House of Commons Hansard #402 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was young.

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A motion to adjourn the House under Standing Order 38 deemed to have been moved.

Human RightsAdjournment Proceedings

7:20 p.m.

NDP

Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC

Madam Speaker, this year is the 82nd anniversary of the Nanjing massacre. On November 30, 2017, I asked the Prime Minister if he would set December 13 as Nanjing massacre commemorative day to mark the 80th anniversary of the horrific events.

Since then, with the support of diverse community leaders, I have campaigned for an entire year, raising awareness and collecting signatures to support this endeavour. Over the course of the year, we collected tens of thousands of signatures from Canadian citizens and residents. The petitioners called for the government to declare December 13 each year as Nanjing massacre commemorative day.

The commemoration of the Nanjing massacre is about the formal recognition of atrocities, learning from history and paying tribute to those impacted. If we can learn from history and commit ourselves to preventing it from happening again, humanity benefits.

The treatment of Yazidi women in northern Iraq shows that large-scale, systemic sexual violence continues to be used as a tactic to assert power and dominance, to dehumanize people and to attack their identity. We must recognize these atrocities now and act to end those that are currently under way.

It is estimated that as many as 300,000 people were killed in the Nanjing massacre. Another 200,000 women and girls from Korea, China, Japan, Burma, Indonesia, the Philippines and other occupied territories in Asia were tricked, kidnapped or coerced by the Imperial Japanese Army into sexual slavery, serving as comfort women.

Currently, the UN recognizes 19 countries in conflict where sexual violence is used as a weapon of war. 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.

That is why I moved a unanimous-consent motion on November 28, 2018, to declare December 13 every year as Nanjing massacre commemorative day.

Order of Canada recipient, Joy Kogawa, said to the importance of this motion:

In an age of increasing xenophobia and historical revisionism, when even the victims of the Holocaust can once more be openly mocked, [the member for Vancouver East's] motion assumes a new urgency to align ourselves with the world’s historians and to guard against revisionists, equivocators and deniers of history who attempt to falsify and sanitize the past. Our humanity depends on recognizing our capacity for barbarity.

It was extremely disappointing that the motion failed. Back on November 30, 2017, I asked if the government would proclaim December 13 as Nanjing massacre commemorative day. I received an encouraging answer from the former minister of Canadian heritage, as she offered to work with me to achieve this goal.

I followed up with the minister and she informed me that the issue falls in the jurisdiction of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. I then wrote to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who asked me to work with her chief of staff. Subsequently, I was advised that in fact the matter should be dealt with by the minister of heritage. I then went back to the former minister of heritage, at which point she advised that it would not be possible to have the declaration made by December 13, 2017.

Even though the window had closed for 2017, I campaigned for a full year, speaking with countless Canadians face to face across the country, and finally collecting tens of thousands of signatures, which I brought to the House on November 28, 2018. Needless to say, I was deeply disappointed that my unanimous-consent motion failed.

While the message I received from the Liberal government had been positive, when it came down to the vote, I was taken aback to learn that the Liberal MPs actually voted against the motion. When I moved the motion for the first time, the motion did not pass, and the Speaker at the time, in an unprecedented way, noted that the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan voted against it.

However, at the end of the day, the government members also did not vote for this motion.

Human RightsAdjournment Proceedings

7:25 p.m.

NDP

The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes

The hon. member is out of time. I am sure she will be able to add to her comments in her next allotted time slot.

The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism.

Human RightsAdjournment Proceedings

7:25 p.m.

Scarborough—Rouge Park Ontario

Liberal

Gary Anandasangaree LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism (Multiculturalism)

Madam Speaker, our government acknowledges and commemorates a number of tragedies that occurred during the chaos of the Second World War. Such terrible moments remind us that we must remain engaged in promoting peace, multiculturalism, inclusion and respect for diversity.

What occurred in Nanjing on December 13, 1937, was a horrible moment in human history. It reminds us that we need to remain constantly vigilant about the dangers of all forms of hatred, discrimination and violence, that it is all too easy to be blinded by hate to the detriment of human rights.

Our government acknowledges and understands the value of learning and being cognizant of atrocities that have been inflicted on international communities. These horrific moments give us insight into preventing such incidents in the future.

Canadians know that we must continue to remember the tragedies of the Second World War, such as the Nanjing massacre, and their impact on our communities.

The Government of Canada is committed to advancing human rights and gender equality. It has recognized the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that all peoples have inalienable rights, including the right to equality, freedom from discrimination, personal security and freedom from torture and degrading treatment. This declaration was the inspiration behind our own Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

In December 2017, federal, provincial and territorial ministers responsible for human rights met for the first time in 29 years to discuss ways that Canada could remain an international leader in this area.

