House of Commons Hansard #37 of the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was chair.

Topics

Criminal CodeRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

LaSalle—Émard—Verdun Québec

Liberal

David Lametti LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-13, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (single event sport betting).

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Citizenship and ImmigrationCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

November 26th, 2020 / 10:05 a.m.

Liberal

Salma Zahid Liberal Scarborough Centre, ON

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the first and second reports of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration.

The committee has considered the main estimates, 2020-21, and reports the same. It has also considered the supplementary estimates (B), 2020-21, and reports the same.

Income Tax ActRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

Conservative

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

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-256, Act to amend the Income Tax Act (donations involving private corporation shares or real estate).

Mr. Speaker, I stand today proud to table my very first private member's bill. The bill would help charities across Canada access up to $200 million a year in additional donations.

Throughout the pandemic, charities have continued to step up and provide much-needed services to those in need, including food banks and homeless shelters. However, right now across Canada, donations are down and Canadian charities are struggling to raise much-needed funds during this pandemic.

The bill would help charities by waiving the capital gains tax on an arm's-length sale of private shares or real estate when the proceeds of that sale are donated to a charity. This change would allow these kinds of donations to receive tax treatment similar to what public shares currently receive when donated to a charity. This common-sense and much-needed legislation would help struggling charities and give Canadians greater opportunities to give back.

I hope all members in the House will support this timely and important bill.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Trans Mountain PipelinePetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

Green

Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

Mr. Speaker, I rise virtually to present a petition that comes from a number of my constituents. It relates to the Trans Mountain pipeline. The petitioners point out that billions of dollars more will need to be spent to complete building this pipeline, which increasingly does not even have an economic case.

The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to abide by the commitment to stop subsidizing fossil fuels, halt construction immediately and not spend any further public funds on the Trans Mountain pipeline.

The EnvironmentPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:10 a.m.

Liberal

Julie Dzerowicz Liberal Davenport, ON

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition on an issue that is close to the heart of the constituents of my riding of Davenport.

Today I am tabling e-petition 2616. This petition was started by a passionate environmentalist, Domenica Tambasco, who is also a physician and who turns out to be someone I went to high school with. She very much recognizes the direct links between the health of Canada's population and the health of Canada's environment, two things that we know are inextricably linked.

This petition calls on the Government of Canada to introduce legislation to enshrine an environmental bill of rights and responsibilities into Canadian law, recognizing the vital role of the environment as a determinant of health.

I want to thank Domenica for her advocacy, and I hereby table her petition in this chamber on her behalf.

Herring FisheryPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:10 a.m.

NDP

Gord Johns NDP Courtenay—Alberni, BC

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to table a petition today on behalf of residents from Denman Island and Hornby Island in the Salish Sea. It is timely, especially since a new report cites that only 26% of Canada's wild fish population can be considered healthy, which is down a full 8% since 2017.

The petitioners note the announcement by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans that the Pacific herring population dropped by approximately a third from 2016 to 2019. The forecast for 2020 is 58,000 tonnes, down from 129,000 tonnes in 2016. Herring is the basis of the food web that supports wild Pacific salmon, killer whales, humpback whales, cod, halibut, seabirds and other independent species.

The petitioners call upon on the government to suspend the 2020 Salish Sea herring fishery until a whole-of-ecosystem plan is developed to fairly compensate local fishers for economic losses and ensure that decisions are made with full participation of first nations and local communities.

Human Organ TraffickingPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:10 a.m.

Conservative

Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition in support of Bill S-204, a bill that seeks to combat forced organ harvesting and trafficking.

The bill would make it a criminal offence for a Canadian to go abroad to receive an organ that had been harvested from an unwilling person. It would also amend immigration law to create a mechanism by which someone could be deemed inadmissible to Canada if that person had been involved in organ harvesting and trafficking.

A bill like this almost passed in the last Parliament, but we ran out of time at the end. The petitioners are hoping that this Parliament will be the one that finally gets the job done.

Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

10:10 a.m.

Winnipeg North Manitoba

Liberal

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, if a revised response to Question No. 97, originally tabled on November 16, 2020, could be made an order for return, this return would be tabled immediately.

Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

10:10 a.m.

The Speaker

Is that agreed?

Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

10:10 a.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

Question No.97Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

10:10 a.m.

Conservative

Arnold Viersen Conservative Peace River—Westlock, AB

With regard to flights on government aircraft for personal and non-governmental business by the Prime Minister and his family, and by ministers and their families, since January 1, 2016: (a) what are the details of all such flights, including the (i) date, (ii) origin, (iii) destination, (iv) names of passengers, excluding security detail; and (b) for each flight, what was the total amount reimbursed to the government by each passenger?

(Return tabled)

Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

10:10 a.m.

Winnipeg North Manitoba

Liberal

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 remaining questions be allowed to stand.

Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

10:10 a.m.

The Speaker

Is that agreed?

Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

10:10 a.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

Order Paper Question No. 97—Response by MinisterPrivilegeRoutine Proceedings

10:10 a.m.

Vancouver South B.C.

Liberal

Harjit S. Sajjan LiberalMinister of National Defence

Mr. Speaker, I would like to address the tabling of the revised response to Order Paper Question No. 97.

With the encouragement of my colleague, the Parliamentary Secretary to the the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, my department has reviewed the original response to see if a correction was warranted. The original response was subject to administrative errors, which have now been corrected in the revised response that was just tabled. I would like to give the House a brief explanation as to how this occurred.

The information requested is not centrally tracked by my department. An attempt was made to verify the accuracy of the information in the allotted time, but it required a cross-government document search and manual record collection. As a result, in the process of addressing the inaccuracies in the original response to Question No. 97, a manual search was undertaken to verify and confirm the information that is contained in the revised response that has now been tabled.

I wish to apologize to the member for Peace River—Westlock for any inconvenience in receiving the information requested. I can assure members of the House that this was an honest administrative oversight that has now been corrected with the revised response. I have asked my officials to review how flight information is collected and released to ensure a better record-management system going forward.

Order Paper Question No. 97—Response by MinisterPrivilegeRoutine Proceedings

10:10 a.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

I want to make a brief statement in relation to the question of privilege raised by the member for Peace River—Westlock on November 18, 2020.

In similar situations where members have raised complaints about responses to written questions, my predecessors have maintained that these cases are more a matter of debate. In my own recent ruling of October 1, 2020, I reiterated that the Speaker is not empowered to rule on the content of the government's response to written questions.

That being said, the Chair recognizes that it is important that members have complete and accurate information so that they can perform their duties and represent their constituents, which the Parliamentary Secretary to the Government House Leader acknowledged in his speech on Tuesday.

To that end, the Chair notes that a revised response to Question No. 97 has just been tabled, and in light of the subsequent comments by the minister, I consider the matter closed.

The House resumed from November 25 consideration of the motion that Bill C-12, an act respecting transparency and accountability in Canada's efforts to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2050, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability ActGovernment Orders

10:15 a.m.

Labrador Newfoundland & Labrador

Liberal

Yvonne Jones LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Northern Affairs

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased today to speak in support of Bill C-12, which was presented in the House yesterday. I am very much in support of our government's commitment to making Canada a net-zero nation by 2050, because the urgency to act on the global climate crisis is real and the challenge of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions is also an opportunity to build back our economy more competitively, more sustainably and more inclusively. Attracting investments and creating jobs will benefit all Canadians.

While the global pandemic has turned much of our world upside down, it has not changed our resolve to build a clean energy future and to make sure we are putting people at the heart of this transition. This is what I would like to focus on with my time today. Before I do that, I also want to say I will be sharing my time with the member for Sherbrooke. I look forward to hearing her comments.

Climate change may be measured in tonnes of greenhouse gases emitted or saved, but it is lived by families and communities. A just transition is where the importance of climate change and government policy positively intersects with the lives and livelihoods of all Canadians.

