Debates of Dec. 3rd, 2018

Indigenous Affairs

[Jane Philpott, Liberal, Minister of Indigenous Services]

Mr. Speaker, on Friday, I was pleased to be joined by first nations, Inuit and Métis nation leaders to announce that after comprehensive engagement, we are going forward to introduce co-developed legislation on indigenous child and family services early in the new year. This legislation should mark a turning point to say, “No more”: no more scooping children; no more ripping apart families; no more lost children who do not know their language, their culture and their lineage.

I hope that when the legislation is introduced, it will have broad support in the House.

Rail Transportation

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last week, the Minister of Transport threw in the towel before the contract for new Via Rail trains was even awarded.

Today, the Government of Quebec is asking that no decision be made until all the bidders have submitted their best final offer.

Will the minister at least require Via Rail to allow Bombardier Transport to submit its best offer or will he just send these jobs to California instead of Quebec?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, as I explained last week, Via Rail, which is a federal Crown corporation, is independent and responsible for awarding a contract for replacing the fleet of trains for the Quebec-Windsor corridor. It is Via's decision.

Under our free trade agreements with the European Union, we cannot demand a certain percentage of Canadian content.

Consumer Protection

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Quebec is the only jurisdiction that adequately protects consumers from banks. Under Bill C-86, the Liberals seem to be protecting the banks by preventing any recourse to Quebec's Office de la protection du consommateur.

The National Assembly unanimously calls on the federal government to clarify in Bill C-86 that Quebec's legislation will continue to apply to banks.

Will the 40 federal Liberal MPs protect Quebec consumers or will they choose Bay Street and the big banks?

[Jennifer O'Connell, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance (Youth Economic Opportunity), Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, we understand and respect the jurisdiction of provinces and territories. That is why, when we are dealing with consumer protection, we feel that Canadians deserve the strongest consumer protection.

We consulted with provinces and territories to ensure that our legislation was complementary and did not override or supersede. This was confirmed to the Bloc members at committee by officials. We will continue to stand for consumer protection and respect the rights of provinces and territories.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

If that were true, Mr. Speaker, the National Assembly and the consumer protection bureau would not be asking Ottawa to back down. The bill creates legal uncertainty. The way the bill is worded, bank customers that have been ripped off would have to take their case all the way to the Supreme Court just to get their money back.

If the government truly does not want to undermine consumers, then why does it seem like its legislation favours the bank?

Why is the government refusing to include in its bill that Quebec's legislation still applies?

[Jennifer O'Connell, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance (Youth Economic Opportunity), Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, to the contrary, again, as confirmed at committee by officials, our legislation was done in consultation with provinces and territories to ensure that the highest level of consumer protection was upheld. Our legislation is complementary and will ensure that those protections in the provinces and territories are upheld.

We will continue to consult and make sure that consumers, when dealing with banks, are protected.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Maxime Bernier, Independent, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this weekend the Prime Minister said that we need a social analysis on the impact of male construction workers brought in to work in rural areas.

Meanwhile, the government is about to sign a UN treaty meant to normalize mass migration. The government must preserve our sovereignty by not signing that treaty.

Can the minister explain why the government is more afraid of the social impact of Canadian male workers than that of migrants from other countries?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, the world is seeing unprecedented levels of men, women and children displaced by war and by persecution.

Our government is proud to have taken a leadership position on the global compact. This is the first time the international community has worked together to develop a comprehensive set of principles to better manage this phenomenon. It is disappointing to see the Conservatives and Maxime, the member opposite, engage in peddling Rebel Media conspiracy theories while we work with the international community to protect our robust immigration system.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I would remind hon. minister to not use the personal names of members in the House.

The hon. member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie is rising on a point of order.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties and if you seek it I believe you would find consent to the following motion, seconded by the member for Edmonton Strathcona: That the House call on the Prime Minister and the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change to bring forward the following priorities and commitments at the 24th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change: (i) a climate action strategy that prioritizes reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, (ii) investments in a transition that leaves no workers behind, (iii) robust rules for implementing the Paris Agreement that will allow Canada to increase the ambition of its greenhouse gas reduction targets in response to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, (iv) transparency and accountability mechanisms to address climate change, (v) integrating human health into Canada's climate commitments.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

There is no unanimous consent.

National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to section 21(6) of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians Act, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the first special report of the Committee.

I would like to thank the members of the committee for their work on this file.

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 order 36(8), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to three petitions.

Procedure and House Affairs

[Larry Bagnell, Liberal, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, Pursuant to Standing Orders 104 and 114, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 79th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs regarding the membership of committees of the House.

If the House gives its consent, I intend to move concurrence in the 79th report later today.

National Defence

[Stephen Fuhr, Liberal, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 13th report of the Standing Committee on National Defence in relation to Bill C-77, an act to amend the National Defence Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other acts. The committee has studied the bill and has decided to report the bill back to the House with amendments.

International Trade

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 13th report of the Standing Committee on International Trade in relation to Bill C-85, an act to amend the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act and to make related amendments to other acts. The committee has studied the bill and has decided to report the bill back to the House without amendments.

Procedure and House Affairs

[Larry Bagnell, Liberal, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, if the House gives its consent, I move that the 79th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, presented to the House earlier this day, be concurred in.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

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

Human Organ Trafficking

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table a petition signed by petitioners in Ontario calling on the government to deal with the despicable act of trafficking in human organs. They call on Parliament to pass Bill S-240 to deal with this terrible and heinous act.

Tibet

[Randall Garrison, NDP, Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present e-petition 1743. This petition has more than the 500 required signatures, and Canadians who have signed it call on the Government of Canada to request that the Chinese government grant Canadian journalists free access to Tibet, that the Chinese government grant tourists free access to Tibet, that Canada open a visa office in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, and that the government of China safeguard respect for religion and traditions in the context of expanding tourism in Tibet.