House of Commons Hansard #418 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was plan.
The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan
Pursuant to subsection 79.2(2) of the Parliament of Canada Act, it is my duty to present to the House a report from the Parliamentary Budget Officer entitled “Costs Associated with Replacing the Federal Pay System”.
Catherine McKenna LiberalMinister of Environment and Climate Change
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, Canada's climate change report for 2019.
This report is about how and why Canada's climate has changed and what changes are projected for the future.
Kevin Lamoureux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to 21 petitions.
Public Safety and National SecurityCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings
Conservative
Pierre Paul-Hus Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 33rd report of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security, entitled “Study on Crime in Rural Areas in Canada”.
Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to the report.
Public Safety and National SecurityCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings
Conservative
Glen Motz Conservative Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB
Mr. Speaker, it is with profound sadness and disappointment that I find it necessary to rise on behalf of the official opposition and speak about our Conservative dissenting report to Motion No. 167 on rural crime.
It has been more than a year since a motion to study rural crime was presented in this House and passed unanimously, and 168 days since we finished hearing from witnesses. The study sought recommendations to help Canadians deal with the very serious and profound issue of rural crime.
In almost six months, the Liberal members on the public safety committee have only managed to put together a page and a half, two pages at best, with no real recommendations: two pages, after hearing from numerous witnesses with heartbreaking stories, to respond to a growing rural crime crisis in this country.
It is just shameful. It is another example of the Liberals neglecting their duty to protect Canadians. It is no surprise that the NDP and the Conservatives have tabled dissenting opinions to a very dismissive government report, opinions required to be as short as the government report, by parliamentary rules, unfortunately.
No Canadians should feel that their government is ignoring a crime wave crisis. For thousands of rural Canadians across this country, that is the clear message sent today by the Liberal government.
Motion No. 167—Instruction to the Standing Committee on Public Safety—Speaker's StatementCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings
Liberal
The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan
The report of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security was presented a few moments ago. Given the point of order raised on May 9, 2019, by the hon. member for Lakeland regarding Motion No. 167, which was a motion of instruction to that committee, I would like to make a statement.
As members will recall, in raising her point of order, the member for Lakeland explained that, on May 30, 2018, the House adopted Motion No. 167, which was an order to the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security to study the matter of rural crime and to report its findings to the House no later than six months following the adoption of the said motion. The committee did not respect this reporting obligation. More than five months after the deadline, which was November 30, 2018, the member brought to the attention of the Chair the failure of the committee to comply with that order.
In response, the chair of the committee, the member for Scarborough—Guildwood, provided explanations for the committee's delay.
Despite missing the fixed deadline to report to the House, as Speaker, I am satisfied that the committee did finally report on Motion No. 167.
While the Chair understands well the dynamics of committees and the different, sometimes conflicting, viewpoints that may arise in their deliberations, this does not excuse a committee from its obligation to respect orders of the House that pertain to its work, such as Motion No. 167. The fact that committees are masters of their proceedings does not allow them to ignore this obligation. Should difficulties arise in carrying out an order of the House, as may happen, it remains incumbent on the committee to ask for an extension to a deadline it cannot meet by means of a report to the House so that it may then decide whether or not to grant it.
With the report of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security having now been presented to the House, I consider the matter closed.
I thank all hon. members for their attention.
Rachel Blaney NDP North Island—Powell River, BC
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-449, An Act to amend the Old Age Security Act (monthly guaranteed income supplement).
Mr. Speaker, I am incredibly proud to be standing here to introduce this practical piece of legislation. In July 2016, my office received the first of what turned out to be many individual calls. A woman in her eighties had not received her guaranteed income supplement. She did not receive it because she had been very sick earlier in the year and was a month late getting her taxes in.
The seniors in this country who receive GIS are some of those at highest risk for not maintaining the most basic of necessities. For this woman's life, it meant that she would not be able to afford her rent. We worked with her and we had her GIS reinstated. We worked with her landlord and ensured that she was not evicted. However, her experience, and those of tens of thousands of seniors across Canada, can be stopped. Too often, these seniors have their benefits paused for up to four months because their taxes came in late, most often due to sickness, being in the hospital or dealing with a death.
This bill would give seniors who receive GIS a one-year grace period to get their taxes completed. This will stop tens of thousands of seniors from losing the money that pays for their medication, housing and food. Seventy-five per cent of GIS recipients see an increase in their benefits after being reassessed. These are not seniors trying to trick the system; these are seniors facing multiple challenges, and this bill would help. I hope all members in the House will support it.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Kellie Leitch Conservative Simcoe—Grey, ON
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-450, An Act to amend the Canada Health Act.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present this bill.
