House of Commons Hansard #343 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was elections.

Topics

Public Services and ProcurementOral Questions

11:55 a.m.

Seamus O'Regan Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, Lib.

Madam Speaker, I can assure the hon. member that this government has put more money into national defence in the past three years.

We will continue to investigate that inquiry. I will be sure to take that back to the minister.

Immigration, Refugees and CitizenshipOral Questions

11:55 a.m.

Liberal

Chandra Arya Liberal Nepean, ON

Madam Speaker, with November 1 around the corner, parliamentarians and Canadians will be waiting for the immigration levels plan.

This past year, our minister announced an ambitious plan to grow our economy, to help the middle class and lead the world in welcoming those who are most vulnerable.

Will the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship please inform the House on what to expect on November 1.

Immigration, Refugees and CitizenshipOral Questions

11:55 a.m.

Matt DeCourcey Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Lib.

Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague from Nepean and all Canadians can expect good news on November 1. It is clear that the hon. member understands that a strong immigration plan is key to driving economic growth and creating good middle-class jobs for Canadians.

That is why our government will continue to recruit top global talent, why we will resettle the world's most vulnerable, and why we will reunite families again, cleaning up the backlog left to us by the Harper Conservatives. We will build upon the record $30 billion contributed to Canada by international visitors and students last year alone.

Official LanguagesOral Questions

Noon

Conservative

Alupa Clarke Conservative Beauport—Limoilou, QC

Madam Speaker, for the past two years, official language minority communities have been speaking out loud and clear to demand an in-depth review and modernization of the Official Languages Act.

The act was last reviewed in 1988 by us, the Conservatives.

Yesterday, the Senate tabled a report that reached the same conclusion. That conclusion was echoed by the Commissioner of Official Languages last week before the Standing Committee on Official Languages.

The Liberals announced some interesting measures yesterday, but they will not come into effect until 2023.

When will the Liberals stop taking linguistic communities hostage? When will they finally take action and start modernizing the Official Languages Act?

Official LanguagesOral Questions

Noon

Alaina Lockhart Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie, Lib.

Madam Speaker, we have heard the cries for help from our francophone communities, and we remain committed to protecting and promoting bilingualism. After conducting extensive consultations, we announced an in-depth review of the official languages regulations. The proposed changes will support and strengthen francophone communities across the country.

It was the Liberal government that created the Official Languages Act, and it is the Liberal government that is taking the necessary steps to support our minority communities and the French fact across Canada.

HeritageOral Questions

Noon

Bloc

Monique Pauzé Bloc Repentigny, QC

Madam Speaker, the ADISQ gala will be held on Sunday. The past 14 presidents of the organization believe that the government should take this opportunity to give creators some good news.

Streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music must be forced to pay creators more, make a financial contribution to our culture and showcase Quebec content. Consultations and ad hoc measures are not going to make that happen.

Will the government bring in legislation on e-commerce and ensure that laws also apply online?

HeritageOral Questions

Noon

Gary Anandasangaree Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism (Multiculturalism), Lib.

Madam Speaker, we, on this side of the House, are here for our artists, artisans and creators. We made that very clear with our cultural policy last year.

We have made historic investments of $3.2 billion in the cultural sector, including the CBC, the Canada Council for the Arts, Telefilm and the NFB.

Due to the previous Conservative government's inaction, our laws on culture predate the Internet, which is why we are reviewing them so that we can continue to support high-quality Canadian production. The principle of this review is clear. If one is a participant in the system, one will continue to—

HeritageOral Questions

Noon

NDP

The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes

The hon. member for Joliette.

Foreign AffairsOral Questions

Noon

Bloc

Gabriel Ste-Marie Bloc Joliette, QC

Madam Speaker, they will not be announcing anything on the weekend.

The government is going to review the export permits for arms sold to Saudi Arabia to get answers to what happened to Jamal Khashoggi.

Do we really need to spell it out for them? The regime had no qualms about murdering this journalist in cold blood, sentencing Raif Badawi to lashings and incarcerating his sister, callously starving the children of Yemen, and repressing its own people with the armoured vehicles purchased from Canada. The government has all the answers it needs.

Will the government stop selling tanks to assassins?

Foreign AffairsOral Questions

Noon

Pam Goldsmith-Jones Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Consular Affairs), Lib.

