Debates of Nov. 23rd, 2018

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Haiti is in the midst of a dangerous political conflict that inflicting casualties on the population. This is worrisome for families in Quebec who are about to be deported, since their safety is clearly compromised.

The government has suspended the removal of people to Haiti, but only until Sunday. Sunday is just around the corner, and obviously, nothing will be solved between now and then.

Will the government commit to immediately suspending all removals to Haiti until the conditions are safe?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, the government has demonstrated, and CBSA specifically has demonstrated, their keen sensitivity to the situation.

Obviously CBSA has an obligation to apply Canada law. It looks to countries around the world that may be implicated in serious and dangerous situations to make sure that in the work they do of removing certain people from Canada, they are not removing them into dangerous situations.

We have demonstrated that sensitivity, and that sensitivity will continue.

Indigenous Affairs

[Hunter Tootoo, Independent, Nunavut, NU]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development.

Campaign 2000's 2018 report card, released this week, shows that Nunavut's child poverty rate remains the highest in Canada: 34.8% for children under 18, and a staggering 42.5% for children under the age six. It cites systemic underfunding of programs and services for indigenous children as an underlying cause of this extreme poverty.

Will the minister work with the Government of Nunavut and provide funding based on actual needs, as the government has for first nations children?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, may I first thank and congratulate the member for his heartfelt question and his hard work for the Nunavut children he so proudly serves.

May I also mention that we take this matter very seriously. Every Inuit child has a right to live and grow outside of poverty. That is why we have invested in the Canada child benefit, which is helping the families of 11,000 children in Nunavut and lifting many of their parents out of poverty. That is why we are investing $110 million for indigenous early learning and child care for the benefit of Inuit children. That is why we are going to continue to work very hard with the member for Nunavut in making sure that every child in his community has the best possible—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

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

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, especially considering the minister's response, I believe you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: That this House demand that the government immediately suspend all removals to Haiti until Global Affairs Canada has informed the House that the conditions are once again safe.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Does the hon. member have the unanimous consent of the House to move the motion?

[Some hon. members]

No.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for London—Fanshawe on a point of order.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I want the parliamentary secretary to retract his statement, because he knows it is a bold-faced lie.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. The hon. member knows that language is unparliamentary. I am going to have to ask her to withdraw that word.

The hon. member for London—Fanshawe.

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

Mr. Speaker, I can withdraw the word, but I cannot change the reality.

[Pierre-Luc Dusseault, NDP, Sherbrooke, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I too am rising on a point of order, in reference to Standing Order 31.

There were some special procedures earlier, so the government decided to infringe upon several rights, particularly members' rights to speak to a bill and Motion No. 25, which cuts debate short. It also infringed on our rights with respect to members' statements, since it allowed only four members to deliver their S.O. 31s. It is also infringing upon the rights of workers with the legislation we will be debating shortly.

I would like to remind members of the House of the rules set out in Standing Order 31 and I would like to know who decided there would be only four statements.

I seek unanimous consent to move the following motion: In order to allow members who were unable to deliver their members' statements, I seek unanimous consent for the House to return, pursuant to Standing Order 31—

[Some hon. members]

No.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The member does not have the unanimous consent of the House.

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

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Durham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is important, when we make a mistake, particularly in the House, that we apologize for this mistake. Today I was emotional in questioning the Minister of Veterans Affairs about the lawsuit being brought by Sean Bruyea demanding an apology from the minister. I should not have mentioned that this veteran is in the chamber today, so I apologize for that.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I thank the hon. member.

The hon. member for Perth—Wellington is rising on a point of order.

[John Nater, Conservative, Perth—Wellington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on the same point raised by the member for Sherbrooke. The inability of the Liberal government to manage its legislative agenda meant that S.O. 31s, for the most part, did not happen today, which meant that the House did not have the opportunity to hear from the member for Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis and me. We were going to congratulate the teams that are participating in the Vanier Cup this weekend—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Elmwood—Transcona is rising on a point of order.

Order.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, it is the government House leader above all who should know and observe the rules of this place. She created some considerable confusion earlier when, during a vote, she rose out of her seat and began to wander around the floor of the House of Commons. I understand that she attempted to resolve this informally by asking the table not to have her vote counted, but I am wondering if you could clarify for the House what the rules are with respect to where members should be in a vote, for the benefit of the government House leader.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Obviously, if the members wish their votes to count, they should remain in their chairs. The hon. government House leader indicated to me and to the table that she did not expect her vote to count, and so it did not.

The hon. member for Beauport—Limoilou on a point of order.

Statements by Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie Regarding Services for Franco-Ontarians

[Alupa Clarke, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order regarding the following statements made by the Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie. On Thursday, November 22, she said:

It has been seven days since Ontario's Conservative government cut services for Franco-Ontarians, but so far, no one in the Conservative Party has condemned what is happening in Ontario. That is unacceptable.

Page 63, 22nd edition of Erskine May, refers to a resolution passed by the U.K. House of Commons: ministers have a duty to Parliament to account, and to be held to account, for the policies, decisions and actions of their departments; it is of paramount importance that ministers give accurate and truthful information to Parliament. Erskine May then states that ministers must correct the record at the earliest opportunity.

I would also like to draw the Speaker's attention to the Prime Minister's message to his cabinet ministers in the document “Open and Accountable Government”.

[Ministers must] answer honestly and accurately about [their] areas of responsibility [and] correct any inadvertent errors in answering to Parliament at the earliest opportunity...

The Minister's statement fails to reference my public condemnation and that of the political lieutenant—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

That would appear to be a matter of debate, but I will consider the matter and then come back to the House, if necessary.

The hon. member for Beloeil—Chambly on a point of order.

[Matthew Dubé, NDP, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask you to clarify the situation of my colleague from Sherbrooke. He quoted a standing order and then began reading the wording of a motion for which he wanted to seek unanimous consent.

I would like you to clarify one thing. If he is heckled while reading his motion, it does not give the House an opportunity to hear the motion and decide whether to give its consent. Does he not normally have permission to finish reading his motion without being yelled at by the other side? Could you clarify that?