House of Commons Hansard #18 of the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was school.
Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
Mr. Speaker, I look to you for guidance, but I think a non-apology apology is not really adequate if anyone took offence. It is the ultimate defined hand signal offensive gesture.
I took offence. I think a lot of us took offence. If someone took offence, I do not think withdrawing the gesture qualifies as an actual apology. Perhaps the Speaker finds it adequate.
Oral QuestionsPoints of OrderOral Questions
The Deputy Speaker Bruce Stanton
I am going to go back to the hon. member for Red Deer—Lacombe to see if he has further comments to add. It is the convention and tradition of this place that, when a member withdraws or expresses regret for something they have done in the context of debate, they do so in a categorical way. I would ask the hon. member for Red Deer—Lacombe to see if he has any additional comments on the matter.
Blaine Calkins Conservative Red Deer—Lacombe, AB
Mr. Speaker, as I have said, I unreservedly withdraw the gesture.
Oral QuestionsPoints of OrderOral Questions
The Deputy Speaker Bruce Stanton
We will leave the matter for the time being. I am going to review the record from today and will get back to the House, if necessary.
Kevin Lamoureux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, I rise on the same point of order and the same matter at hand. A number of individuals were actually quite offended by the gesture that was made, so we appreciate the fact that the Speaker will review it and come back to the House.
Oral QuestionsPoints of OrderOral Questions
The Deputy Speaker Bruce Stanton
I thank the hon. parliamentary secretary for his additional comments. Indeed, this is a matter that is clearly in need of review. That will be done and I will get back to the House as necessary.
Rob Oliphant LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the following treaties. The first is entitled “Headquarters Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Commission for Environmental Cooperation”, done at Gatineau and Ottawa on October 5, 2020. It is known as the 2020 HQ Agreement.
Second, I would like to table, in both official languages, the “Headquarters Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization”, done at Ottawa and Miquelon on June 5, 2019, and June 13, 2019.
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, there is someone appearing on the screen without a shirt on and I think that probably is not within parliamentary decorum. That is an awkwardness that we may need to be mindful of.
Foreign AffairsRoutine Proceedings
The Deputy Speaker Bruce Stanton
I thank the hon. parliamentary secretary. It is probably fortunate that we do not have a full screen of the various members participating on the call. There have been instances where members have inadvertently left their cameras on when they do not intend to do so, but we will see if our team at the broadcast centre can advise the member accordingly to get the camera turned off.
Rob Oliphant Liberal Don Valley West, ON
Mr. Speaker, missing one's tie seems to be offensive, but the whole shirt was missing.
Foreign AffairsRoutine Proceedings
The Deputy Speaker Bruce Stanton
I thank the hon. parliamentary secretary for his additional comments. As I say, we will try to get that sorted out. I ask for some patience on the part of hon. members. When we are operating in this hybrid-type format, it is a little awkward moving back and forth between those contributing by video conference and those present. I appreciate the patience of the hon. members.
Xavier Barsalou-Duval Bloc Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-249, An Act to amend the Canada Transportation Act (refund – cancelled air service).
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, the hon. member for Saint-Jean, for supporting the introduction of this important bill today. This bill is the product of months of work with consumer groups as well.
I thought it was important to introduce this bill on behalf of regular people who bought plane tickets and are entitled to a refund. The Minister of Transport's response is ambiguous. He does not seem prepared to tell them that they are entitled to a refund even though the law says they are. This bill answers that question, reaffirming that passengers are entitled to a refund.
I hope that I will have the support of many members of the House. I am quite confident that we will get substantial support.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Gord Johns NDP Courtenay—Alberni, BC
Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise today to table e-petition 2675, which was sponsored by Sonja Wood and signed by 1,185 people.
They cite that the Windsor causeway in Nova Scotia was constructed across the Avon River in 1968 with gates to manage water levels, but without proper fish passage. To this day, it impedes migration of fishes, including the at-risk inner Bay of Fundy wild Atlantic salmon and American eel. The gates have been occasionally opened over the past 50-plus years to control water levels for Lake Pesquid and, more recently, to facilitate improved fish passage during periods of high water levels. The first salmon in 50 years were caught last summer beyond the causeway. The gates have never been opened to facilitate the annual runs of wild Atlantic salmon during the summer, which are really important. The petitioners want DFO to change this.
