Debates of June 19th, 2019

Plastic Pollution

[Christine Moore, NDP, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Madam Speaker, today I am presenting a petition calling for the creation of a national strategy to combat plastic pollution in our waterways.

This type of pollution is extremely worrisome, particularly because it affects aquatic fauna. I have been fishing for as long as I can remember and I am deeply concerned about the increasing number of fish that ingest plastic, which then ends up in our food chain.

This is a critical issue, especially if we consider the communities for which fishing is a traditional activity.

Boil Water Advisories

[Robert-Falcon Ouellette, Liberal, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

[Member spoke in Cree]

[English]

Madam Speaker, I would like to highlight the work of students at the Met School and other schools in Winnipeg, who, as a school project, raised the issue of water for indigenous peoples. Their fashion project “Strut for Shoal” was a great success. The federal government has finally built Freedom Road, with its grand opening last week, connecting the community with better access.

The students also created a petition calling upon the federal government to ensure a water treatment plant is built and available in Shoal Lake 40. These are fine, young Canadians who are doing fine work for all indigenous peoples and all Canadians.

Libya

[Salma Zahid, Liberal, Scarborough Centre, ON]

Madam Speaker, I would like to present a petition signed by hundreds of my constituents who are concerned about the deteriorating situation in Libya. They call upon the Government of Canada to condemn the unjustifiable and continued offensive military operation by General Haftar on Tripoli; to play an active role in condemning the well-documented war crimes and human rights violations committed by General Haftar's Libyan National Army; to assume a needed, effective leading position to assist in bringing the perpetrators to justice; and to assist UN efforts by providing necessary humanitarian aid to the internationally recognized Government of National Accord, the Red Crescent charities and NGOs to help the war victims and the thousands of displaced people.

Physician-Assisted Dying

[David Anderson, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Madam Speaker, I have a number of petitions on two subjects.

The first consists of eight petitions, including an electronic petition, with almost 4,000 signatures. The petitioners call on the government to ensure that conscience rights of medical personnel are protected by passing Bill C-418.

Justice

[David Anderson, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Madam Speaker, the second petition references that on April 7, 2017, Arianna Goberdhan and her unborn child Assara were murdered in a brutal act of domestic violence. At the time of the murder, she was nine months pregnant with her soon-to-be-born daughter. Assara and other preborn children in similar circumstances deserve to be recognized as victims of a crime and should be entitled to justice and legal recourse. Therefore, petitioners call upon the House of Commons to pass legislation that recognizes that when an assailant in the commission of a crime attacks a pregnant woman and injures or kills her preborn child, the assailant may be charged with an offence on behalf of that child.

Trans Mountain Pipeline

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

Madam Speaker, especially in light of the announcement yesterday by the Prime Minister on the Trans Mountain pipeline, which re-announced the project, which had absolutely no start date or any sort of plan to actually build the thing, I am presenting a petition on behalf of my constituents who would like Bill C-69, the “no more pipelines” bill, repealed, as well as for the government to review the equalization formula, given the punitive positions that the government has taken against Canada's energy sector. I support this petition.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The hon. member knows that she is not to indicate whether she supports a petition, she is just to table it and give a summary of the petition itself.

The hon. member for North Island—Powell River.

Telecommunications

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Madam Speaker, I am here today to present several petitions from my riding.

The first petition is with respect to cellular phone service in my riding. We have many areas that do not have access to cellular service.

The people who have signed these two petitions, with hundreds of signatures, are from Gold River, Alert Bay, Port McNeill, Port Alice, Courtenay, Hyde Creek, Quatsino, Victoria, Woss, Port Hardy and Sointula.

The petitioners ask the Minister of Rural Economic Development to acknowledge that this is an important public safety concern. It is very stressful for families and members who are driving to have to travel up to 30 minutes to reach a cellphone service area or landline to contact 911. Therefore, this is a major concern of public safety.

Agriculture

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Madam Speaker, I have two petitions with respect to saving our seeds, signed by people from from Powell River, Lund, Comox, Van Anda, Black Creek, Gillies Bay, Gibsons, Royston and Courtenay.

The petitioners ask for support in looking at the inherent rights of farmers to freely save, reuse, select, exchange, condition, store and sell seeds. This is very important to local farmers.

Seniors

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Madam Speaker, I have another two petitions, asking for an increase to the old age security and guaranteed income supplement benefits for seniors.

As we know, many seniors across the country are struggling. We have signatures from Campbell River, Comox, Merville, Courtenay, Cumberland, Victoria and Vancouver.

The petitioners ask the government to intervene and fully commit to a mandate of improving the lives of seniors across the country by increasing the benefit amounts to address the increased costs of living for senior citizens in Canada.

Pharmacare

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Madam Speaker, my last petition, which is from Campbell River and Quadra Island, is a national pharmacare petition.

The petitioners ask the government to recognize that the costs of prescription medications and necessary medical supplies in Canada is excessive and varies greatly from province to territory, that it needs to ensure the costs are affordable. They ask for a pan-Canadian single-payer universal pharmacare program that ensures all Canadians can access medically prescribed and necessary medications, regardless of their ability to pay.

