we were dealing with. Now the issue of wasted time is coming from the other side. We are being told that they are listening. We are being told that all is fine. There is a measure of time wasting inherent in all that. This is obviously a deplorable situation, and, as I see it, a cause of great disappointment, particularly among young people interested in politics, who just see it as more of the same.

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, last week in the second week of our time in the riding, I had the honour of meeting and having meaningful discussions with two groups of youth. One group was the Campbell River Youth Action Committee and the other was the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society youth. When I speak with youth, I hear again and again very intelligent questions, thoughtful discussion, and such a respectful manner. It is an honour to spend time with them and see the great energy many youth are bringing forward in our country.

In those situations, I am often questioned about this place and about the way we work here for the betterment of all Canadians. I hear questions about government and how it works with opposition and the importance of the roles in this place. Many young people seem to understand fundamentally the value of having diversity at the table, differing opinions, and thoughtful discussion. We discuss how MPs hear from constituents and how MPs voice those important realities of communities across Canada. This time we also talked about parliamentary privilege. The youth were interested in what was happening in this House and interested in what they were seeing in PROC. I had this discussion in my riding, and today I am rising to speak to this important question of privilege and, most important, the ability of each member of Parliament in this House to represent his or her constituents.

On March 22, 2017, budget day, members of this House were denied access to Parliament because the Prime Minister's empty motorcade blocked the way. The Constitution of Canada ensures that members of Parliament elected by the members of their constituency have unfettered access to this House. This is to ensure that we can do our jobs and be accountable to the people we represent. On this particular day, that was denied to two members in this place. I am honoured today to stand up and speak to why the right to access this place is so fundamental as a member of Parliament. I also want to talk about the important part of how this could have been resolved quicker, but right now we are seeing the government create an atmosphere of bad faith and having a strong bullying attitude that has led us to where we are right now. Finally, I want to address the issues of parliamentary reform and the so-called discussion the government seems to be focusing on.

When I was elected, I received my member of Parliament identification card. I read on the back that it was my parliamentary privilege to be in this place. In fact, it says, “Under the law of parliamentary privilege, the bearer has free and open access at all times, without obstruction or interference to the precincts of the House of Parliament to which the bearer is a member.” I am sure I stand with other members of Parliament in this House in saying that there is a moment almost every day in this place when I take a breath and remember what an honour it is to be here, that thousands of people in my riding of North Island—Powell River expect me to do my work here representing them, and that when I stand up to vote, I am standing with them in mind. This was denied to two members of this House who could not vote. They could not stand up for the thousands of people who rely on them to do so.

I am pleased that all members of this House are taking this issue seriously, but instead of letting the question of privilege run its course, the Liberals pursued a hostile procedure to reverse the Speaker's ruling which supported the fact that privilege was indeed breached. In doing so, the Liberals invited a procedural fight to go on with a second question of privilege coming from the opposition. They cannot on the one hand claim to work with others to reform this institution while immediately using its instruments to enforce their majority. On April 6, the Liberal government shut down debate on the question of privilege when the matter was superseded by the adoption of a motion to proceed to the orders of the day. In the long history of Parliament, this is unprecedented. It is a basic and fundamental right for all of us to sit in this House representing our constituents. On April 6, the government attempted to change this. This was from a party that campaigned on being more open, transparent, accessible, and accountable to Canadians. This is a promise that is not being delivered on.

I am a reasonable person, as I heard another member say earlier today, and I believe that this House is full of many reasonable people. When I think of having a meaningful discussion on the discussion paper I know that people in this place are willing to have this discussion, but we have to look at the reality. For the past few weeks the Liberals have claimed that all they want is a discussion about changing how our Parliament works. We agree that changes could be made. It is important to understand something that stands at the core of this meaningful conversation on this discussion paper: power and fairness.

The opposition has been clear from the very beginning. In this place when there are discussions about how we do things here, there is a commitment to consensus. This is the history of this place. It is a deep honour of the fact that the government changes and that the function of the House must allow for voices to be heard.

Red flags have now been quickly raised. The proposed changes needed to be enacted so quickly the procedure and House affairs committee could barely keep up with other ministerial requests. The discussion, as the Liberal House leader likes to refer to it, never happened. The government attempted to ram it through the committee and that failed. Now, the government has announced that it will unilaterally force through changes.

I am heartbroken about this reality. The people of my riding sent me here to speak for them and I want to do that important work. Right now I have situations where people are coming into my office on a daily basis because they cannot find a home to live in. I have people coming in because they are trying to make their small business work and they are facing challenges. This is what the people of our ridings are experiencing. At the core of the work we do here it is always about the process of how we do it. I want to work on those key issues, but if we have a dysfunctional process, we will never get that work done in a meaningful way. How can we honestly talk about reforming this place when the Liberals procedurally torpedo our first motion on privilege and disregard unanimous decision-making?