That is particularly true for those who have been especially hard hit by COVID-19 and the recession: women, youth, indigenous communities, immigrants, racialized people, people with disabilities, rural communities and northern communities, where I live. It is also true for so many workers and communities that are directly affected by the rapid transformation of the global energy sector, which is why creating good, well-paying jobs in the low-carbon economy is essential.

It is essential that we build a sustainable and prosperous future for Canada and all Canadians. How do we that? This is the question that lingers in the minds of many who support the initiatives we have introduced around climate change. How can we do more? How do we play a larger role?

A key starting place is to ensure workers have the right skills to succeed in the clean growth economy. As most know, I am a huge supporter of alternate energy development, but I am also a big supporter of the resource development sector in Canada, especially the mining industry. I know many of these companies are working hard to invest properly to ensure they have a clean growth economy. They are looking at alternatives for fuelling and powering their operations and reducing their carbon footprints.

For example, we are working with communities and workers who have been affected by the phasing out of coal-fired electricity, with meaningful action to diversify their economies and create new jobs. One way we are doing this is with $185 million in new federal funding to support coal-dependent communities, including $35 million for skills development and economic diversification.

Our government not only set targets and adapted a vigorous agenda around clean energy and climate change, but it is making the investments available so people, communities and companies can move forward in Canada to ensure that these happen.

The remainder of some $150 million within the Government of Canada is now earmarked for new infrastructure projects, and so far this year we have invested more than $22 million in 36 projects across Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. This funding has supported economic diversification initiatives in Leduc and Hanna, Alberta; a solar installation training program at Southeast College in Estevan, Saskatchewan; and similar projects in Atlantic Canada.

Right here in my hometown of Mary's Harbour, we are developing alternate energy to support and reduce the use of diesel generation in rural communities like the one I live in. This year, with a partnership from the federal government, we are the first remote community in Labrador to be able to combine hydro power and solar power to supplement, and reduce our dependency on, diesel and reduce our carbon footprint.

We are looking forward to doing projects like this in all communities that have become entirely dependent on diesel and move them off diesel dependency. This would include projects like the Glencore smelter and the Trevali closure diversification initiative in northern New Brunswick. We helped Ignite Labs in Nova Scotia, and we also announced that we were moving forward with the Atlantic loop. The Atlantic loop will connect surplus clean power to regions that are moving away from coal. It is a classic win-win that makes electricity more affordable as we create new jobs for workers and their communities.

I live in a region in Labrador that is one of the largest generators of hydro power. The Atlantic loop provides an opportunity for us to continue to fuel the economy with clean energy through massive development projects, such as those at Gull Island.

We are looking forward to the opportunities this provides, not just for Newfoundland and Labrador and Atlantic Canada, but for all Canadians. We see it as a real win-win situation and are happy that the Government of Canada, our government, is moving forward with the Atlantic loop.

That is just one example of how we are putting people at the heart of this energy transition. [Technical difficulty—Editor]

Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability ActGovernment Orders

10:25 a.m.

NDP

The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes

Unfortunately, the hon. member's time is up. I know there have been some technical issues, but there is time for questions and comments and I am sure she will be able to add anything during that time.

The hon. member for Saanich—Gulf Islands is rising on a point of order.

Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability ActGovernment Orders

10:25 a.m.

Green

Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I hesitated to interrupt the hon. parliamentary secretary, but I think her speech demonstrated the lack of good Internet in her community. There were many gaps. I would ask if the clerks at the table would consider allowing her to provide her full remarks so the gaps could be replaced in the Hansard, because we missed quite a lot of what she had to say.

Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability ActGovernment Orders

10:25 a.m.

NDP

The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes

I thank the hon. member. I do not think there would be any opposition to the parliamentary secretary tabling her speech so it can be included in the Hansard.

Is it agreed the hon. member can table her speech so it can be properly reflected in the Hansard?

Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability ActGovernment Orders

10:25 a.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability ActGovernment Orders

10:25 a.m.