I recently held nationwide consultations on the state of health care in Canada.
I met elderly people waiting for hip replacements and parents with kids waiting for mental health assessments. In Canada, there is an explicit agreement about health care. The state provides health care services and, in exchange, Canadians expect that their loved ones will be taken care of: except that the state is not keeping up its end of the bargain. Politicians get to say when and where people get their care, but they are not accountable to deliver health care in a timely manner. This is wrong. We need to take the politics out of health care.
My bill would amend the act to add a sixth principle, accountability. What I mean is the government's accountability to the patients it serves.
Accountability means that insured health services must be delivered in a timely manner. This is the health care guarantee that Liberal Senator Michael Kirby spoke of in his report. Accountability means that governments must be more responsive to patients' needs. Accountability was considered as a founding principle in the 1960s but was not included in the final five. It is time that it was.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Kellie Leitch Conservative Simcoe—Grey, ON
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-451, An Act to establish a Children’s Health Commissioner of Canada.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to introduce this private member's bill today. In 2007, I authored a report called “Reaching for the Top: A Report by the Advisor on Healthy Children and Youth”.
In that report, I recommended that Canada create a national office of child and youth health.
This private member's bill is a long culmination of that report.
It is now more urgent than ever to establish a commissioner. Canada is ranked at the bottom of the list for most children's health indicators.
Indigenous children and children with disabilities fare far worse than other Canadian kids. Poor health in childhood is proven to lead to poor health in adults. We need to take the health of children in this country seriously.
Earlier this year, I introduced the children's fitness tax credit, which I proposed as a start. However, we need an advocate. We need someone whose exclusive mission is the promotion of children, someone who can work with government to ensure that legislation improves the health of kids, someone who would work with think tanks, the private sector and parents to raise awareness about improving the outcomes for children.
A children's health commissioner of Canada, the one recommended in this bill, is exactly that person. I ask all members in this House to join me in supporting the creation of this important position, which would help improve the health of Canadian children.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Dave Van Kesteren Conservative Chatham-Kent—Leamington, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have a number of petitions to present.
The first one is a petition asking that the Parliament of Canada enshrine in the Criminal Code the protection of conscience for physicians and health care institutions from coercion or intimidation to provide or refer for assisted suicide or euthanasia.
Dave Van Kesteren Conservative Chatham-Kent—Leamington, ON
Mr. Speaker, next, I have a number of petitions in which the petitioners call upon the Prime Minister to defend the freedoms of conscience, thought and belief and to withdraw the attestation requirement for applications to the summer jobs program.
Dave Van Kesteren Conservative Chatham-Kent—Leamington, ON
Mr. Speaker, finally, I have a number of petitions calling upon Parliament to establish a national strategy for palliative care.
Judy Sgro Liberal Humber River—Black Creek, ON
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition on behalf of many Canadians with respect to a national framework for action to promote eye health and vision care.
Petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to commit to acknowledging eye health and vision care as a growing public health issue and respond to it, particularly with Canada's vulnerable population such as children, seniors, diabetics and indigenous peoples, through the development of a national framework for action to promote eye health and vision care, which will benefit all Canadians through the reduction of vision impairment resulting from preventable conditions and the modification of known risk factors.
Peter Julian NDP New Westminster—Burnaby, BC
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition today signed by residents of New Westminster—Burnaby and Surrey, British Columbia. They add their names to thousands of Canadians, and particularly British Columbians, who have spoken out.
The petitioners are calling on the government to abandon the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project. They say that the Trans Mountain pipeline project will cost billions of dollars, which could be better used to fund pharmacare, child care and housing projects. The petitioners are concerned about the environmental risks, the tremendous impact on greenhouse gas emissions and the fact that indigenous peoples have not given their consent.
Therefore, the petitioners call on the Government of Canada to reverse its decision to purchase the Trans Mountain pipeline; to respect the rights of first nations, Métis and Inuit communities to self-governance and free, prior and informed consent; and to abandon any and all plans to continue the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline.
Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet NDP Hochelaga, QC
Mr. Speaker, the people who signed this petition want to draw the government's attention to the fact that, before the 2015 election, the Liberals promised that the defined pension benefit plan that people had already contributed to would not be retroactively changed into a target benefit plan. However, that is exactly what the finance minister's Bill C-27 does.
The petitioners are calling on the government to withdraw this unfair bill.
Kelly Block Conservative Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK
Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise and table 57 petitions on behalf of thousands of Canadians who are concerned about the absence of legislation regarding the use of ultrasounds to determine the gender of an unborn child.