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Waterloo, ON]

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Because many members want to make brief comments on their petitions, I believe if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent to add up to 10 minutes to petitions today.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Indigenous Affairs

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Madam Speaker, I am presenting a petition that was launched in Quebec and signed by over 2,300 people. The petitioners are calling on us to immediately end all forms of discrimination in the Indian Act, to comply with the United Nations Human Rights Committee decision stipulating that all those whose equality and cultural rights were violated are entitled to reparations, and to take all necessary measures to abolish the Indian Act's racist and patriarchal regime as soon as possible.

Agriculture

[Alaina Lockhart, Liberal, Fundy Royal, NB]

Madam Speaker, I rise today to present a petition on behalf of the good people of Fundy Royal, as well as hundreds of other Atlantic Canadians.

I should note that a number of members of Parliament, across party lines and from all regions of the country, have been filing similar petitions with respect to the rights of farmers and the use, reuse, exchange and selling of seeds.

The petitioners call upon the Parliament of Canada to enshrine in legislation the inalienable rights of farmers and other Canadians to save, reuse, select, exchange and sell seeds.

Human Rights

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Rouge Park, ON]

Madam Speaker, I have the pleasure of presenting a petition from Canadians of Pakistani origin relating to the Pakistani nationals of Christian faith who are refugees in Thailand.

The petitioners are seeking Canada's intervention in assisting them to resettle in Canada.

Access to Information

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Madam Speaker, I am tabling a petition on behalf of a constituent, who has collected over 800 signatures from Canadians in all provinces and territories.

The petitioners call on the government to review the records under the control of the Privy Council Office and to transfer all historical records to Library and Archives Canada. Researchers and historians rely on this information to write Canada's history. Historical records that do not threaten national security should be open and accessible by default.

Palliative Care

[Alice Wong, Conservative, Richmond Centre, BC]

Madam Speaker, I hereby present 103 petitions on two different subjects, and especially on behalf of the member for Langley—Aldergrove, who now needs a lot of care. I would take this opportunity to extend our best wishes, our prayers and thoughts.

The petitioners request that the House of Commons in Parliament specifically identify hospice palliative care as a defined medical service covered under the Canada Health Act.

The second petition notes that in the 41st Parliament, the House of Commons unanimously passed a motion calling on the government to create a national strategy on palliative care to ensure every Canadian would have access to high quality palliative care at the end of life.

Forced Migration

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

Madam Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition signed by many people from Sherbrooke.

Whereas every minute, 31 people are forced to flee their homes, the petitioners are calling on the House to do more to address the underlying causes of forced migration around the world.

The petitioners are calling on us to ensure that humanitarian assistance is available to all refugees and their host communities; to support grassroots organizations that promote democracy, peace and human rights; and to invest more in diplomatic and peaceful solutions to armed conflicts.

Infrastructure

[Ruth Ellen Brosseau, NDP, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Madam Speaker, the residents of Rang du Fleuve in Saint-Barthélemy wish to draw the attention of the House to a few points. Infrastructure in the area is crumbling as a result of the 2017 and 2019 floods, and emergency services and public safety officials have not had a single opportunity to visit and meet with the residents of Rang du Fleuve in Saint-Barthélemy. The petitioners are calling on the federal government to provide financial assistance to upgrade the infrastructure.

I want to thank and congratulate Marylene Gervais, who initiated this petition. I thank her for her work and involvement. I also want to thank public safety officials, firefighters and everyone who came out to help those struggling with the 2019 floods.

St. Lawrence River Bank Erosion

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Madam Speaker, today, I am tabling a petition calling on the government to protect the banks of the St. Lawrence River corridor.

This petition follows on an e-petition signed by about 700 people that has already been submitted. This time, the clerk certified 1,500 signatures on this paper petition. In the past, when Canadians came to Parliament Hill, the Minister of Transport refused to meet with them. We hope that, even if he does not meet with them, he will still respond favourably to the petition. The erosion of the banks of the St. Lawrence River is a very important issue for the petitioners. It affects their daily lives. I think the minister should show a little humanity.

Marriage Fraud

[Ruby Sahota, Liberal, Brampton North, ON]

Madam Speaker, it is my honour to rise to table a petition signed by 502 citizens and residents of Canada

The petitioners call upon the government to take further measures to deter fraud marriages. Some of the measures include stopping renewal of work and residency permits of the accused in fraud marriages until criminal cases are brought to justice in India. Others include action by CBSA in cases where accused are criminally charged in India for fraud marriages, among various others.

The Environment

[Lloyd Longfield, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Madam Speaker, I am honoured to rise to table a petition that was signed at the Guelph Farmers' Market. A lot of advocacy goes on there every Saturday between 6 a.m. and noon.

This petition is delivering community power to the post office in the post-carbon economy. There are a lot of ideas around greening the post office and providing more services for seniors.

The petition is signed by 48 Canadians.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise to present a petition originated by a grade six student at the Royal Oak Middle School, Matthias Spalteholz, who has thought a lot about what we need to do to fight the climate crisis.

The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to put in an electrical vehicle fast charging network on all major highways to support the transition away from the internal combustion engine and to fight climate change.

The second petition is from residents throughout Saanich—Gulf Islands.

The petitioners call on the government to take the required action to avoid runaway global warming, to set ambitious targets to avoid going above 1.5°C global average temperature increase and a number of other measures that would achieve climate stability, including through arresting growth in oil sands expansion.