Madam Speaker, we are working with our allies to evaluate the options. We are currently reviewing export permits for Saudi Arabia.

All exports must meet the conditions set out in the permits. We have frozen permits in the past and we will not hesitate to do so again.

FinanceOral Questions

Noon

Bloc

Gabriel Ste-Marie Bloc Joliette, QC

Madam Speaker, I do need to spell it out.

Last week the government quietly wrote off a $2.5-billion loan to Chrysler, paid for by taxpayers, without even recording in the public accounts who received the money.

The secrets do not end there. GM has had a loan of over $1 billion for nearly 10 years, and interest keeps adding up.

All week we have been asking about what is going on with the GM debt, and the government has been telling us about Chrysler. GM and Chrysler are not the same thing.

Who is going to pay off the GM debt, GM or taxpayers?

FinanceOral Questions

Noon

Louis-Hébert Québec

Liberal

Joël Lightbound LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance

Madam Speaker, the debt the member is referring to was written off as part of an agreement made by the previous government.

We looked at all options to try to recover the money for Canadian taxpayers, but ultimately, the contract had been signed by the former government.

FinanceOral Questions

12:05 p.m.

NDP

The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes

That concludes question period for today.

The hon. member for Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis on a point of order.

FinanceOral Questions

12:05 p.m.

Conservative

Steven Blaney Conservative Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC

Madam Speaker, I am rising on a point of order.

I think there was a problem with the translation during question period, because the Minister of Veterans Affairs did not really answer my question. To clarify, I have the defence policy of the Canadian government, from his colleague the Minister of National Defence and—

FinanceOral Questions

12:05 p.m.

NDP

The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes

I am sorry, but that is not a point of order; it is a point of debate.

Government Response to PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:05 p.m.

Winnipeg North Manitoba

Liberal

Kevin Lamoureux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Madam Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8) I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to 32 petitions.

JusticePetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:05 p.m.

Conservative

Marilyn Gladu Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON

Madam Speaker, I have two petitions to present today.

The first petition is with respect to Bill C-75. This bill would reduce the penalty for serious crimes such as forceable confinement of a minor, polygamy, terrorist acts, etc. The petitioners are calling on the Prime Minister to defend the safety and security of all Canadians by withdrawing Bill C-75.

FirearmsPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:05 p.m.

Conservative

Marilyn Gladu Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON

Madam Speaker, the other petition is in regard to Bill C-71, an act to amend regulations related to firearms. It would do nothing to tackle firearms violence, but would add further red tape to law-abiding firearms owners. Therefore, the petitioners are calling upon the House of Commons to scrap Bill C-71 and to devote greater resources to policing in Canada.

Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

12:05 p.m.

Winnipeg North Manitoba

Liberal

Kevin Lamoureux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Madam Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand at this time.

Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

12:05 p.m.

NDP

The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes

Is that agreed?

Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

12:05 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

The House resumed consideration of Bill C-76, An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act and other Acts and to make certain consequential amendments, as reported (with amendments) from the committee, and of the motions in Group No. 1.

Elections Modernization ActGovernment Orders

12:05 p.m.

Liberal

Celina Caesar-Chavannes Liberal Whitby, ON

Madam Speaker, I listened to my hon. colleague's speech. He spent some time talking about the fact we have introduced time allocation on this legislation. We know that time allocation is necessary to advance legislation and to do the work that Canadians have sent us here to do.

I want to remind the hon. colleague that, through the committee and other work that has been done, over 85% of the recommendations made by the Chief Electoral Officer were included in Bill C-76. We heard 56 hours of witness testimony. There were 24 hours of study at committee and 36 hours of study on the recommendations of the Chief Electoral Officer. In total, over 100 hours of study have gone into what we now see as a very comprehensive piece of legislation.

I wonder why the hon. member thinks we should take any lessons from his party. When the Conservatives introduced Bill C-23, they had less than 50 hours of study of that legislation.

Elections Modernization ActGovernment Orders

12:05 p.m.

Conservative

Alupa Clarke Conservative Beauport—Limoilou, QC

Madam Speaker, just to check, I would like to know whether I have five minutes left. I am not sure.

Elections Modernization ActGovernment Orders

12:05 p.m.

NDP

The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes

There are five minutes remaining for questions and comments. I checked and that is right.