Debates of Oct. 28th, 2020

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

Vote #14

Criminal Code

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I declare the motion carried.

Accordingly, the bill stands referred to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights.

(Bill read the second time and referred to a committee)

The member for London—Fanshawe on a point of order.

[Lindsay Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. During the last vote, we heard a lot of qualifiers and they need to be yes or no. I would like a ruling on whether that is allowed and can continue. Clearly, members are not allowed to make speeches or anything else, other than to say yes or no. It needs to be made clear in the House and I would like a ruling on that.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I thank the hon. member for her intervention. She is correct. Since the beginning, we have asked members to pronounce themselves in favour or against, not to debate it, give a long diatribe or any kind of speech on it, merely vote in favour or against. I hope that in the next vote, hon. members stand by those rules.

Foreign Affairs

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Parliamentary 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 treaty entitled “Amendments to Annexes II, VIII and IX of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal”, adopted at Geneva on May 10, 2019.

Human Rights

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Mr. Speaker, today I have several petitions to present.

The first one is from Canadians across the country who are concerned about the treatment of Uighurs in China. The petitioners are concerned that Uighurs are being put into internment camps or concentration camps. The petitioners are looking for the Government of Canada to recognize this as a genocide and to use the Magnitsky act in order to put sanctions on the actors involved in that.

Sex Selection

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition that I am presenting today is on gender selection. The Canadians who have signed this petition are concerned that this practice is happening right here in Canada. They are calling for this House to pass legislation condemning that.

Physician-Assisted Dying

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the next petition I have today is in defence of conscience rights. The people who have presented this petition are concerned about the protection of conscience rights of physicians and health care institutions. The petitioners recognize that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects the freedom of conscience and the freedom of religion, and they also note that the Canadian Medical Association is in agreement with that as well.

Palliative Care

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the next petition I have to present is from hundreds of Canadians from across Canada. They have signed this petition to create a national strategy on palliative care, which would ensure that all Canadians have access to high-quality palliative care, particularly at a time when we are expanding the legalization of euthanasia.

Human Organ Trafficking

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the last petition I have to present today is from Canadians across the country who are concerned about forced organ harvesting that happens in other places around the world. The petitioners are asking for this place to pass bills that have been presented in previous parliaments, particularly Bill C-350, that would prevent Canadians from going abroad to purchase harvested organs.

Ethiopia

[Kerry Diotte, Conservative, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to present this petition, brought forth from members of the Canadian Oromo community in Edmonton and people concerned with the current events in Ethiopia.

Sex Selection

[Cathay Wagantall, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I am presenting two petitions today on behalf of Canadians calling upon the House of Commons to pass a Criminal Code prohibition of sex-selective abortion. The petitioners' rationale is that sex-selective abortion is legal in Canada as there are no legal restrictions on abortion here. Sex-selective abortion is antithetical to our commitment as Canadians to equality between men and women. A poll shows that 84% of Canadians believe it should be illegal to have an abortion if the family does not want the child to be a certain sex.

The World Health Organization, United Nations Women and United Nations Children's Fund have identified equal sex ratios at birth as a growing problem in the world, and Canada's own health care professionals have recognized that sex-selective abortion is a growing problem in Canada.

Human Rights

[Scott Aitchison, Conservative, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition calling on the House of Commons to formally recognize that Uighurs in China have been and are being subjected to genocide. The petitioners are calling to use the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act, the Sergei Magnitsky Law, and sanction those who are responsible for these heinous crimes being committed against the Uighur people.

The Environment

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

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to present a petition in the House. It is petition no. 10865859. The petitioners refer to the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, to the urgency of moving to avoid exceeding 1.5° Celsius, pointing out that the disadvantaged peoples of the world, the most marginal and the poorest, are the ones who suffer the most. The petitioners ask the Government of Canada to direct our official development assistance in the area of climate change toward mitigation and adaptation and particularly to pay attention to the impact on women around the world and direct funding toward gender-related programs.

[Richard Cannings, NDP, South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to present a petition today, petition no. 10836641.

This petition is from young people across my riding of South Okanagan—West Kootenay and the neighbouring riding of Kootenay—Columbia. They are extremely concerned about the accelerating impacts of climate change, and wonder whether they will be able to thrive in an uncertain future. The petitioners point out that Canada's climate targets are completely insufficient in keeping global warming below two degrees.