Our unified opposition with the Conservatives was never about the proposed changes. They were about the process. Changes to the inner workings of Parliament have a long history of parties putting aside their differences and finding consensus. It is not unreasonable for opposition parties to call it for what it is: a Liberal power grab. They would have never agreed to this if they were in opposition.

These are not changes meant to make Parliament better. They are meant to make Parliament better for Liberals and make life easier for the Prime Minister. As Canadians are the ones who will pay the price with a government that is less accountable, we need to stand up in the House and speak out.

Why is the government so hard pressed to pass a reform of some kind? I confess that I wonder if it is simply a cover for the failed electoral reform promise.

How can Parliament be modernized if we do not carry the wisdom of those who have gone before us? In my life, many elders have told me to not throw away the knowledge of the past for the ideas of the future. They are all of value.

The matter of parliamentary privilege is key to our Canadian democracy. I am very disappointed that this is where we are today, that this debate has been stopped by the government.

I hope that the Liberals are listening to their colleagues on this important issue and that we will soon see some respect return to the House.

I would love to have a meaningful discussion about modernization, but it needs to be fair and the power needs to be balanced. I wonder if the government House leader knows that, like me, many members in the House live so far away from this place that the only flight that gets us home is the one that leaves first thing in the morning. If we shorten the workweek and have more sitting weeks, it will mean a lot less time for me in my constituency, a time that I honour profoundly to spend with my constituents, to hear what is happening, to have those meaningful conversations.

I hope that the goodness of the people in this place will come forward, that we will see some positive action moving forward, and that we will understand the wisdom of consensus when we talk about these key issues.

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

Mr. Speaker, the government House leader has consistently said we want to have this discussion on the issue of how we can change our Standing Orders.

The member just described how Fridays impact her. Let me share with her how Fridays would impact me. If we worked a few extra hours on a Thursday and a Tuesday, I can then fly out Friday morning and be in my riding for 9:30 or 10 o'clock in the morning. That gives me an entire day. That might allow me to attend a graduation service. It might allow me to meet with more of my constituents and do more work within my constituency.

All the government House leader has been trying to do is to get people around the table, and in particular at PROC, to start talking about it and to have some dialogue, but there is this resistance that comes out. Members are saying, “Unless you do this, we're not even going to enter the discussion group.”

We are not even talking about those issues today. We are talking about the privilege issue, and we agree. The Government of Canada and every member of the Liberal caucus wants it to go to committee. We would like to see it voted on today. The opposition members say they want it to go to committee, but their actions do not reflect their will. If their will is to have it go to committee, all we have to do is allow a vote. We support it. I suspect every member in the House is going to support it.

At times maybe the opposition has alternative motives, and if they do, I would suggest they put them to the side and let us first deal with this issue by sending it to PROC where it belongs, where the issue of unfettered access can be dealt with and all members will be assured they will have unfettered access to the parliamentary precinct. That is what the Liberal Party wants.

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his passionate comments. I do not know if I heard a specific question in there.

I appreciate the meaningful discussion that could potentially happen and that I would like to see happen about the impacts of changing some of our procedures in this place and what that would mean for people who live in different parts of the country and serve different constituencies.

It was interesting to hear what his experience was. For me, it takes nine and a half to 10 and a half hours to get back to my community. It is certainly a long journey. I am very thankful to all the constituents who consistently compliment me on doing that work. It is an honour for me to do that.

I want to say something that is so important: it is that when we have a discussion, if we have it in such a way that there is a balance of power and we honour everyone, good things can come from that. Right now we are being asked to have conversations with a majority committee, not in the good faith and according to the good practices of people before us who made sure that when we were talking about these issues, we had consensus.

I look forward to the government looking at understanding what a consensus model is and making sure that when we have discussions, we do not say “We're just trying to have a discussion—and oh, by the way, we have all the power, so however the discussion ends, we will be the people who make the decision.” When someone has all the power, they had better make sure they have a process that makes sense for everyone.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague, the member for North Island—Powell River. She is someone we can really admire for the way she represents her constituents. She has held 28 town halls. Like me, she lives in a rural riding, and it is very difficult to do that in a rural riding, never mind being in one of the most distant ridings in Canada. As she said, it takes her 10 hours to get home, and then she gets on the road.

The government has floated ideas of having us sit more weeks and sit longer. It is really difficult when one lives in a rural riding. I know this because to get to some communities, it takes me 18 hours to get from Ottawa to Vancouver Island, drive across Vancouver Island, and take a boat north for two hours to get to a community like Hesquiah.

