House of Commons Hansard #195 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was consent.
The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan
I have the honour to lay upon the table the annual reports on the Access to Information and Privacy Acts of the Commissioner of Lobbying, for the year 2016-17. Pursuant to Standing Order 108(3)(h), these reports are deemed permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics.
The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan
I have the honour, pursuant to section 38 of the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act, to lay upon the table the case report of the Public Service Integrity Commissioner in the matter of an investigation into allegations of wrongdoing. This report is deemed permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates.
I also have the honour, pursuant to section 38 of the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act, to lay upon the table the report of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017. This report is deemed to have been permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates.
Government Response to PetitionsRoutine Proceedings
Winnipeg North Manitoba
Liberal
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 four petitions.
Jane Philpott Liberal Markham—Stouffville, ON
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-55, An Act to amend the Oceans Act and the Canada Petroleum Resources Act.
(Motion deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Pierre Paul-Hus Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
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 of the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association respecting its participation at the Defence and Security Committee meeting held in Washington, D.C., United States of America, January 20 to 23, 2017.
Leona Alleslev Liberal Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, 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 NATO Parliamentary Association delegation respecting its participation at the joint visit of the Sub-Committee on Transatlantic Defence and Security Cooperation, Sub-Committee on Transatlantic Economic Relations, and the officers of the Sub-Committee on the Transatlantic Relations in Svalbard, Norway, May 9 to 11, 2017.
Stephen Fuhr Liberal Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the sixth report of the Standing Committee on National Defence, in relation to a study of North American defence entitled “The Readiness of Canada's Naval Forces”.
I would like to thank our clerk, Elizabeth Kingston, and our analysts, Melissa Radford and Martin Auger.
This is a unanimous report.
Mark Eyking Liberal Sydney—Victoria, NS
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the seventh report of the Standing Committee of International Trade, entitled “The Canadian Steel Industry's Ability to Compete Internationally”. Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.
I would also like to thank our clerk, our analysts, and especially our committee. We have a hard-working committee. We do a lot of travel across the country and internationally. We do well for this country when we do our business.
Gerry Ritz Conservative Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK
Mr. Speaker, I do not disagree with what the chair of the committee said, but I just want to underscore a couple of points that we put in our attached report to maintain the access we have with our great trading partner, the U.S.
The problem we have is that, as these Liberals move forward with a China free trade agreement at some point, the first thing China asks for as a precondition is market economy status. What that does is change the whole atmosphere around countervail, dumping, and so on, as it is doing with steel.
The other thing is that we need a study on the cost of the carbon tax and how that will keep us out of the American market simply because we are adding that $50 a tonne on a number of different aspects of steel production.
Those two things need to be underscored in this report. I hope that the government will respond to those, especially, when it does.
Environment and Sustainable DevelopmentCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings
Liberal
Deb Schulte Liberal King—Vaughan, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the eighth report of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development, entitled “Healthy Environment, Healthy Canadians, Healthy Economy: Strengthening the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999”.
I want to thank all the witnesses who came before the committee and those who sent briefs to share their expertise with us. I also want to give special thanks to the clerk and the analysts who helped us to sort through all the advice, write the report, and bring forward recommendations. We had many thoughtful discussions, engaging all members of the committee. I am glad to report that we did agree on many of the recommendations, despite not being able to develop a unanimous report.
Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.
Environment and Sustainable DevelopmentCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings
Conservative
Jim Eglinski Conservative Yellowhead, AB
Mr. Speaker, the Conservative members of the environment and sustainable development committee have filed a dissenting report on the Canadian Environmental Protection Act study. The Conservative members believe that had the study been more focused and had more time been allocated to receiving critical testimony, the report could have represented another step forward in improving the rigour of Canada's environmental protection regime. Sadly, the majority's recommendations are, in many cases, not adequately borne out by supporting testimony and evidence before the committee. The recommendations appear to reflect an ideological bias in favour of a wholesale remake of Canada's environmental protection regime that could have profoundly chilling effects on Canada's economic competitiveness.
In closing, I would like to also thank the clerk and analysts for their work, and I would like to thank all the committee members. We actually worked quite well together, although we had differences of opinion.
Hedy Fry Liberal Vancouver Centre, BC
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the sixth report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, entitled “Disruption: Change and Churning in Canada's Media Landscape”. I want to thank the committee for working so well together. We had very important debates. We were passionate about this, and I want to thank the clerk and the analysts for trying to translate that into some kind of coherent sense. There was a difference of opinion, however.
Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.
Peter Van Loan Conservative York—Simcoe, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Conservative members of the heritage committee wish to present a supplementary report, as our view is very much in contrast with that of the Liberal majority. Overwhelmingly, the recommendations of the majority members on the committee have embraced an effort to turn back the clock in the media world and keep things the way they were to try to replicate the ways of the analogue world in a new digital world.
This is a fool's errand; the world is changing and change brings disruption. Some see this disruption as a problem, but higher taxes and government control of the news is not the answer to the problem. Efforts to turn back the clock to an earlier age are doomed to meet with failure. With the transformations of the digital world, the media are genuinely democratizing for the first time. No longer is a citizen's influence limited to choosing which newspaper to read or which television news to watch. Now every citizen can use the online digital world to report news and opinions and distribute them. This is a welcome environment.