The petitioners are calling for meaningful legislated climate targets, an effective carbon tax and redirecting fossil fuel subsidies into jobs and training for renewable energy systems, energy efficiency and low-carbon transportation.

Justice

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to table petition no. 2426.

This petition calls upon the Minister of Justice to amend the definition of section 752 of the Canadian Criminal Code that deals with serious personal injury offence to include wording that identifies sexual interference when considering dangerous offender designations.

Health

[Paul Manly, Green, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to present e-petition no. 2729.

This was brought forward by people who suffer from environmental sensitivities, which affect approximately 3% of Canadians.

The petitioners are calling on the Government of Canada to create an international classification of disease designation code in Canada for environmental sensitivities so that those affected may have access to medical care. They want to include environmental sensitivities as a disability that must be accommodated on all relevant documents and forms in governmental departments and organizations that administer social assistance, housing, medical, and other public services, and to ensure all indoor public spaces are declared fragrance-free.

Questions on the Order Paper

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary 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 at this time.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

The House resumed from October 27 consideration of the motion that Bill C-7, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying), be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Criminal Code

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Before continuing, I wish to inform the House that because of the deferred recorded division, Government Orders will be extended by 43 minutes.

Resuming debate, the hon. member for Brampton Centre.

[Ramesh Sangha, Liberal, Brampton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, our government acknowledges that medical assistance in dying is a complex and deeply personal issue. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the hon. Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada for his extremely hard work with respect to the bill. Our government has respected the court's decision and has made more than the necessary changes in the legislation.

The conversation around death can be an extremely difficult one in our society. We understand and acknowledge the deep feelings and emotions that arise when a loved one is suffering intolerably from an illness, disease or disability. To discuss a fundamentally moral issue such as this one, the need to consult with people was a necessary decision. Over 300,000 Canadians from all over this great nation and from different cultures, races, creeds and backgrounds were directly involved in the January 2020 public consultation process. Not only were these consultations vital, it was a strong call to Parliament as to how important this issue was for Canadians.

Initially, the minister, along with several other distinguished members, held round table discussions across Canada with over 125 experts and stakeholders. Furthermore, we have asked for a special extension to allow for a fruitful and powerful parliamentary debate on this topic. The debates that we as parliamentarians have had on medical assistance in dying since 2015 have been filled with emotion and passion, as a debate should be in the House. I am very pleased today to be part of this very important debate.

One of the great challenges of being a parliamentarian is not only having to reflect on our own moral considerations and carefully examining legislation such as the one before us today, but also to make decisions that fundamentally address Canadians and the changing moral landscape.

Today, I speak in support of the bill. I believe strongly in an individual's right to die with dignity and respect. The issue of moral integrity and an individual's right to autonomy must be protected at all costs. As many of my hon. parliamentary colleagues have noted in the debate, currently many Canadians are suffering intolerably. The tragedy is that death is the only way to ease such suffering in a number of these cases.

I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and quote the wise words of critical care and palliative staff physician James Downar, at the Toronto General Hospital, who stated:

I think it’s important to recognize that there are types of suffering that we do not have the ability to treat. There are dying patients who have a very low quality of life from their perspective, and sometimes only death would end their suffering.

In the bill, we also acknowledge the concerns about an increased risk where medical assistance in dying is provided to persons who are not dying in the short term. That is why we have proposed additional safeguards to ensure that sufficient time and expertise are devoted to exploring requests for persons whose natural death is not foreseeable.

As I mentioned earlier, medical assistance in dying is an extremely difficult topic. However, in consultation with our experts, the Canadian community and, more specifically, those individuals who are suffering from intolerable conditions, diseases and disabilities, the right to die with dignity and respect, as outlined in Bill C-7, must be protected at all costs.

I look forward to engaging with hon. members further on this very important topic.

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I would note that the government House leader was not in his seat. I was relying on him to maintain the comments and questions today.

I really appreciate the member's intervention. Is the member not concerned about conscience rights for individuals and organizations that provide end-of-life care?

[Ramesh Sangha, Liberal, Brampton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, our law acknowledges the conscience right of health care providers and the role they may play in providing medical assistance in dying. The amendment proposed in Bill C-7 has many changes to this effect. Our government will remain committed to working with the provinces and territories to support access to medical assistance in dying, while respecting the personal conviction of health care providers.