A CBC documentary has revealed that ultrasounds are being used in Canada to determine the sex of an unborn child so expectant parents can then choose to terminate the pregnancy if the unborn child is female.
The petitioners call on the government to support legislation that would make sex-selective abortion illegal.
I trust the government will deal expeditiously with the concerns of these citizens.
Kelly Block Conservative Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK
Mr. Speaker, I am also honoured to rise to table nine petitions on behalf of hundreds of residents of Saskatchewan and British Columbia. The residents believe that hospice palliative care improves the quality of life for patients and relieves their suffering, pain or illness, but that it is not accessible enough or available to all Canadians.
The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to identify hospice palliative care as a defined medical service covered under the Canada Health Act and to dedicate funds under the Canada health and transfer system to be used in providing available hospice palliative care to Canadians in all provinces and territories.
I trust the government will deal expeditiously with the concerns of these citizens as well.
Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise today to present a petition from residents within Saanich—Gulf Islands, particularly from areas in north Saanich, in Victoria and in a number of the Gulf Islands. The concerns expressed by the residents are for the preservation of a population on the verge of extinction, the southern resident killer whales.
The petitioners call for more action, as has been undertaken in the state of Washington, to do more to protect this very vulnerable population from the impact of whale-watching vessels and other commercial vessels; to prohibit commercial recreational whale watching during crucial breeding and calving periods; to enhance the compulsory distance and speed restrictions for commercial and recreational whale-watching vessels; and a number of other specific and robust measures to preserve the southern resident killer whale population.
Candice Bergen Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition with thousands of signatures from Canadians from every part of the country, calling on the Prime Minister to resign. The petitioners are not doing this lightly. This is unprecedented. It is because these Canadians believe the Prime Minister has lost the moral authority to govern.
Given the cover-up that he has been embroiled in with SNC-Lavalin and other ethical lapses, Canadians are seeing that the Prime Minister, who said he would be a leader with ethics, an open leader, somebody who was transparent, has indeed been the exact opposite. Because of that, literally tens of thousands of Canadians are joining with us and calling on the Prime Minister to resign.
I want the petitioners to know that we are in the last days of this Parliament and an election is coming up. However, I wanted to present this petition on their behalf and ask that the government look at this seriously and look at the reasons behind this petition.
Rachel Blaney NDP North Island—Powell River, BC
Mr. Speaker, today I have two petitions to table in the House.
The first is largely from the members of the Comox Valley, who call on the government to withdraw Bill C-27. The concern is that prior to the 2015 federal election, Canadians were clearly promised. in writing. that the defined benefits plans, which have already been paid for by employees and pensioners, should not be retroactively changed into target benefit plans.
The petitioners are very passionate about this and call on the government to do the right thing and withdraw Bill C-27.
Rachel Blaney NDP North Island—Powell River, BC
Mr. Speaker, the second petition that am tabling in the House today is quite significant. With hundreds of signatures, this is the third petition I have tabled on this very important issue. People from communities like Sointula, Alert Bay, Port McNeill, Port Alice and Port Hardy have signed the petition to the Minister of Rural Economic Development. It points out that in the region of Highway 19, cellular phone service is not good.
This is an important public safety concern as it is sometimes necessary to travel more than 30 minutes to reach a cellphone service area or a landline to contact 911 in case of an accident or a need for roadside assistance. This is so important, and we saw that when a young man was trapped in his vehicle for seven days and luckily survived with the resources he had in his vehicle.
The petitioners ask the minister to intervene with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission and the local service provider to ensure there is continuous coverage on Highway 19 to satisfy the need for public safety.
Fin Donnelly NDP Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC
Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition to the House of Commons from petitioners mainly from New Westminster—Burnaby in Vancouver, who join thousands of Canadians, calling on the Government of Canada to abandon the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project.
Their concern is that the Trans Mountain pipeline was purchased from Kinder Morgan, a Texas-based oil company, for $4.5 billion, which puts all Canadians at risk to a plethora of environmental risks, including an increase in the daily amount of oil produced by the pipeline, which would drastically increase greenhouse gases in Canada. The real cost to taxpayers purchasing the pipeline and carrying out the related expansion could be as much as $12 billion, which could be better used for pharmacare, child care and housing projects across Canada.
The petitioners therefore call on the Government of Canada to reverse its decision to purchase the Trans Mountain pipeline and respect the rights of first nations, indigenous and Métis communities to self-governance and free, prior and informed consent and to abandon any and all plans to continue the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline.
Kevin Lamoureux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.
