Debates of Nov. 16th, 2020

Health

[Sylvie Bérubé, Bloc, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, there have been consultations among the parties and if you seek it, I believe you would find unanimous consent for the following motion: That the House of Commons join the Quebec National Assembly in commemorating the hanging of Louis Riel, which took place 135 years ago on November 16, 1885; and that this House ask the government to exonerate Louis Riel as soon as possible.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

This being a hybrid sitting of the House, for the sake of clarity, I will only ask those who are opposed to the request to express their disagreement.

Accordingly, all those opposed to the hon. member moving the motion will please say nay.

[Some hon. members]

Nay.

2020 U.S. Election

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties and if you seek it, I believe you will find unanimous consent for the following motion:

That the House congratulate President-elect Joe Biden and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris on their election and, in recognition of the extraordinary relationship between Canada and the United States, call upon the government to invite both to visit Parliament and to invite Mr. Biden to address Parliament at the earliest safe opportunity to do so.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

This being a hybrid sitting of the House, for the sake of clarity, I will only ask those who are opposed to the motion to express their disagreement. Accordingly, all those opposed to the hon. member moving the motion will please say nay. I hear none.

The House has heard the terms of the motion. All those opposed to the motion will please say nay.

There being no dissenting voice, I declare the motion carried.

(Motion agreed to)

[Han Dong, Liberal, Don Valley North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, I noticed that some members have their banners as a backdrop. I would ask you to please clarify that rule for all members.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

It is a good point of order. We have had this discussion with the whips and House leaders. We are asking members to be as neutral as possible, to reflect what we have in the chamber and not to have any statements or anything out of the ordinary. We will continue to discuss this.

I want to remind all members to keep their backgrounds as neutral as possible.

The House resumed from November 5 consideration of the motion.

Opposition Motion—Tax Measures to Support Canadians

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

It being 3:10 p.m., pursuant to order made on Wednesday, September 23, the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion relating to the business of supply.

Call in the members.

[And the bells having rung:]

The question is a follows. May I dispense?

[Some hon. members]

No.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

[Chair read text of motion to House]

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

Vote #22

Business of Supply

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I declare the motion lost.

Points of Order

[Tamara Jansen, Conservative, Cloverdale—Langley City, BC]

Mr. Speaker, a few minutes ago you instructed all members to have a neutral background in view and not to have any props, yet one of the members who voted ignored you and held up a prop while abstaining.

I wonder if maybe it needs to be repeated.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Very good, I will repeat that.

For all members, whether you are voting or abstaining, we ask you to keep a very neutral background, one that reflects what is going on in the chamber.

I thank the member for Cloverdale—Langley City.

Government Response to Petitions

[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, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8)(a) I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to 55 petitions. These returns will be tabled in an electronic format.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs

[Bob Bratina, Liberal, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the first report of the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs, entitled “Main Estimates 2020-21”.

I also have the honour to present, in both official languages, the second report of the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs in relation to the motion adopted on Tuesday, October 27, 2020, regarding investment in broadband in northern Canada.

I also have the honour to present, in both official languages, the third report of the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs in relation to the motion adopted on Tuesday, October 27, 2020, regarding condolences to the family of Joyce Echaquan.

Democratic Reform

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

Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to present today a petition that the table clerks have received. It is petition number 10619174.

Petitioners are calling on the government to observe that the Canadian public is very interested in seeing an electoral reform process under the form of a citizens' assembly. They are also calling on this Parliament and the House of Commons assembled to establish a national citizens' assembly on electoral reform, and require that assembly to complete its work within 12 months such that the recommendations can be included in the conduct of our next general federal election.

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, the following questions will be answered today: Questions No. 2, 5, 15-17, 19, 33, 35, 46, 48, 61, 63-65, 78, 85, 87 and 88.

Question No.2

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

With regard to the public consultation for the new five-dollar banknote launched by the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the Bank of Canada on January 29, 2020 (which ended on March 11, 2020): (a) how many nomination submissions were made nominating a Canadian to appear on the next five-dollar banknote; (b) of the nomination submissions made for a Canadian to appear on the next five-dollar banknote, what names were submitted for consideration; (c) of the names listed in (b), how many nominations did each name receive; (d) based on the analytics software installed or run on the Bank of Canada website and server, how many individuals visited the consultation form listed on the Bank of Canada website between January 29, 2020, and March 11, 2020?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to part (a), the Bank of Canada received 52,971 names during the January 29 to March 11, 2020, public call for nominations, resulting in 625 qualified submissions.

With regard to part (b), the 625 qualified nominees can be found at the following link: https://www.bankofcanada.ca/banknotes/banknoteable-5/nominees/.

With regard to part (c), the information is unavailable. The Bank of Canada does not collect information on the number of nominations received for each name.

With regard to part (d), the information is unavailable. The consultation form is not hosted on the Bank of Canada's website. However, the bank can report that 44,485 individuals submitted one or more names to the public call for nominations between January 29, 2020, to March 11, 2020.

Question No.5

[Marty Morantz, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB]

With regard to the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy: (a) what is the number of employers who have received the subsidy; (b) what is the breakdown of (a) by (i) sector, (ii) province; (c) what are the total government expenditures to date through the subsidy; and (d) what is the breakdown of (c) by (i) sector, (ii) province?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, with respect to the above-noted question, parts (a) to (c), the latest information on the total amount of the Canada emergency wage subsidy expended is available on the Government of Canada website under “Claims to Date–CEWS” at https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/subsidy/emergency-wage-subsidy/cews-statistics.html.

The CRA captures CEWS information regarding the total approved claims broken down by province or territory where the applicant resides, by industry sector and by size of applicant, by period beginning in May 2020, rather than in the manner requested above. The latest information, updated on a monthly basis, is available on the Government of Canada website under “CEWS Claims–Detailed Data” at https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/subsidy/emergency-wage-subsidy/cews-statistics/stats-detailed.html.

Question No.15

[Tim Uppal, Conservative, Edmonton Mill Woods, AB]

With regard to government contracts entered into by the member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada responsible for the Canadian International Development Agency, for the acquisition of architectural, engineering or other services required in respect of the planning, design, preparation or supervision of an international development assistance program or project valued between $98,000.00 and $99,999.99, signed since January 1, 2016, and broken down by department, agency, Crown corporation or other government entity: (a) what is the total value of all such contracts; and (b) what are the details of all such contracts, including (i) vendor, (ii) amount, (iii) date, (iv) description of services or construction contracts, (v) file number?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of International Development]

Mr. Speaker, the following reflects a consolidated response approved on behalf of Global Affairs Canada ministers.

With regard to parts (a) and (b), with regard to government contracts valued between $98,000 and $99,999.99, signed since January 1, 2016, the department’s delegation of financial and contracting signing authority delegates officers appointed to specific positions the authority to purchase services, in accordance with all applicable legislation, regulations, policies and directives.

Information on contracts for the time period requested is available under “Proactive Disclosure” at Open Government, https://open.canada.ca/en.