Debates of Sept. 26th, 2018

Health

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam for his tireless work in his community.

Earlier this month, we announced a bilateral agreement between our government and the Government of British Columbia. Our investment of $34 million is part of the $150 million for a cost-shared emergency treatment fund announced in budget 2018. This funding has been designated to enhance or increase access to quality treatment services for substance use disorders, including specific initiatives for youth.

We are working with the Government of British Columbia to reverse the trend of the national overdose epidemic.

Justice

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Tori Stafford's father says that the decision to allow the transfer of Terri-Lynne McClintic to a facility without a fence is wrong.

Today, the Prime Minister has had over a dozen opportunities to address this question and he has not done so. This is not about the bureaucrats who serve him or previous governments or the preambles of questions that he does not like; this is about his decisions and what he will do to correct wrongs.

Once again, will the Prime Minister use the power that he has to right this wrong and reverse this decision?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to thank the New Democratic Party of Canada for choosing to make gender equity and gender opportunities the centre of their questions throughout this entire question period. I think it goes to the challenges we are all facing as a country moving forward.

Second, on the member opposite's question, the previous government transferred the individual to a medium security facility in 2014 and the individual in question is still in a medium security facility today.

Rail Transportation

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this summer was the fifth anniversary of the Lac-Mégantic tragedy that claimed the lives of 47 people, yet rail transportation is no safer now than it was then. It is even more dangerous, in fact, and that is because the federal government lets transportation companies self-regulate at the expense of public safety.

This being Rail Safety Week, will the Prime Minister heed the National Assembly's call for an inquiry into the circumstances of the Lac-Mégantic tragedy and problems with rail transportation regulation?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I was in Lac-Mégantic to mark the fifth anniversary of the tragedy. With me was the Minister of Transport, who from day one one the job has pledged to improve rail safety.

We know we have a lot of work to do, and we are doing it. We never want to see another community or another family suffer because of a tragedy like the one that took place that terrible night in Lac-Mégantic.

Board of Internal Economy

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I have the honour to inform the House that Mr. Holland, member for the electoral district of Ajax, has been appointed member of the Board of Internal Economy in place of Mr. Rodriguez, member for the electoral district of Honoré-Mercier, for the purposes and under the provisions of section 50 of the Parliament of Canada Act.

Justice

[Jody Wilson-Raybould, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, a document entitled, “Legislative Background: An Act to amend the Divorce Act, the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act and the Garnishment, Attachment and Pension Diversion Act and to make consequential amendments to another Act (Bill C-78)”.

Natural Resources

[Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Natural Resources, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to subsection 7(2) of the Department of Natural Resources Act, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the annual report for 2018, “The State of Canada's Forests”.

International Trade

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

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 12th report of the Standing Committee on International Trade in relation to Bill C-79, the comprehensive and progressive agreement for trans-Pacific partnership implementation act. The committee has studied the bill and has decided to report it back to the House without any amendments.

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

Mr. Speaker, in a moment I am going to ask for unanimous consent for a motion that would help bring a fair and lasting solution for Canadian Nuclear Laboratories workers who are facing the loss of their pension. Bill C-414, would provide another year for the government to provide and find a solution in conjunction with these workers. That is why I am hopeful that if you seek it you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: That, notwithstanding any standing order or usual practices of this House, Bill C-414, an act to amend the Jobs and Economic Growth Act (Canadian Nuclear Laboratories Ltd.) be deemed to have been read a second time and referred to a committee of the whole, deemed considered in committee of the whole, deemed reported without amendment, deemed concurred in at the report stage and deemed read a third time and passed.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

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

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[An hon. member]

No.

Firearms

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition signed by Canadians from several ridings, including Markham—Stouffville, King—Vaughan, and Richmond Hill.

The petitioners call on the House of Commons to respect the rights of law-abiding firearms owners and reject the Prime Minister's plan to waste taxpayers' money studying a ban on guns which are already banned.

Postal Banking

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

Mr. Speaker, I present a petition to the House of Commons signed by many Canadians who are concerned that nearly two million Canadians desperately need an alternative to payday lenders because of the crippling rates of interest that are charged to poor, marginalized, rural and indigenous communities.

