Debates of Nov. 28th, 2018

Health

[Bill Casey, Liberal, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 21st report of the Standing Committee on Health entitled, “Bill C-316, An Act to amend the Canada Revenue Act (organ donors)”. The committee has studied the bill and has decided to report it bill back to the House with amendments.

I would like to compliment the member for Calgary Confederation for tabling this important legislation.

After considerable testimony, Bill C-316 has received the unanimous support of the committee. I hope that all MPs take that into consideration at a later date.

I want to thank the CRA for its positive approach to help us get through and resolve this. I also want to thank the committee members for helping get the bill through to this point so quickly and efficiently.

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 26th report of the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities entitled, “Supplementary Estimates (A), 2018-19: Vote 1a under Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, Vote 1a under Canadian Transportation Agency, Votes 1a, 5a, 10a, 15a and 20a under Department of Transport, Votes 1a, 5a and 10a under Office of Infrastructure Canada and Vote 1a under Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority”.

Parliament of Canada Act

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-422, An Act to amend the Parliament of Canada Act (by-election).

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my friend and colleague, the member for Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, for his support for the bill. Just getting through his riding name sometimes is enough to celebrate.

It is a very simple yet important piece of legislation that I am introducing this afternoon. It would simply require that in the event a member of Parliament, for whatever reason, is no longer able to occupy their seat and continue their work on behalf of Canadians, the Prime Minister would no longer have open-ended discretion as to when he or she might call a by-election. This would ensure that voters in that riding would be assured, if the bill were to become law, that they would have a representative in a reasonable amount of time. We are suggesting that within 45 days after the vacancy of a seat, the Prime Minister would be required to call a by-election.

We did not think this was really much of a concern, because in years past members of Parliament have vacated their seats and by-elections have been called. Unfortunately, however, with this Prime Minister, over the last number of months he has been playing politics with the calling of by-elections. If you will recall, Mr. Speaker, this helped unify all of opposition parties to call on the Prime Minister to simply get on with it, to allow the people in various ridings to have the representation they are entitled to under our Constitution, and not to play games with the calling of by-elections. The bill would make those games no longer possible.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Motion for Travel

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties. I suspect that if you were to seek it, you would find unanimous consent for me to move a motion related to travel for standing committees.

I move:

That, in relation to its study of Canada's Contributions to International Peacekeeping, seven members of the Standing Committee on National Defence be authorized to travel to Dakar, Senegal, and Bamako and Gao, Mali, in the Winter or Spring of 2019, and that the necessary staff accompany the Committee.

That, in relation to its study of Shared Services Canada, seven members of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates be authorized to travel to Ottawa, Ontario in the Winter or Spring of 2019, and that the necessary staff accompany the Committee.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Does the hon. Parliamentary Secretary 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.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

(Motion agreed to)

Rail Transportation

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

Mr. Speaker, for weeks, months, years, the people of Trois-Rivières have been eagerly awaiting the return of train service. However, instead of just waiting for a response, they are taking action. Every week, dozens of people from Trois-Rivières and the surrounding region add their names to the petition.

The petition calls on the Minister of Transport to finally provide funding for VIA Rail's high-frequency rail project, which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote economic development in several regions in Quebec and Ontario.

I am proud to present another instalment of this petition while awaiting a favourable response.

Champlain Monument

[Bruce Stanton, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions.

The first is from a group of citizens in my riding of Simcoe North who are bringing attention to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change in respect to the Champlain Monument that is situated in Couchiching Park. It was removed mid-year in 2017, with the idea of having it restored and replaced by this time this past summer in 2018. However, that did not occur and the petitioners are bringing attention to this and seeking the agreement of the minister to make sure that this monument is back in the park for the coming summer.

Human Organ Trafficking

[Bruce Stanton, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is on behalf of dozens of citizens to bring attention to Parliament in respect to concerns about the international trafficking in human organs and the fact that there are two bills before Parliament at the moment, Bill C-350 and Bill S-240 in the Senate.

The petitioners are seeking Parliament's quick attention to this proposed legislation and that it be passed as soon as they possibly can.

Housing

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

Mr. Speaker, I will be presenting a petition initiated by Kate Chung for the Older Women's Network Living in Place campaign, which calls for the national and provincial building codes to be changed to mandate that all new multi-unit housing be universal in design so that anyone of any age or ability could live there. I would like to thank Ms. Chung as well as Doris Power and Judi Gilbert for their advocacy on this issue. I am pleased to have presented this petition.

Canada Summer Jobs Initiative

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present two petitions today. The first deals with the issue of the Canada summer jobs program, a question that I know we will be discussing again in the next few months. The petitioners call on the government to defend freedoms of conscience, thought and belief and to withdraw the attestation requirement from the Canada summer jobs program. In particular, they reference the freedoms guaranteed in section 2 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which they feel oblige the government to respect their freedoms of conscience, in this case.

Human Organ Trafficking

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

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is to do with Bill S-240. That bill, which has now passed the Senate and moved to the House, deals with the scourge of forced organ harvesting. The petitioners call on the government to support efforts to move as quickly as possible to bring this bill forward. I know that we saw delays during the first hour by the government. The petitioners and I are hoping this will move forward now as quickly as possible.

The Environment

[Sheila Malcolmson, NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Mr. Speaker, because bulk commercial anchorages, basically free parking in the Salish Sea, are causing threats to sport fishing, fish habitats, tremendous light and noise impacts on waterfront property owners, and a risk of oil spills in Plumper Sound, with near misses of three bulk carriers, I have two petitions to table in the House.