Our government's commitment to diversity and inclusion is unwavering, and we will continue to work toward promoting these principles.

Together, we must work to ensure that the lessons afforded us by history will continue to guide our actions in the future.

Human RightsAdjournment Proceedings

7:25 p.m.

NDP

Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC

Madam Speaker, the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan voted against it at the time. I spoke with him afterward and he told me that it was a mistake. Then I spoke with the Conservative House leader and she informed me that her party would not oppose the motion.

I learned later that night that the member of Parliament for Scarborough North had sent an email to stakeholders indicating that the Prime Minister's Office did not oppose the motion.

With this knowledge and confirmation from the Conservatives that they would also not oppose the motion, I moved that motion again the next day. To my dismay, my motion was blocked again, and this time it was clear it was Liberal members who voted against it.

My question for the Liberals is this. Why did they vote against this so we could not ensure this commemoration would be done to reinforce the principle of “never again”?

Human RightsAdjournment Proceedings

7:30 p.m.

Liberal

Gary Anandasangaree Liberal Scarborough—Rouge Park, ON

Madam Speaker, the Government of Canada recognizes and respects the unique history of all Canadians, as it reflects the rich social fabric of our country and makes us stronger.

Because diversity is at the heart of who we are as Canadians, we will continue to work to ensure that the histories of all Canadians are valued and shared.

Official LanguagesAdjournment Proceedings

7:30 p.m.

NDP

François Choquette NDP Drummond, QC

Madam Speaker, it is always an honour for me to rise in the House to stand up for Franco-Ontarians and continue to call on the government to ensure that the language rights of francophones across the country and those of the anglophone minority in Quebec are respected.

On November 28, I asked the Liberal government a question about Franco-Ontarians and the cuts being imposed on this minority community. Of course, I was talking about the elimination of the Office of the French Language Services Commissioner and Ontario's French-language university, which, unfortunately, will not become a reality. That was a serious blow not just to the francophone community in Ontario, but also to francophone communities all across the country. That is why the meetings that were held between the party leaders to discuss this crisis were so important. That was the least that could be done, given the circumstances. More action is required. That is why I said that the first ministers should hold a federal-provincial-territorial forum to talk about official languages and other issues. Official languages should be on the agenda, especially since this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Official Languages Act.

I would like to talk about Drummond's anglophone community. Education plays an extremely important role in the development of our official language communities. In Drummond, the City of Drummondville is funding the construction of a new English-language elementary school. I would like to point out that the greater Drummond area has a very vibrant anglophone community.

I recently had the opportunity to view a superb intergenerational art installation involving the residents of Manoir Drummond and Drummondville Elementary School students. Local artists also participated in this art project, and young and not-so-young people created works of visual art. I congratulate all participants, especially teacher Nancy Catchpaw and guest artist Mance Di.

I also invite the citizens of the greater Drummond area to view the exhibit “Once Upon a Time... La petite histoire des écoles anglophones de Drummondville” organized by the Société d’histoire de Drummond. It tells some of the story of Drummondville's anglophone community. I would like to acknowledge the exceptional work of the entire team of the Société d'histoire de Drummond, including Geneviève Béliveau, director, Gabriel Cormier, cultural projects officer, Martin Bergevin, archivist, and all the members of the board of directors.

As I mentioned, the crisis continues in Ontario. Sadly, the services of the Office of the French Language Services Commissioner have been cut and made the responsibility of the ombudsman, which has resulted in job losses. The federal government must absolutely show leadership and set an example. We would have liked to see money in the budget for Ontario's French-language university. We do not understand why the government did not choose to include these investments in the budget.

Official LanguagesAdjournment Proceedings

7:35 p.m.

Nickel Belt Ontario

Liberal

Marc Serré LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Rural Economic Development

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Drummond for his question and his work on francophone issues.

We were surprised by the announcement concerning the future of Ontario's French-language university. The vitality of official language communities across the country and the preservation of their language rights are a priority for our government.

Therefore, the Government of Canada is proud of its long-standing collaboration with provincial counterparts to provide better services to official language minority communities. That is why we have approved the renewal of all bilateral agreements on services in the minority language for the coming years.

Our government has renewed and strengthened agreements to encourage the provinces to provide services in the language of minority communities, through initiatives like education in the minority language, education infrastructure and access to provincial public services in the official language of one's choice.

ln 2018 alone, the provinces and territories received close to $149 million as part of bilateral education agreements, and approximately $13 million for complementary projects in education agreements.

ln terms of access to services, we have announced new investments to increase the offering of services in official language minority communities, including $22.5 million over five years to improve access to health services. We note that Ontario receives $1.4 million per year to provide French language services. This is the highest amount among the provinces.