I have 10 nations in my riding. She has more. These are small communities, and if we do not get out and meet with these communities, we do not build trust. We do not get to know their issues. We rely on getting to those communities in those weeks when we are in the ridings because we live so far away and it is hard to get there, and if we extend the sitting weeks, it is going to make it more difficult.

Perhaps the member could talk about the importance of making sure that we have time to get to those people in those communities and the importance of Friday questions so that we can ask questions on behalf of those small communities. We would not have that opportunity if the government takes away Friday sittings. We would not be able to ask questions. We are going to get shut down and they are going to get shut down, and their voice is going to be lost.

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it has been an honour for me to do town halls, one of the things that I think is important for those of us who represent rural ridings. In my case, I have to do at least four town halls just to sort of touch the corners of my riding. It leads to a lot of travel time while I am in the riding. It is very important that we make sure we have a conversation that is meaningful about this type of reform and change, but it needs to be one that has a balance of power so that we can move forward. It is important that we talk to those small communities, because we have to represent them. We have to build the trust. We have to ask questions in this House. Sometimes Fridays are the most powerful days to ask questions for our constituents. It would be a sad loss for all of us.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, before I begin, I would like to congratulate the member who just spoke. It is important for us, as MPs, to be able to represent our constituents properly. If we are given less time in our ridings to represent them well, we will not be as well equipped upon returning to Parliament to convey their views and ensure that their thoughts are expressed here in the House of Commons. Access to the House of Commons is very important. I really feel for my colleagues who have to spend 18 hours on the road or aboard a boat to meet with their constituents. That cannot be easy.

We are here to discuss the following question of privilege:

That the question of privilege regarding the free movement of Members of Parliament within the Parliamentary Precinct raised on Wednesday, March 22, 2017 be referred to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.

We also have an amendment and a subamendment. What is at issue, here? Free access to the House of Commons. I think this is an issue that should matter a great deal to all of us. I strongly believe that the reason this many people wanted to spend this much time expressing their need to speak to this question of privilege is that it affects most of us. This is an issue of vital importance.

Members must be able to do their work. We all know that nobody can prevent a member from coming to the House to speak, and more importantly, to vote on matters on the orders of the day.

Canadians elected us to represent them here. We are their representatives. We are their voice on very important issues.

I was trying to imagine what might have happened if I had been prevented from coming here to the House to vote on the important issue of medical assistance in dying, after having held consultations, after having met with organizations, or after having spoken to people who were awaiting this legislation for humanitarian reasons. What would have happened? How would those people have interpreted the fact of my being prevented from coming here, from being their voice and voting in the House to convey their views and ensure that their voice is heard and recorded in the history of our country?

The same is true for another issue of concern to us presently, namely the legalization of marijuana. Despite the government’s good intentions, despite the fact that all sorts of things are being claimed for the legalization of marijuana, notably that profits will be diverted from organized crime and this drug will be taken out of the reach of young people, the people in my riding think the opposite, and we are going to have to vote on this important issue very shortly.

Last week I was at a high school in my riding. I asked some senior high-school students whether they agreed with the legalization of marijuana or not. A third of them agreed with the government’s position, and two-thirds were opposed. However, that is not what we are hearing. According to what we are hearing in the wonderful Care Bear world, everyone is in favour of the legalization of marijuana. Well, that is not true.

I am going to have to bring what these young people are saying here to the House very shortly. What will happen if, for whatever reason, I am prevented from doing so? It will make those young people even more disappointed. It will make them even more disappointed in their MP, in the way the House of Commons works, and in politics in general. That is why it is important to maintain access to the House. I too was eager to speak on this important question of privilege.

We are the representatives of our people.

We are the representatives of our people. Unfortunately, I must say that we are currently facing rather difficult situations. Indeed, as a result of the proposals made by the government on changing the rules and procedures, the habits of Parliament have been somewhat disrupted. There are certain things in Parliament that are not working properly at this time, because a discussion paper with a guillotine has been tabled. Basically, we are being asked to discuss it, knowing full well that once the discussions are over, the guillotine will fall on all the fine words that have been spoken. Unfortunately, this is how the government wishes to use its majority power in the House to get certain changes passed.

I was talking about access to the House, which is guaranteed by a tradition dozens of years old. It is normal for members to have access to the House in order to vote. It is the same for changing the rules. To change the rules unilaterally without consensus is to prevent all the members from fully playing their role.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

The hon. member for Gatineau on a point of order.

Comments by the Member for Outremont

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, this morning, during a debate here in the House, I drew the Chair's attention to the comments the leader of the New Democratic Party made to my colleague, the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons.

Mr. Speaker, you indicated that we would review the record and review this incident. The record is now in. I do have the blues and I just want to read into the record some of the comments of the leader of the New Democratic Party toward the government House leader, as disturbing as that might be.