NDP

The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes

[Accordingly, the balance of the speech as tabled is as follows]

Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability ActGovernment Orders

10:25 a.m.

Liberal

Yvonne Jones Liberal Labrador, NL

Energy efficiency is another example. By working with Canadians to retrofit their homes with better windows, appliances and insulation, and with smarter grids and building codes, they are seeing the benefits of the energy transition in their own homes. The benefits include lower monthly utility bills and more comfortable homes, all while creating thousands of good jobs and dramatically reducing our emissions.

Here is a theme I keep coming back to: creating good, green jobs as we drive environmental performance. That has been central to our government’s economic response to COVID-19, including more than $1.7 billion to help clean up orphan and inactive oil and gas wells in Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia. This investment is helping as many as 10,000 hard-working Canadians to find ways to put their skills to use, while demonstrating Canadian leadership on climate change and environmental stewardship.

For the same reason, we have announced a new $750-million emissions reduction fund, $320 million to assist the Newfoundland and Labrador offshore industry and $100 million for the Clean Resource Innovation Network. This funding will help make Canada’s oil and gas sector the cleanest in the world, so that good energy jobs are also green energy jobs and so that our move toward a net-zero economy leaves no one behind.

We recognize the vital role that Canada’s petroleum sector plays here at home and around the world. We are investing in these communities to help them achieve their net-zero targets while ensuring their long-term success. We also recognize the need to nurture talent in the oil and gas sector. We are working with industry, provinces and territories to transform this key pillar of Canada’s economy. Further, we are making other generational investments to bring together economic growth and environmental protection. This includes new funding for smart grids, carbon capture and storage, and the next wave of batteries, made right here in Canada.

We are creating good jobs in wind and solar energy, and emerging sources of clean energy such as tidal and geothermal. We have put together a made-in-Canada action plan for small modular reactors and a strategy for Canada to become a global leader in the clean production of hydrogen. We will drive the clean growth economy by making zero-emissions vehicles more affordable and investing in more charging stations across the country.

We are setting a clear course for our net-zero future that enlists all Canadians. We have been incorporating indigenous knowledge and engaging meaningfully on how we review major energy projects, as well as supporting indigenous participation in and ownership of these projects. This fair and just transition will be smart and inclusive.

Our recent Speech from the Throne doubled down on our promise to exceed our Paris commitments by the end of this decade and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. It also launched our campaign to create over one million jobs, restoring employment to pre-pandemic levels and higher. We are ensuring Canadians have good jobs they can rely on, particularly those hit hardest by the global pandemic. We are making direct investments in the social sector and infrastructure, providing immediate training to quickly skill up workers and offering incentives for employers to hire and retain workers.

We are aware that to be successful, our climate plan must put all Canadians, and all communities, at the heart of our efforts. Indeed the Throne Speech was clear on this. It stated:

Canada cannot reach net zero without the know-how of the energy sector, and the innovative ideas of all Canadians, including people in places like British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

This pledge to empower all Canadians includes getting more women working as employees and executives in the energy sector. We simply cannot afford to leave half of our workforce on the sidelines as we embrace a future built on innovation, ingenuity and imagination. Studies show that energy companies that have diverse leadership are more innovative and profitable. We can and should do better. We are taking action to advance gender equality through the Equal by 30 campaign. We are promoting women in the energy sector at various international bodies such as the G7, the Clean Energy Ministerial and elsewhere, not just because it is the right thing to do, but also because it is the smart thing to do. It is just good business. To date, more than 150 companies, governments and organizations have signed on to the Equal by 30 campaign. They are making important commitments towards equal pay, equal opportunities and equal leadership for women.

While we are proud of our record of engaging and including Canadians in this fundamental transformation of our energy systems, we know that there is still more to do. We are prepared to do the heavy lifting to achieve net-zero emissions, grow our national economy and realize a clean energy future that leaves no one behind. Canadians ask no more and they deserve no less.