The petitioners are calling on the minister to ensure that the gates of the Windsor causeway are kept open for an extended period of time during every incoming and outgoing tide to allow a more natural method of fish passage during seasonal migrations.
Brian Masse NDP Windsor West, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions to present.
The first is specifically on gasoline prices. The petitioners are calling for accountability in the pricing of gasoline. This chamber passed a legislative process for that and it was never implemented. It was a gas price monitoring agency. Monitoring and recording is something the U.S. does. The petitioners are asking for a similar type of work.
Brian Masse NDP Windsor West, ON
Mr. Speaker, my second petition is with regard to the auto industry. The petitioners are calling for a national auto strategy. We have been losing our significant market share of the auto sector. Even though there have been two good announcements recently because of Unifor negotiations with regard to plants in southern Ontario, we are still losing our percentage of market share across the world. The petitioners are calling for a national auto policy.
Brian Masse NDP Windsor West, ON
Mr. Speaker, my last petition is about protecting Ojibway Shores. It is the last piece of shoreline property in the hands of the port authority. The petitioners want that transferred to the Ministry of Environment to protect over 100 endangered species. It is a hot spot for the environment, and this last woodlot on the Detroit River is important and precious for a national urban park.
Kevin Lamoureux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.
Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings
The House resumed consideration of the motion that Bill C-5, An Act to amend the Bills of Exchange Act, the Interpretation Act and the Canada Labour Code (National Day for Truth and Reconciliation), be read the second time and referred to a committee.
Bills of Exchange ActGovernment Orders
The Deputy Speaker Bruce Stanton
When the House last took up the question, the hon. member for Cariboo—Prince George had three minutes remaining for questions and comments, so we will go to that now.
The hon. member for Oshawa.
Colin Carrie Conservative Oshawa, ON
Mr. Speaker, I want to start off my comments by giving thanks. I want to give thanks to indigenous Canadians for giving us the opportunity in this imperfect Parliament and this imperfect country to work toward reconciliation. I also want to give thanks to my colleagues, because this debate has been very non-partisan and I think there is a willingness to move forward. I want to particularly give thanks to my colleague from Cariboo—Prince George. I do not know if people watching now saw him give his speech, but he had a whole pile of notes and he hardly looked at them. He gave us a speech that came from the heart, and I think everyone who heard what he had to say is going to be affected by it.
My colleague mentioned living next door to a house of horrors. Sadly, many Canadians are in that situation, and they do not understand the whole situation with regard to indigenous Canadians. I know my colleague has sat down with too many families, too many victims and too many people who have been affected negatively.
We have heard over and over that this day cannot just be a holiday. I will go on the record as saying I do not think it should be a holiday for federal employees. They should be working this day to help indigenous Canadians.
I wonder if my colleague could comment on what we could do to improve the bill so that this day is about celebration and education and is not just another holiday.
Todd Doherty Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC
Mr. Speaker, I opened my speech with an analogy: Imagine living beside a house of horrors and knowing the families and children who came through there, only to find out later on in life about the horrors that took place. It chokes me up when I speak of it. My staff had to compile a number of documents for me, but I did not refer to them because I have spent a considerable amount of time, not just during my political career but throughout my lifetime, seeing this. My friends and family are from the area that went through this program, and they live today with the scars.
My fear in making this a national holiday for federal employees or public sector employees is that the meaning and importance of this day will be lost. As I have said a number of times, it will just be another day for people to load up their RV and go on a holiday.
It is so important that we build a national education strategy within the bill. This is just one amendment I would like to see, but it is very important. It is critical to the success of this.
Caroline Desbiens Bloc Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île dOrléans—Charlevoix, QC
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to split my time with the member for Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou.
I thought my riding was the only one to have such a long name, but I see that my colleague's riding does too.
Bills of Exchange ActGovernment Orders
The Deputy Speaker Bruce Stanton
Does the hon. member for Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d'Orléans—Charlevoix have unanimous consent to share her time?