He called her a buffoon and then went on to say, “Where is the organ grinder? You are not the monkey.”

These comments are demeaning, belittling, and unparliamentary. Now I understand that the minister and the leader have spoken, but I wanted to state that as the comments were made in this place, I want to give the member the opportunity to apologize for them publicly.

I also know that the tone has not been great perhaps since we came back, and we all have a bit of responsibility to take for that. We certainly have not been perfect, and I do not think that anyone can claim perfection, but these types of comments do not help the tone and the atmosphere in this place. I wanted to table for you and for hon. members the fact that these comments were made and give the hon. leader of the New Democratic Party the opportunity to explain himself and perhaps apologize publicly.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

I thank the hon. member for Gatineau for his point of order. I will look into the matter and we can come back to it at a later date in the House.

Is the hon. member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan rising on the same point of order?

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I just want to comment that it is frustrating when a member is in the middle of giving a speech on a different topic and then a member raises a comment about a previous point of order, as important as that issue may be. There are other times, right after question period, when the member could raise it, but it is profoundly disrespectful, speaking of respect, to the member who is mid-sentence on a completely different topic for that member to stand up because he just has to comment on something that was addressed previously during the day.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

I thank the hon. member for his further intervention on the matter. What he is saying is in fact a custom and convention. Nevertheless, the Standing Orders do permit members to rise on points of order, particularly as in this case, as the member for Gatineau has cited, at the earliest occasion that members can do so. Members are encouraged to do that, but I take the member's point. I think that certainly has been the convention typically, but sometimes timeliness in these matters becomes important as well.

At this point we are very close to the time for statements by members.

The hon. member for Mégantic—L'Érable will have 12 minutes to finish his speech when the House resumes debate on this motion.

Nutrition North Program

[Hunter Tootoo, Independent, Nunavut, NU]

Qujannamiik uqaqti. Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government is committed to improve the broken nutrition north program. Although the program is meant to provide northerners with improved access to food, Nunavut continues to have the highest rates of food insecurity in the country. Nearly 70% of homes in Nunavut are food insecure. This statistic is alarming when we consider Canada's status as a first world country.

In 2016, INAC held consultations to gain insight on how to improve the program. The result of this consultation was a “What We Heard” report, released last Friday.

I have always been a strong advocate for improvements to be made to the nutrition north program. As current MP and previous territorial MLA, I know this report echoes and officially documents what we have been saying for many years.

Given the dire food insecurity reality we face in Nunavut, the need for action on this program is now.

Boston Marathon

[Bernadette Jordan, Liberal, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Mr. Speaker, summer is just around the corner, and with the nicer weather more and more Canadians will be lacing up their running shoes and hitting the sidewalks and trails for their runs, many of them training for and participating in marathons across the country.

This year, I was impressed to learn that at least nine of my constituents participated in the very prestigious Boston Marathon last month. One of these participants was 69-year-old Chris Anderson, who just ran his 113th marathon. Not only that, but this was Chris' 29th consecutive Boston Marathon. He even once ran the Boston Marathon with a broken foot and a modified cast, just to maintain his consecutive streak. I want to commend Chris for his dedication, hard work, and training as he continues to run those marathons.

To qualify and run Boston is quite an achievement, so I would like to congratulate Chris and all the other Boston marathoners from my riding and across the country on their athletic success.

Impaired Driving

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow is the sixth anniversary of the tragic death of Kassandra, who was struck by a drunk driver on May 3, 2011, when she was 22 years old.

Unfortunately, Markita Kaulius, Kassandra's mother, will be victimized again by the Liberals who, for purely partisan reasons, want to cut off debate on Bill C-226, an important bill that seeks to fight the scourge of impaired driving by dealing with repeat offenders.

I hereby ask all MPs present here today to first think of victims of impaired driving and their families and to vote tomorrow to support Bill C-226 to proceed to committee for further review so we can save lives.

Let us put partisanship aside for a moment. Let us put victims first and vote for Bill C-226.

Flooding in Vaudreuil-Soulanges

[Peter Schiefke, Liberal, Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last week, the mayor of Rigaud, Hans Gruenwald Jr., and the city council declared a state of emergency in the region because heavy rains and melting snow have caused serious flooding along the Ottawa River.

This morning, Rigaud City officials once again asked residents to evacuate because of recent rainfall and a forecast calling for more rain this week.

At this difficult time, I would like to recognize the work being done by the City of Rigaud, by Éric Martel, Rigaud's fire chief, and by the police officers, firefighters, and volunteers who have been working and are working hard to keep everyone affected safe.

On behalf of my family, the House, and the entire community of Vaudreuil—Soulanges, I want to thank them for their dedication to helping those who need it most.