Debates of Oct. 24th, 2018

Electoral Reform

[David Graham, Liberal, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as a member of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, I am proud of the important work we have done on modernizing our election laws.

As part of our study of the Chief Electoral Officer's report following the 2015 election, we released a series of reports containing numerous recommendations. We are pleased to have completed our clause-by-clause study of Bill C-76 and to see that the bill will be sent back to the House of Commons this week.

Could the Prime Minister tell the House about the measures our government is taking to follow through on our commitment to strengthen the openness and fairness of Canada's democratic institutions?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Laurentides—Labelle for his work on the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs' study of this bill.

Our bill addresses more than 85% of the recommendations made by the Chief Electoral Officer. We are improving transparency, making voting more accessible and protecting Canadians' privacy.

Unlike the Conservatives, who deprived many Canadians of their right to vote, we believe that our democracy is stronger when more Canadians are able to participate. That is exactly what we are aiming for.

Health

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on May 3 of this year, I rose in the House to ask a question that was supposed to be asked by our colleague Gord Brown. I wanted to know whether there was going to be compensation for the forgotten thalidomide survivors coming from the promised spring budget. The Prime Minister said on that day, “We will have more good news to share shortly on this issue.”

They are still suffering, so I am following up on the question today. When will the Prime Minister do the right thing and honour the word he gave us on May 3?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians who have suffered from the effects of thalidomide are of real concern to all of us. That is why we stand united in wanting to do right by them. We are working with them, ensuring that it actually gives them the proper support.

Carbon Pricing

[Erin Weir, Independent, Regina—Lewvan, SK]

Mr. Speaker, with climate rebates, the Prime Minister has offered “mo'” money to Saskatchewan people, but our premier has responded with “Moe” problems.

A solution would be to extend the federal carbon price to the carbon content of imports from countries that do not price their emissions. Will the Prime Minister enact a carbon tariff to ensure a level playing field for Canadian workers and to collect more revenue, which could fund greater rebates?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, for two years, we worked with premiers right across this country, including premiers of Saskatchewan, to establish a way forward on putting a price on pollution that would fight climate change and support families through this important transition in our economies. Unfortunately, Saskatchewan and other provinces decided not to move forward with a concrete plan to fight climate change and therefore, we are moving forward with our national plan.

Presence in Gallery

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I would like to draw to the attention of hon. member the presence in the gallery of Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques. Mr. Saint-Jacques will travel to the International Space Station on an upcoming mission.

[members]

Hear, hear!

[Chris Warkentin, Conservative, Grande Prairie—Mackenzie, AB]

Mr. Speaker, coming out of question period, I have a point of order.

The Prime Minister stood in his place and declared that on some previous date the Prime Minister's Office had contacted the opposition House leader's office to tell her office on which day James Cudmore was offered a job. I can tell members that is unequivocally untrue and I would ask the Prime Minister to table the evidence.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I thank the hon. member, but that sounds like debate.

A message from Her Excellency the Governor General transmitting supplementary estimates (A) for the financial year ending March 31, 2019, was presented by the President of the Treasury Board and read by the Speaker to the House.

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 three petitions.

Canadian Heritage

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 14th report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage entitled “Bill C-376, An Act to Designate the Month of April as Sikh Heritage Month”.

The committee has studied the bill and has decided to report the bill back to the House without amendment.

Public Accounts

[Kevin Sorenson, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 52nd report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts entitled “Report on the Message of the Auditor General in the 2018 Spring Reports”.

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

Afghanistan Minority Communities

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table a petition signed by thousands of Canadians drawing attention to the plight of Afghanistan's religious minorities, in particular the Sikh and Hindu communities.

The petition calls for the government to do more to advocate with our Afghan counterpart for the rights of these minorities. It also asks the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship to use the powers granted him to create a special program to help persecuted minorities in Afghanistan. The community here in Canada is ready to sponsor these communities. It has been three years. It is time for action.