In one petition, petitioners from Ladysmith, Chemainus, and Saltair call on Transport Canada to suspend the use of “outside of port anchorages” in the area targeted by the interim protocol and call on the Government of Canada to develop a comprehensive strategy to address the inefficiencies that are leading to the port of metro Vancouver being jammed. Bulk commodity exports have increased 40%, while anchorage use has increased 400%. We have a problem.

Also, the petitioners from Gabriola Island are asking that five new bulk anchorages not be established off the coastline of their island.

Human Organ Trafficking

[Kelly McCauley, Conservative, Edmonton West, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to present petitions from several hundred Canadians, similar to those from my colleague from Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, asking the government to act on Bill S-240, which has come before the House. They are urging the Parliament of Canada to move quickly on the proposed legislation to amend the Criminal Code to ban the horrible incidence of organ harvesting for financial gain.

Plastics

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to table a petition on behalf of residents of coastal British Columbia. They are calling on the government to work with the provinces, municipalities and indigenous communities to develop a national strategy to combat plastic pollution in and around aquatic environments. They would like regulations aimed at reducing plastic debris discharged from stormwater outfalls, the industrial use of microplastics and the consumer and industrial use of single-use plastics. They would also like permanent, dedicated annual funding for the cleanup of derelict fishing gear, community-led projects to clean up plastic and debris on our shores and education and outreach campaigns.

Further, they are calling on the government to adopt my motion, Motion No. 151, which Parliament will be voting on next week, to establish a national strategy to combat plastic pollution. With the amount of plastic arriving on our shores, they are calling on the government to make this an urgent priority.

Human Organ Trafficking

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Edmonton, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition, signed by several hundred Canadians, urging the House to pass Bill S-240, which is being sponsored by my colleague, the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan. The petitioners are urging Parliament to pass Bill S-240 to prohibit Canadians from travelling abroad to receive organs that have been harvested.

Marine Conservation

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

Mr. Speaker, it is great to stand once again on behalf of the amazing residents of Cowichan—Malahat—Langford. The petitioners recognize that the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard have a renewed mandate to increase the protection of Canada's marine and coastal areas. They also recognize that a conservation area in the southern Strait of Georgia is needed to protect the marine environment there. Therefore, the petitioners are calling upon the Government of Canada to establish a southern Strait of Georgia national marine conservation area by consulting with and gaining the support of first nations, local governments, businesses, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders.

Firearms

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Haldimand—Norfolk, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present yet another petition signed by constituents from my beautiful riding of Haldimand—Norfolk who are deeply concerned about the Liberal government's Bill C-71. They are concerned that all this bill would do is recreate the ineffective long-gun registry and punish law-abiding gun owners. Instead, they ask that the government invest more money in our front-line police forces to help them tackle the true sources of firearms violence.

Nanjing Massacre

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition from thousands of Canadians. In fact, in total, close to 40,000 Canadians signed this petition, either in this format or online. Some of them, by the way, have not been verified yet because of the sheer volume of the petitions, which are sitting in a box in my office.

The petitioners are calling for the government to declare December 13 Nanjing massacre commemorative day each year. They note that in 1937, the Imperial Japanese Army raped 20,000 to 80,000 Chinese women and girls and killed an estimated 300,000 people. Documents on the Nanjing massacre are included in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register, and western eye witnesses at the time described these atrocities as hell on earth.

After the Nanjing massacre, the military's sexual slavery system for the Japanese military expanded rapidly, and approximately 200,000 women from Korea, the Philippines, China, Burma, Indonesia and other Japanese-occupied territories were tricked, kidnapped or coerced into working in “comfort stations” to serve as “comfort women” to the Imperial Japanese Army.

The crimes against humanity perpetrated during the Nanjing massacre are not merely a regional issue. It is an issue of international justice, which is acknowledged by various provinces across Canada through different commemorative events. Canada has a rich humanitarian tradition of advocating for peace and recognizing global atrocities, in which women and children are often brutal casualties of war and armed conflicts. To that end, I hope the government will act on this.

Questions on the Order Paper

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the following question will be answered today: No. 1975.

Question No. 1975

[Guy Lauzon, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON]

With regard to the government’s decision to change the word “illegal” to "“irregular" in reference to illegal border crossers on the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada website on July 10, 2018: (a) when was the change ordered; (b) who ordered the change; (c) what role did the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship or his office play in the name change taking place; (d) did the Minister or anyone in his office approve the change; (e) was the change made as a Liberal political response after the Minister verbally attacked the Ontario Premier, and the Ontario Minister of Children, Community and Social Services and Minister Responsible for Women's Issues on July 9, 2018; and (f) if the answer to (e) is negative, on what date did the department decide to make the change?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship did not order the change of the word "illegal" to "irregular" on IRCC's website. The decision to standardize the terminology was made by the department to minimize the mischaracterization of asylum seekers as being in Canada illegally. In accordance with Canadian and international laws, until their claim is decided, or if they are found to be a refugee, a person will not be charged with an offence based on how they entered Canada. The updates to the website were made on an ongoing basis, and incrementally from the fall of 2017 to the summer of 2018 to reflect the fact that it is not illegal for someone to claim asylum in Canada after entering at any point along the Canada-U.S. border.