Mr. Speaker, I rise today to respond to the point of order raised by the hon. member for Vancouver East on April 10, 2019, with respect to the status of Bill C-97, the budget implementation act, 2019, no. 1.
In her statement, my hon. colleague argued that since multiple items were included in Bill C-97, then the bill should be treated as an omnibus bill. Her view was that these measures were unrelated to the budget. In her argument, the hon. opposition member argued that subdivisions B, D, E, F, G, J, K and L of division 9 of part 4, amended different acts; that division 15 of part 4, clauses 292 to 302, created a new act; that division 16 of part 4, clauses 302 to 311, made changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act; and that Bill C-97 was an omnibus bill and as such should be divided for further consideration.
I would argue, Mr. Speaker, that this is not the case. As you know and as the opposition member pointed out in her point of order, Standing Order 69.1(2) states clearly that Standing Order 69.1(1) “shall not apply if the bill has as its main purpose the implementation of a budget and contains only provisions that were announced in the budget presentation or in the documents tabled during the budget presentation.”
Consequently, I would like to point out that subdivisions B, E, F, G, J, K and L of division 9 of part 4 of Bill C-97, which amend different regulatory acts, are all alluded to at page 326 of budget 2019. Next to the subject of “Bringing Innovation to Regulations”, it states:
The Government proposes to introduce legislation to begin its work on an annual modernization bill consisting of legislative amendments to various statutes to help eliminate outdated federal regulations and better keep existing regulations up to date.
The amendments quoted by the honourable member are all part of that effort to modernize existing regulations. As for subdivision D of the aforementioned division, it is even more explicitly referenced at page 119. Next to the subject of “Removing federal barriers to the interprovincial trade of alcohol”, it states:
To facilitate internal trade, the Government intends to remove the federal requirement that alcohol moving from one province to another be sold or consigned to a provincial liquor authority. Provinces and territories would continue to be able to regulate the sale and distribution of alcohol within their boundaries.
Furthermore, division 15 of part 4, clauses 292 to 302 of the BIA, which relates to the creation of the college of immigration and citizenship consultants act, is referred to at pages 184 and 185 of the budget. Under the heading of “Protecting People from Unscrupulous Immigration Consultants”, it states:
To help protect newcomers and applicants wishing to obtain the services of legitimate service providers, Budget 2019 proposes to provide $51.9 million over five years, starting in 2019–20, and $10.1 million per year ongoing. Funding will improve oversight of immigration consultants and strengthen compliance and enforcement measures. It will also support public awareness activities that will help vulnerable newcomers and applicants protect themselves against fraudulent immigration consultants. These measures will help to ensure that all applicants have access to quality immigration and citizenship advice, and that those who are providing the services operate in a professional and ethical manner, with disciplinary powers in place should fraud or misrepresentation occur.
In addition, the Government proposes to introduce legislation and propose amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Citizenship Act in order to implement these measures.
This is echoed at page 326, next to the subject “Protecting People from Unscrupulous Immigration Consultants”, where it clearly states:
The Government proposes to introduce legislation and propose amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Citizenship Act in order to implement measures to help protect newcomers and applicants wishing to obtain the services of legitimate service providers.
Finally, part 4, division 16, clauses 302 to 311, which make changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, are consequent with what is found once again on page 184, under the heading “Enhancing the Integrity of Canada's Borders and Asylum System”. It states:
...Budget 2019 proposes to introduce legislative amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to better manage, discourage and prevent irregular migration.
Once again, this is echoed at page 326 of the budget, next to the subject “Enhancing the Integrity of Canada's Borders and Asylum System”, which states:
The Government proposes to introduce legislative amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to better manage, discourage and prevent irregular migration.
As such, I believe the measures contained in Bill C-97 were all included in the budget. Consequently, I respectfully submit that Bill C-97 is not an omnibus bill and, as such, should not be split.