The committee is seeking new ways to tax Canadians to pay for efforts by the government to involve itself in the production of news for Canadians. Canadians do not need more and new taxes. The Conservative members of the committee strongly oppose any proposal to implement a Netflix tax, Internet tax, or any other news tax on Canadians.
Georgina Jolibois NDP Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-361, An Act to amend the Bills of Exchange Act, the Interpretation Act and the Canada Labour Code (National Aboriginal Day).
Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to introduce a bill that seeks to turn National Aboriginal Day into a statutory holiday. When this day was first declared a holiday, the National Indian Brotherhood—today's Assembly of First Nations—wanted a day to honour the indigenous peoples of this land. Designating this day as a national holiday is an important step and an opportunity to celebrate the cultures, languages, and contributions of the first nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples in Canada. This timely bill answers one of the TRC's calls to action, that Canada create a statutory holiday to honour residential school survivors, their families, and communities.
In the spirit of reconciliation, I introduce this bill to render June 21 a national statutory holiday, a day to reflect on treaty relationships, indigenous languages, and the legacy of residential schools. I look forward to getting my bill passed in the House.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Jane Philpott LiberalMinister of Health
moved for leave to introduce Bill S-5, An Act to amend the Tobacco Act and the Non-smokers’ Health Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Cheryl Gallant Conservative Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition signed by campers who stay at Booth Landing Camping and Cottages in Chisholm, Ontario, on the peaceful and quiet Wasi Lake in the riding of Nipissing—Timiskaming. The petitioners call on the government to ensure that campgrounds with fewer than five full-time year-round employees be treated as small businesses and taxed as such.
Stephen Fuhr Liberal Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
Mr. Speaker, I have a petition from my riding that calls on the House to specifically identify hospice palliative care as a defined medical service covered under the Canada Health Act.
Tracey Ramsey NDP Essex, ON
Mr. Speaker, I rise to present petitions calling for a national strategy for Canada's seniors. In this petition, they reference the demographic shift that is happening in Canada, that there are more seniors in Canada today than youth under the age of 15, and one in six Canadians is a senior. In 14 years, one in four will be a senior in Canada. We desperately need this strategy.
I am proud to present these petitions from residents of my riding and across the country calling for a national strategy for seniors.
Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
Mr. Speaker, I rise to present two petitions this morning.
The first is from constituents in Saanich—Gulf Islands who are calling on the government, particularly through its international development assistance, to consider targeting support to small-scale sustainable agriculture to work toward food security and food sovereignty for developing nations.
Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
Mr. Speaker, the second petition is also from many constituents in Saanich—Gulf Islands calling for a national approach for income security for seniors, particularly an increase in the guaranteed income supplement, the strengthening of the Canada pension plan and Quebec pension plan, developing a national pension insurance program, and creating a national facility to adopt workplace pension plans of companies that have slid into bankruptcy.
We all know the tragic stories of people who had their pension funds in companies and then discovered that the pensioners were not protected when the companies went into receivership. This petition calls for income security for seniors.
Robert Gordon Kitchen Conservative Souris—Moose Mountain, SK
Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to present a petition from constituents in my riding, who are calling on the government to raise the pension system, CPP, OAS, and GIS, to bring it in line with the cost of living.
Matt Jeneroux Conservative Edmonton Riverbend, AB
Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to present my petition to support the eradication of polio. I thank Global Citizen, Results Canada, Rotary International, and UNICEF for working with me to sponsor this petition, which asks for the government to take action on the eradication of polio.
Thanks also to the thousands of Canadians from across Canada, from every province and territory, who took the time to add their names to this petition. The adoption of this petition would not only help to eradicate polio but also to prevent outbreaks of other illnesses around the world. We are so close to eradicating polio and Canadians have the opportunity to achieve this final step to stop anyone from having to suffer from this horrible disease again.
Peter Van Loan Conservative York—Simcoe, ON
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present petitions from two Canadian historical societies. These are prompted, as many are, by the Liberal war on history. These historical societies want history to be respected and celebrated during the 150th anniversary of Confederation.
The first petition contains signatures from members of the United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada. The association is committed to advancing knowledge of the important role Loyalists contributed to Canada's development. Many Fathers of Confederation, in fact, were Loyalists, including Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley and John Hamilton Gray, or were descendants of Loyalists. Loyalists were people who came to Canada from the United States to demonstrate their desire to have a place in North America separate and apart from the republic to the south.
Members of the Waterford and Townsend Historical Society have also signed this petition. One of its most recent projects was rehabilitating the heritage train station in Waterford. That rail station was part of the important focus on railways to connect the new country in the period following Confederation.
The petitioners call on the government to reverse the very regretful decision not to have Confederation included as a theme of the 150th anniversary of Confederation and to indeed celebrate Confederation in this very important 150th birthday.
Kevin Lamoureux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, I would ask that all questions be allowed to stand.