House of Commons Hansard #321 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was accessibility.

Topics

Oral QuestionsPoints of OrderOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Independent

Maxime Bernier Independent Beauce, QC

Mr. Speaker, I have a point of order.

I seek the unanimous consent of the House to move the following motion.

That this House urges the government to put the complete abolition of the system of supply management on the negotiating table in order to facilitate a new NAFTA agreement with our American partners and bring down the prices of milk, poultry and eggs for Canadian consumers.

Oral QuestionsPoints of OrderOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

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

Oral QuestionsPoints of OrderOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Some hon. members

No.

Interparliamentary DelegationsRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

David McGuinty Liberal Ottawa South, ON

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union respecting its participation at the annual Parliamentary Hearing at the United Nations in New York, New York, United States, on February 22 and 23.

Interparliamentary DelegationsRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Conservative

Leona Alleslev Conservative Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian delegation of the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association respecting its participation at the Sub-Committee on Future Security and Defence Capabilities in Seoul, Republic of Korea, on September 11 to 14, 2017.

Agriculture and Agri-FoodCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

Pat Finnigan Liberal Miramichi—Grand Lake, NB

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 13th report of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food in relation to Bill C-281, an act to establish a national local food day. The committee has studied the bill and has decided to report the bill back to the House without amendment.

Procedure and House AffairsCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

NDP

David Christopherson NDP Hamilton Centre, ON

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Orders 104 and 114, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 69th 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 would like to move concurrence at this time.

Procedure and House AffairsCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

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

Procedure and House AffairsCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

Procedure and House AffairsCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

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?

Procedure and House AffairsCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

Procedure and House AffairsCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

(Motion agreed to)

Procedure and House AffairsCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Winnipeg North Manitoba

Liberal

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

Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties and if you seek it, I think you will find unanimous consent for the following motion. I move:

That the membership of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs be amended as follows: Ms. Lapointe (Rivière-des-Mille-Îles) for Ms. Tassi (Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas) and Mrs. Kusie (Calgary Midnapore) for Mr. Richards (Banff—Airdrie); and that the name of Mr. Richards be added to the list of associate members of the said committee.

Procedure and House AffairsCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

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

Procedure and House AffairsCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

Procedure and House AffairsCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

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?

Procedure and House AffairsCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

Procedure and House AffairsCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

(Motion agreed to)

Children's WelfarePetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Green

Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present two petitions.

Yesterday, a number of the same petitions as my first one were presented by other members of Parliament, I think representing cross-party concerns, as represented by petitioners.

The petitioners ask that the House act to protect the rights of all children, even those children whose parents have been incarcerated or who are otherwise suffering from addictions; that all children should receive the Canada child benefit and child special allowances; and that standards be set to ensure no children are excluded in the country.

VeteransPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Green

Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

Mr. Speaker, the second petition goes to issue of veterans, the protection of veterans' rights.

Specifically, residents of my constituency of Saanich—Gulf Islands ask that the House assembled call on the Minister of Veterans Affairs to remove any and all statutory limits on back pay eligibility for disability allowances, recognizing there are a number of delays in these veterans accessing their rights. To penalize them further by having such limitations on back pay is also unfair in the circumstances.

TransportPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Liberal

Angelo Iacono Liberal Alfred-Pellan, QC

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition on behalf of bicycle path users in my riding of Alfred-Pellan who are worried about their safety. The issue is that limited-speed motorcycles equipped with electric motors and pedals are considered power-assisted bicycles. However, these vehicles are a real danger to bicycle path users, especially children.

Thus, Canadians and bicycle path users call upon the Minister of Transport to amend the definition of “power-assisted bicycle” in order to ensure the safety of bicycle path users.

Canada Summer Jobs ProgramPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Conservative

Bev Shipley Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition with a number of signatures regarding the Canadian Charter of Rights and the freedom of conscience, freedom of thought and freedom of belief as fundamental freedoms. This goes back to the Canada summer jobs program and the attestation requiring applicants to hold the same views as the government, which would likely contravene the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The petitioners therefore ask the Prime Minister to defend those freedoms of conscience, thought and belief and withdraw the requirement for the applicants to the Canada summer jobs program to attest to these.

Canada Summer Jobs ProgramPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Conservative

Harold Albrecht Conservative Kitchener—Conestoga, ON

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour of presenting a petition from a number of constituents from my riding in the region of Waterloo. These citizens are drawing to the attention of the House that section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms identifies, among other things, freedom of conscience, freedom of thought and freedom of belief as fundamental freedoms. The petitioners believe that the current Liberal government's proposed attestation requiring Canada summer jobs program applicants to hold the same views as the government would contravene the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The petitioners therefore call on the House of Commons and Parliament assembled to defend their freedom of conscience, thought and belief and withdraw the attestation requirements for applicants to the Canada summer jobs program.

OpioidsPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

NDP

Gord Johns NDP Courtenay—Alberni, BC

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to table a petition on behalf of constituents in Courtenay.

The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to address the opioid crisis. With over 4,000 Canadians dying in 2017 and 2,800 in 2016 due to preventable opioid overdoses resulting from fentanyl poisoned sources, the number of preventable deaths have surpassed the total number of deaths of all other public health emergencies in the last 20 years, including SARS, H1N1 and Ebola.

The petitioners call on the government to declare the current opioid overdose and fentanyl poisoning crisis a national public health emergency under the Emergencies Act in order to manage and resource it, with the aim to reduce and eliminate preventable deaths; to reform current drug policy to decriminalize personal possession; and to create, with urgency and immediacy, a system to provide safe, unadulterated access to substances so people who use substances experimentally, recreationally or chronically are not at imminent risk of overdose due to a contaminated source.

Rare DiseasesPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Liberal

Celina Caesar-Chavannes Liberal Whitby, ON

Mr. Speaker, I would like to present e-petition 1590, which has been sponsored and certified by the clerk of petitions. It has been signed by 514 Canadians.

The petitioners call on the government to establish the last day of February each year as “Rare Disease Day”. Rare diseases affect many Canadians, including a young woman from my riding of Whitby named Victoria Lacey, who visited me on the Hill last spring as part of the Canadian Association for Rare Disorders' lobby day. Knowledge and treatment of rare diseases is still fragmented, and Canadians diagnosed with rare diseases face a host of challenges for which this day would help increase awareness.