Debates of Sept. 20th, 2018

Firearms Act

[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, and if you seek it, I think you will find unanimous consent for the following motion.

I move:

That, notwithstanding any Standing Order or usual practice of the House, on Thursday, September 20, 2018, at the expiry of the five hours provided for debate on the third reading stage of Bill C-71, An Act to amend certain Acts and Regulations in relation to firearms, every question necessary to dispose of the said stage of the said Bill shall be deemed put, a recorded division deemed requested and deferred until Monday, September 24, 2018, at the ordinary hour of daily adjournment.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Does the hon. parliamentary secretary 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)

Canada Summer Jobs Program

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour of presenting two petitions today. The first one is from hundreds of citizens and is in regard to the Canada summer jobs program.

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 could contravene the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The petitioners are calling on the Prime Minister to defend freedoms of conscience, thought and belief, and to withdraw the attestation requirement for applicants of the Canada summer jobs program.

Human Organ Trafficking

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my second petition is in regard to the harvesting of organs.

The petitioners are calling on Parliament to move quickly on the proposed legislation to amend the Criminal Code and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to prohibit Canadians from travelling abroad to acquire human organs removed without consent or as a result of a financial transaction, and to render inadmissible to Canada any and all permanent residents of foreign nationals who have participated in his abhorrent trade in human organs.

Canada Post

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

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions today. The first is in regard to postal banking.

The petitioners have pointed out to the House of Commons that nearly two million Canadians desperately need an alternative to payday lenders because of the crippling lending rates that affect poor, marginalized, rural and indigenous communities. As there are 3,800 Canada Post outlets already in existence in rural areas where there are few or no banks, Canada Post has the infrastructure to provide postal banking.

The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to enact my Motion 166 to create a committee to study and propose a plan for postal banking under the Canada Post Corporation.

Program for the Homeless

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

Mr. Speaker, my second petition is an e-petition signed by a number of Canadians who are petitioning the Government of Canada to recognize that there are 77,550 homeless women in this country.

Despite the elimination of the tampon tax in 2015, menstrual hygiene products remain very difficult to secure because they are unaffordable for this population. There is no national policy subsidizing the cost of sanitary products. Shelters rely on donations, and because these products can cost as much as $200 a year, it is very difficult for the shelters.

The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to subsidize menstrual hygiene management products, tampons and pads, by distributing them to food banks and shelters to be given free of charge to homeless individuals in need.

Canada Summer Jobs Program

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the parishioners of St. Barra Parish, Iona, Cape Breton, who have a petition asking that the government remove the words “reproductive rights” from the Canada summer jobs application form.

Seniors

[Mark Warawa, Conservative, Langley—Aldergrove, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present two petitions. The first one asks the Prime Minister to appoint a minister for seniors and then to develop a national seniors strategy. We now have the Minister of Seniors, three years late, but a national seniors strategy would be excellent.

Physician-Assisted Dying

[Mark Warawa, Conservative, Langley—Aldergrove, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition highlights that there are physicians and health care professionals who are being coerced and intimidated to participate, against their will, in assisted suicide and euthanasia. The petitioners ask that the conscience rights of health care professionals be protected.

Human Organ Trafficking

[Dave Van Kesteren, Conservative, Chatham-Kent—Leamington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition to amend the Criminal Code and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to prohibit Canadians from travelling abroad to acquire human organs that are removed without consent or as a result of financial transactions, and to render inadmissible to Canada any and all permanent residents or foreign nationals who have participated in this abhorrent trade in human organs.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to join my colleague in also tabling a petition in support of Bill C-350 and Bill S-240. I understand that Bill S-240 will likely be debated and voted on in the Senate today, and it may be with us very soon. These bills both aim to make it a criminal offence for a person to go abroad and receive an organ for which there was not consent. We know that this terrible practice exists whereby organs are extracted from political prisoners or prisoners of conscience without their consent, and they may end up being used by people from Canada. We want to put an end to this terrible practice, and hopefully these bills will move forward very quickly.

Taxation

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present today. The first one is e-petition 1581. Historically, the previous government allowed a tax credit for volunteer firemen, and similarly later on for volunteer search and rescue workers. Now we have an increasing amount of rural crime, and we have a tremendous organization called Citizens on Patrol. They act as the eyes and ears of the RCMP, and have proved highly effective in reducing incidents of crime. Citizens on Patrol has unarmed, unpaid, volunteers who do this service. They would also like to have the volunteer tax credit that is received by volunteer firemen and volunteer search and rescue as they provide this service.

Harvesting of Human Organs

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is regarding Bill C-350 and Bill S-240, which have to do with the illegal harvesting of organs, and citizens moving to another country to receive those ill-gotten organs. We need to have this practice stopped. The bill will be voted on in the Senate, probably today, and returned to us. This practice needs to be stopped immediately.

Canada Summer Jobs Program

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to present a petition this morning on behalf of the constituents of my riding of Saskatoon—Grasswood and surrounding areas. These constituents believe that the current Liberal government's attestation requiring that Canada summer jobs applicants hold the same views as the government would contravene the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Harvesting of Human Organs

[Cathay Wagantall, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, it is good to be back in the House, and obviously our constituents have been busy through the summer. I have three petitions to present very quickly.

The first petition is in regard to concerned individuals who support Bill C-350 in the House of Commons and Bill S-240 in the Senate. Petitioners want to see that these bills are brought into place to prohibit Canadians from travelling abroad to acquire human organs removed without consent or as a result of financial transactions, and to render inadmissible to Canada any and all permanent residents or foreign nationals who have participated in this abhorrent trade in human organs.

Canada Summer Jobs Program

[Cathay Wagantall, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition, as well from my constituents, is with concern to the attestation brought forward by the current government in regard to the Canada summer jobs program. They indicate that they are very displeased with that approach and believe it contravenes the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The Environment

[Cathay Wagantall, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, finally I will read the third petition:

We the undersigned residents, business owners and cottage owners of Round Lake, Saskatchewan, and those concerned for the well-being of the body of water known as Round Lake...wish to draw attention to the extreme low water level of the Lake, due to the uncontrolled outflow of water. [It] is affecting business, the environment, families and the futures of Round Lake.

Being that the uncontrolled [water flow on the lake] is the result of a disagreement between the Government of Canada and the First Nations of Ochapowace and Piapot; and being that [the control structure and compensation agreements were reached between the Government of Canada and First Nations communities on lakes upstream in the Qu'Appelle Valley; and being that the Round Lake issue has remained unresolved since 2008, we ask that the Minister use her authority to re-establish communication with Ochapowace and Piapot First Nations to work towards a resolution in this matter.

I have seen the lake. It is abhorrent. It is very difficult for the cottage owners. We need this to be taken care of.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I will remind honourable members that, as they know, the presenting of petitions is not the time to engage in debate or give personal views about the petitions. They are to tell us what the petitions are about.

The hon. member for Cypress Hills—Grasslands.

Canada Summer Jobs Program

[David Anderson, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions. First, the petitioners believe that the current Liberal government's attestation requirement contravenes the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and they ask that the Prime Minister defend the freedoms of conscience, thought, and belief, and withdraw the attestation's requirement for the Canada summer jobs program.

Human Organ Trafficking

[David Anderson, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition has to do with the international trafficking of human organs. Petitioners are encouraging the Parliament of Canada to move quickly on proposed legislation, Bill C-350 and Bill S-240, in order to restrict the illegal and improper trafficking of human organs around the world.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition, signed by 30 people, about international trafficking of human organs, in support of Bill C-350 in the House of Commons and Bill S-240 in the Senate.