Debates of June 1st, 2017

Interparliamentary Delegations

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

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 delegation to the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group respecting its participation at the annual winter meeting of the National Governors Association held in Washington, D.C., United States of America, from February 24 to 27, 2017.

Transport, Infrastructure and Communities

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, Humber River—Black Creek, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 13th report of the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities in relation to the supplementary estimates (A), 2017-18.

Environment and Sustainable Development

[Deb Schulte, Liberal, King—Vaughan, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the seventh report of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development in relation to Bill C-323, an act to amend the Income Tax Act, regarding the rehabilitation of historic property. The committee has studied the bill and pursuant to Standing Order 97.1(1), requests a 30-day extension to consider it.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Pursuant to Standing Order 97.1(3)(a), a motion to concur in the report is deemed moved, question deemed put, and a recorded division deemed demanded. Pursuant to an order made on Tuesday, May 30, 2017, the division stands deferred until Wednesday, June 7, 2017, at the expiry of the time provided for oral questions.

Procedure and House Affairs

[Larry Bagnell, Liberal, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Orders 104 and 114, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 32nd report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs regarding the membership of committees of the House.

If the House gives its consent, I move that the 32nd report be concurred in.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Does the hon. member have the unanimous consent of the House to move this 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)

[Gord Brown, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, if you seek it, I believe you will 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 Chilliwack—Hope, all questions necessary to dispose of the motion be deemed put and a recorded division requested and deferred until Tuesday, June 6, at the expiry of the time provided for oral questions.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Does the hon. member 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.

[An hon. member]

No.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

There is no unanimous consent.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. If members want to have discussions, I encourage them to do so perhaps in the lobbies.

Taxation

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to present a petition signed by campers who stayed at Sand Bay Camp in Combermere, Ontario, on the shores of Kamaniskeg Lake in the riding of Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke. The petitioners call on the government to ensure that campgrounds with fewer than five full-time, year-round employees be considered small businesses and be taxed as such.

Algoma Passenger Rail Service

[Carol Hughes, NDP, Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present even more petitions addressed to the Minister of Transport about the Algoma passenger train, which has been out of service for several years. The only way to access 75% of the properties located near the rail line is by train. There are some industrial roads, but they are maintained only if industry needs them. Access roads are neither reliable nor safe, plus they are non-existent or impassable for part of the year.

The Algoma passenger train is the only safe, affordable, year-round route that can get people to the Algoma rail corridor. That is the way it has been for 100 years. The petitioners are calling on the Minister of Transport to restore the Algoma passenger train service in order to fulfill Transport Canada's mission, which is to serve the public interest through the promotion of a safe and secure, efficient and environmentally responsible transportation system in Canada.

Water Quality

[Denis Paradis, Liberal, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present another petition addressed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs concerning the water quality of Lake Champlain.

Cyanobacteria proliferates each summer in Lake Champlain, which we share with our American neighbours. The entire population of the town of Bedford in my riding, so over 3,000 people, drinks that water.

When it gets hot this summer, the cyanobacteria will proliferate even more, and the water will become like pea soup. This water needs to be treated immediately. This petition is therefore addressed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who is responsible for the International Joint Commission on the management of transboundary waters under the treaty we have with our American neighbours.

In conclusion, the petitioners, residents of Bedford and the surrounding area in the province of Quebec, ask the Minister of Foreign Affairs to review the mandate of the International Joint Commission for Champlain Lake, with the aim of resolving the problem of the deterioration of the water quality of Champlain Lake in recent years.

I also want to thank the member for Malpeque, who is supporting our efforts.

Shark Finning

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present two petitions this morning, both from residents of Saanich—Gulf Islands.

The first petition deals with an issue that has resulted in several private members' bills being presented before this place and remains unsolved. It is that, while it is illegal in Canadian waters to fin sharks, it is still possible to trade and sell and offer for sale shark fins where the finning has taken place in other waters, and this contributes to the rapid extinction of many species of sharks.

The petitioners ask the House of Commons to deal with this gap.

Natural Resources

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

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is also from residents of Saanich—Gulf Islands.

The petitioners are calling for the federal government to institute a national moratorium on the practice of hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking. There are now provincial moratoria in Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, but there remains the fact, as the petitioners point out, that the chemicals used in the fracking compounds that are injected below the surface near our groundwater are not publicly known and are not registered with Environment Canada. There also remains threats due to induced seismology, in other words, causing earthquakes. The petitioners would like the Parliament of Canada to act on this matter.

Canada Pension Plan

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

Mr. Speaker, my riding of Sydney—Victoria, in Cape Breton, has one of the highest proportions of seniors in the country. I have the honour to present a petition that contains hundreds of signatures of seniors from Cape Breton Island.

The petition is in good order and the petitioners are asking the Government of Canada to review the Canada pension plan, which, at the present, is not funded sufficiently to allow seniors to survive in today's society.