Budget 2019 clearly shows that our government is prepared to invest additional funds in federal-provincial-territorial agreements as soon as a new protocol is signed. The accountability process must be improved, and the communities must be consulted regularly.

Our government is committed to supporting the provinces and territories in the provision of French language services. Our action plan for official languages, with its unprecedented $2.7-billion investment, is helping to strengthen minority language communities across the country.

Our official languages are at the core of who we are as a country. That is also why we are currently revising the Official Languages Act, on its 50th anniversary, to modernize it so it better serves the needs of Canadians. This is the first revision.

We hope that the Government of Ontario will follow our lead and take steps to strengthen the rights of francophone communities in the province.

Official LanguagesAdjournment Proceedings

7:35 p.m.

NDP

François Choquette NDP Drummond, QC

Madam Speaker, this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Official Languages Act. The Liberal government committed to modernize the act, and I congratulate it for that.

However, as the situations in Ontario, New Brunswick, British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan have shown, official languages are in jeopardy. This is why we should have taken these opportunities to talk about official languages and to put them on the agenda at the federal-provincial-territorial conferences. This has not been done for decades, under both Liberal and Conservative governments. The government does not discuss official languages with the provinces, and then they wonder why there are problems.

When will the Liberal government take real action, show some leadership and put official languages on the agenda at federal-provincial-territorial meetings?

Official LanguagesAdjournment Proceedings

7:40 p.m.

Liberal

Marc Serré Liberal Nickel Belt, ON

Madam Speaker, I disagree with my colleague.

We took the initiative to meet with several organizations and the provinces as part of our study on the modernization of the Official Languages Act.

In November 2018, the Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie wrote to her counterpart in the Ontario government to share her concerns regarding the announcements made by the Government of Ontario about the Office of the French Language Services Commissioner and Ontario's French-language university.

The Franco-Ontarian community will always be able to count on our government's unwavering support as a partner and in helping to ensure the vitality of the francophone communities in Ontario and across Canada.

I would ask my colleague to also look at and put more pressure on his counterparts in the NDP in Ontario to ensure that the Province of Ontario respects the rights of francophone communities in Ontario.

TelecommunicationsAdjournment Proceedings

7:40 p.m.

NDP

Brigitte Sansoucy NDP Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC

Madam Speaker, in our region, high-speed Internet access is indispensable, especially for families, students, SMEs, self-employed workers and of course agricultural businesses.

More than 350,000 households in Quebec still do not have not have an affordable and reliable Internet connection. There is a desperate need now, but the Liberals are telling us today that we will have to wait until 2030.

Much like the Conservatives before them, the Liberals are turning their backs on our rural regions. Budget 2019 would have been a great opportunity to invest in this infrastructure to give everyone access and to help our region develop faster. Instead, we have to wait more than 10 years.

Since I was elected in 2015, I keep repeating over and over that this government is not doing enough to ensure everyone has Internet access, but now, with the election just six months away, the government is saying it is going to invest. Be careful, though, for the devil is in the details. Canadians and Quebeckers will not all have access for another 10 years.

The people of Saint-Hyacinthe and Acton Vale cannot wait 10 years. In my region, 16 of the 25 municipalities have connectivity problems and need Internet. We are talking about a riding that is less than an hour from Montreal. It is truly appalling.

Instead of giving millions of dollars to multi-billionnaires, the government should invest that money now so that our young people can pursue their studies close to home, so that our small businesses can innovate, so that our farmers can prosper, so that our regions can achieve their economic development potential and so that our seniors can access health and social services online if they want to.

Saint-Hyacinthe is an agrifood technopole. Our farmers and producers want to be on the cutting edge of technology, but the government has to give them the tools to achieve that.

Many farms in our riding still do not have a reliable connection. That is a drawback for farmers who want to innovate and improve their efficiency and productivity. Many of our farms and rural areas do not have cable or fibre optic access.

Wireless Internet access is the only solution, but the available networks are often way too slow to be functional. That has a direct impact on farmers, who need Internet access on their farm, in the barn, in the stable, in the fields and in the house to manage their books. To be productive, they need access to fast, reliable Internet.

Connectivity to high-speed Internet is necessary for accessing the latest health care technologies, providing modern education for our young people and students, and helping businesses innovate and grow.

In 2019, reliable access to the Internet is not a luxury. It is an essential service. Only 37% of households have access to high-speed Internet in rural, remote or sparsely populated areas. That means that six out of 10 people living in a rural area do not have access to reliable Internet service.