[Cheryl Hardcastle, NDP, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I, too, rise with a petition on behalf of concerned Canadians who are raising awareness about the urgency of the situation of minorities in Afghanistan. They urge the government to act with special and existing programming to address the plight of these people who do need our help urgently today.

I am tabling this petition with thanks to the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan for his initiative in organizing us to make this very strong statement through the avenue of petitions.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise in this place today to present a petition from thousands of Canadians who are deeply concerned about the plight of religious minorities in Afghanistan, particularly Hindus and Sikhs, who have been subjected to significant persecution.

The petitioners specifically ask that the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship create a program that will enable these persecuted minorities to find refuge in Canada and further ask the Minister of Global Affairs to raise this issue internationally and to pressure Afghanistan to respect human rights.

I also wish to thank the hon. member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan for his fine work on this issue.

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I too would like to present a petition signed by thousands of concerned Canadians regarding the situation in Afghanistan with respect to Sikhs and Hindus and their difficulty getting sponsorships here in Canada. This petition calls upon the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship to use his powers to create a special program to help persecuted minorities in Afghanistan, and it asks the Minister of Global Affairs to raise this issue that is so very pressing.

[Bob Saroya, Conservative, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I too have a petition signed by thousands of Canadians asking the government to do more on the plight of Afghani Sikhs and Hindus. At one time, over 200,000 lived in Afghanistan, and it is now down to fewer than 1,000 people. They are asking the government to do more to bring them to this country.

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by many residents of Canada. They are drawing to the attention of the House of Commons that at one time, the Sikhs and Hindus of Afghanistan numbered in the hundreds of thousands, and today fewer than 5,000 remain. They point out to the minister that he already has the power, through legislation, to allow vulnerable minorities to come to Canada as privately sponsored refugees directly from the country where they face persecution. They further urge the minister to raise the persecution faced by this community with his Afghan counterparts and strongly advocate for more to be done to protect them.

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I too would like to add my voice and present a petition. The people who have signed this petition state that the Sikh and Hindu communities of Canada are ready to sponsor people from Afghanistan. Sikhs and Hindus have been persecuted in Afghanistan, and the people who have signed this petition would like the government to do something about it.

Status of Women

[Eva Nassif, Liberal, Vimy, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition that I sponsored and that was recently certified for presentation in the House.

Petition e-1530 has to do with women's rights, and it calls on the Government of Canada to intervene to require that all firms and organizations, whether private or public, increase women's representation on their boards of directors, achieve parity and prevent sexual discrimination.

This petition was created by Christine Poulin and obtained 582 signatures.

High-frequency Train

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I cannot count the number of times I have risen in the House to add more names to the petition calling on the Minister of Transport to fund the VIA Rail high-frequency train project. There are only benefits to this project, including reducing greenhouse gases, making Canadians more mobile and stimulating economic development in the regions.

The people of Trois-Rivières have been waiting for more than 25 years to get the train back to their city. We hope that the government will step up with the next budget, but if not I will continue to work on this issue, since there is broad consensus, and one might even say unanimous support, within the community.

Postal Banking

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition from Londoners in support of postal banking. As we know, nearly two million Canadians desperately need an alternative to payday lenders. These predators are crippling poor, marginalized, rural and indigenous communities with lending rates that are, quite simply, outrageous.

There are 3,800 postal outlets in Canada where there are few or no banks, and Canada Post has the infrastructure to make a rapid transition to include postal banking. Therefore, the petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to enact my motion, Motion No. 166, to create a committee to study and propose a plan for postal banking under the Canada Post Corporation.

Plastics

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

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by many members of my community in Cowichan—Malahat—Langford who recognize that plastics in our oceans, lakes, rivers and other bodies of water pose a very dire threat to sensitive ecosystems, wildlife, communities and individuals. They realize that these plastics make their way into these waterways through a variety of methods, not least of which is direct consumer and industrial waste disposal. Therefore, they want the federal government to initiate an oceans plastics strategy, in conjunction with the provinces, municipalities and indigenous communities, to stop the plastic debris from going through stormwater outfalls and ending up, basically, in our sensitive ecosystems.