We have 3,800 Canada Post outlets already in existence in these rural areas where there is often no bank. Canada Post has the infrastructure and can make a rapid transition to include postal banking. Therefore, the petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to enact my Motion No. 166, to create a committee to study and propose a plan for postal banking under the Canada Post Corporation.

Survivor Pension Benefits

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to table a petition with respect to Bill C-397. Spouses of dying or past-serving veterans, public servants or employees of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are unfairly deprived of pensions in the event that their spouse dies. The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to support Bill C-397, which would eliminate all legislation that denies surviving spouses the pensions of military members, members of Parliament, judges, employees of Crown corporations, public servants and employees of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police if the retiree entered into a spousal relationship after age 60.

Nutrition

[John Aldag, Liberal, Cloverdale—Langley City, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table e-petition 1597, labelling of food products. In part, the petition notes that recent studies all concluded that a moderate amount, three to five grams daily, of sodium is an optimal population-wide recommendation. Below this amount, an increased risk of disease and death is seen. It goes on to note that saturated fats were condemned in the 1950s based on weak and unreliable data. The evidence since then has failed to support the diet-heart hypothesis. Limiting saturated fats may cause harm. The largest observational study to date found that low consumption of saturated fats was associated with higher rates of mortality and stroke. Finally, good science is the best way to inform good public health policy.

Canada Summer Jobs Program

[Rosemarie Falk, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to table a petition signed by Canadians from across the country, many of those from my riding of Battlefords—Lloydminster. The petitioners assert that the Liberal government's Canada summer jobs attestation discriminates against faith-based employers and that it infringes on their constitutional rights. The petition highlights a serious concern about the precedent it sets in our country and calls on the House of Commons to oppose the discriminatory Canada summer jobs values test.

Opioids

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

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to table a petition on behalf of my constituents from Courtney, in the Comox Valley. They are calling on the government to address the opioid crisis. With over 4,000 Canadians dying in 2017 due to preventable opioid overdose and fentanyl poisoning, this is more deaths than any other public health emergency in the last 20 years, including SARS, H1N1 and Ebola. The petitioners are calling on the Government of Canada to declare the current opioid crisis and the fentanyl poisoning crisis a national public health emergency under the Emergencies Act; to reform drug policy to decriminalize personal possession; and to create with urgency and immediacy a system to provide safe, unadulterated access to substances so that people who use substances experimentally, recreationally or chronically are not at imminent risk of overdose due to a contaminated source. They are also calling on the government to adopt models based on the Portugal model, where they had only 40 overdose deaths in 2017.

Canada Summer Jobs Program

[Robert Gordon Kitchen, Conservative, Souris—Moose Mountain, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I have the pleasure of presenting petition number 421. This petition, signed by many of my constituents, calls on the Prime Minister to defend freedom of conscience, thought and belief and to withdraw the attestation requirement for applicants to the Canada summer jobs program.

Contraception

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

Mr. Speaker, on World Contraception Day, signatories from Gabriola and Nanaimo and Duncan urge the government to support NDP Motion No. 65, which calls on the federal government to work with the provinces to cover the cost of prescription contraceptives. Fifteen per cent of Canadians use no contraception at all; 24% of Canadians do not have access to a subsidized drug plan, meaning that they have to pay out of pocket, and this hits women harder than men; and subsidized contraceptives in the eastern U.S. and in Great Britain greatly reduce the costs of unintended pregnancy. We urge the government to follow the advice of the petitioners.

Indigenous Affairs

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise to present a petition from petitioners within Saanich—Gulf Islands, who are calling on the government to fully adopt and implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and to stand up for the rights of indigenous people.

Mental Health Care

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

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to present the certificate for electronic petition e-1541, which has been signed by 5,662 Canadians.

The petitioners would like psychotherapy services to be exempt from sales tax like the HST. At the moment, psychotherapy services, unlike other health services, are not exempt from sales tax.

The petitioners want these services to be put on equal footing with other health services. These Canadians are therefore calling on the House of Commons to remove the HST on psychotherapy as part of an overall effort to make mental health care as accessible as possible to the citizens of Canada.

Questions on the Order Paper

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

Mr. Speaker, I would ask that all questions be allowed to stand.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Is that agreed?