Why? Because the Liberals, like the Conservatives before them, are not doing enough.

In rural areas, Internet access, if it is available, costs about $100 a month, and sometimes even twice that, for service that often falls short on capacity and quality. Telling people six months before an election that they will have reliable Internet access in 10 years is not going help our SMEs prosper, keep our young people in the regions, help our farmers succeed, support self-employed people, equip our families, and the list goes on.

Why are the Liberals waiting another 10 years to do something about this?

TelecommunicationsAdjournment Proceedings

7:45 p.m.

Nickel Belt Ontario

Liberal

Marc Serré LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Rural Economic Development

Madam Speaker, I want to thank my esteemed colleague for raising this important issue and for her work on behalf of rural regions.

Our government believes that the only way for Canada to succeed is to make sure that all of our communities are able to succeed, no matter where they are located. In order to meaningfully contribute to the success of our communities, our plan needs to be tailored to their needs and priorities. In particular, we recognize that our rural and remote communities have unique needs. That is why our plan includes $2 billion in funding to renew rural and northern infrastructure.

This funding will support investments aimed at improving roads in rural and northern communities. It will also support projects to reduce these communities' dependence on diesel for heating and electricity. Furthermore, this funding will support projects to expand high-speed Internet to many other rural and northern communities that do not currently have access to this service, which is a necessity in Canada.

Right now, less than half of our rural and northern communities have access to high-speed Internet. That is why, on January 14, 2019, the government appointed a Minister of Rural Economic Development. Her mandate letter gives her the responsibility of increasing the number of Canadians who have access to high-speed Internet and leading the development of a Canadian rural economic development strategy.

More recently, in budget 2019, our government committed to a national target. The member mentioned access to high-speed Internet by 2030, but to be precise, 90% of homes and businesses will have access to high-speed Internet by 2021.

By 2026, we will have 95% of households connected to high-speed Internet. As the member mentioned, in 2030, 100% of households and businesses will have access to the Internet, regardless of where they live or are located. That is a concrete plan.

To meet these targets, budget 2019 is proposing to provide $1.7 billion over that time to establish a new national Internet program called the universal broadband fund. This fund will include a top-up to the existing connect to innovate program. It will extend high-speed access to remote areas across the country by laying more fibre and by using signals beamed through low-earth-orbit satellites, which is necessary.

This technology will ensure that reliable Internet service reaches all Canadians. Furthermore, we will be adding $11 million for Statistics Canada to survey and measure households and businesses on the use of the Internet, because the best way to know where Canada needs to be is to understand where it stands.

The government cannot do this alone. This is why we are going to partner with municipalities, the private sector, the provinces, indigenous communities, public institutions and not-for-profit organizations.

Our government is investing in infrastructure so that all Canadians will have the opportunity to participate fully in the economy and share in our nation's prosperity. Extending Internet services to every Canadian, regardless of where they live, is a priority and a goal. We have a plan to achieve this, and we will work hard together to make it happen.

TelecommunicationsAdjournment Proceedings

7:45 p.m.

NDP

Brigitte Sansoucy NDP Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC

Madam Speaker, the problem is that an area like the one I represent is only 50 kilometres from Montreal. It is not in a remote area.

The problem with satellite Internet services is that they do not work in our area. They use a wireless technology and when it snows or is windy, it does not work. If a silo is built between our antenna and the transmission antenna, it stops working. If a tree grows, it stops working. We need fibre optics in all areas to have efficient service.

In my riding, young adults go to Montreal, Sherbrooke or Quebec City for their post-secondary studies. Parents tell me that their children do not go home on weekends because they cannot connect to their institution's portal. We want our young people to remain in our region and to return to our region.

TelecommunicationsAdjournment Proceedings

7:50 p.m.

Liberal

Marc Serré Liberal Nickel Belt, ON

Madam Speaker, I agree with the hon. member that Canada is a large country and that we need to ensure that our regions and remote areas have access to the Internet.

Many partnerships are required to accomplish that. It is very important that the regions work with the provinces, the federal government, the municipalities and the private sector in order to get Internet access.

This is why we recognized in budget 2019 that high-speed Internet is no longer a luxury. We need to make sure we work together to provide every single household and business in Canada with access to the Internet at 50 megabits per second download and 10 megabits per second upload speeds by 2030, regardless of where we live.

As indicated earlier, 90% of Canadians will be connected by 2021 and 95% of Canadians will be connected by 2026. We are going to work hard—

TelecommunicationsAdjournment Proceedings

7:50 p.m.

NDP

The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes

The motion to adjourn the House is now deemed to have been adopted.

Accordingly the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 7:51 p.m.)