Debates of May 29th, 2019

Employment Insurance

[Guy Caron, NDP, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House to present a petition calling on the government to ensure universal access to employment insurance.

I would like to point out that only 35% of unemployed women are eligible for regular EI benefits compared to 52% of unemployed men. That is a grave inequity.

The petitioners, most of whom are from eastern Quebec and the North Shore, would like the government to enhance the current system and ensure universal access to it by lowering the EI eligibility threshold to 350 hours or 13 weeks, by establishing a minimum threshold of 35 weeks of benefits and by increasing the benefit rate to 70% of salary based on the best 12 weeks of salary. The petitioners make other suggestions too.

I am pleased to present this petition on their behalf.

Afghan Minority Communities

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

Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure for me to present two petitions today.

The first is in support of an advocacy priority that is important for much of the Sikh community, which was articulated again to me in a meeting with representatives of the World Sikh Organization.

The petitioners call upon the government to do more to support vulnerable Sikhs and Hindus in Afghanistan. They would like to see the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship use the power granted to him to create a special program to help persecuted minorities in Afghanistan, in support of their desire to be privately sponsored by the community here in Canada. They also want to see the Minister of Foreign Affairs raise the issue of the persecution faced by these communities with her Afghan counterpart and strongly advocate for more to be done to protect them.

I commend this petition for the consideration of the House.

Human Organ Trafficking

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

Madam Speaker, the second petition is in support of Bill S-240, which seeks to address the possibility of Canadian complicity in forced organ harvesting and trafficking. This bill is currently back before the Senate, and the petitioners hope to see it passed as quickly as possible.

Afghan Minority Communities

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

Madam Speaker, I would like to present a petition that is signed by a number of Ontario residents.

The petitioners point out that at one time Sikhs and Hindus in Afghanistan numbered in the hundreds of thousands, but today fewer than 5,000 remain. They point out that the Minister of Immigration is already empowered to create legislation to allow vulnerable minorities to come to Canada as privately sponsored refugees directly from the country where they face persecution. These groups are ready to sponsor Afghan minority refugees. Therefore, the petitioners call upon the Minister of Immigration to use his powers to grant special programs to help persecuted minorities in Afghanistan.

Questions on the Order Paper

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

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

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

(Motion P-16. On the Order: Routine Proceedings:)

May 16, 2019—Mr. Nater (Perth—Wellington)—That an Order of the House do issue for an unredacted copy of the 60-page memo dated October 24, 2018, that former Clerk of the Privy Council Michael Wernick wrote for the Prime Minister concerning Vice-Admiral Mark Norman.

Motions for Papers

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Although I did recognize Motion P-16, there is an opportunity for the government to make a statement or to weigh in, so I will recognize the parliamentary secretary to the government House leader at this point. It is an explanation by the minister or a parliamentary secretary or a member.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Madam Speaker, all I would like to do is move to go to Government Orders, and the member for Kingston and the Islands seconds the motion.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Unfortunately, the parliamentary secretary is not able to do that, and therefore the question is being put.

Is it the pleasure of the House that notice of Motion P-16 for the production of papers be deemed to have been adopted?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

No.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

All those in favour will please say yea.

[Some hon. members]

Yea.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

All those opposed will please say nay.

[Some hon. members]

Nay.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

In my opinion the yeas have it.

And five or more members having risen:

Call in the members.

(The House divided on the motion, which was negatived on the following division:)

Vote #1327

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I declare the motion defeated.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I would ask that all notices of motions for the production of papers be allowed to stand.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

It is my duty, pursuant to Standing Order 38, to inform the House that the questions to be raised tonight at the time of adjournment are as follows: the hon. member for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, Carbon Pricing; the hon. member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, Poverty.

The House resumed from May 17 consideration of the motion that Bill C-98, An Act to amend the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act and the Canada Border Services Agency Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Resuming debate, the hon. member for Durham has nine and a half minutes left from his original speech.