Debates of Nov. 4th, 2020

COVID-19 Emergency Response

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB]

Mr. Speaker, people are scared. After months of first nations doing everything they can to stay safe, there is a COVID-19 outbreak at the Keeyask work camp where there are hundreds of workers. Manitoba Hydro has not shut down the camp. It is not sharing information with first nations, and there are concerns that it is using questionable testing techniques. This could put our entire region at risk.

Will the Prime Minister intervene directly on behalf of first nations and northern people? Will he call for immediate action to stop the spread of COVID-19 at Keeyask and throughout our region?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are obviously concerned by the outbreak of COVID-19 cases at the Keeyask Generating Station and we are monitoring the situation closely. We expect work on the Manitoba Hydro project to follow public health advice to keep workers and indigenous communities safe. We will support first nations leadership in working with their partners on measures appropriate to protect their communities.

The House resumed from November 3 consideration of the motion.

Opposition Motion—Consequences of the Pandemic on Canadian Workers and Businesses

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

It being 3:12 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 as follows. May I dispense?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

No.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

[Chair read text of motion to House]

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

Vote #19

Business of Supply

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I declare the motion carried.

Business of the House

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order.

There has been discussion among the parties and I think you would find unanimous consent for the following motion:

That, notwithstanding any standing order, special order or usual practice of the House, Bill C-9, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy and Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy), shall be disposed of as follows:

(a) the second reading stage of the bill shall be taken up as the first order of the day on Wednesday, November 4, 2020, provided that at the expiry of time provided for Government Orders or when no member rises to speak, whichever comes first, the Speaker shall interrupt the proceedings and put, forthwith and successively, every question necessary to dispose of the second reading stage of the bill, without further debate or amendment, provided that any recorded division shall stand deferred according to the provisions of the order made on Wednesday, September 23, 2020;

(b) if the bill has been read a second time, it shall stand referred to a committee of the whole and paragraphs (c) and (d) of this order shall apply;

(c) on Thursday, November 5, 2020, at the conclusion of the time provided for Private Members' Business, the House shall resolve into a Committee of the Whole on the said bill and on the economy generally for a period not to exceed four hours, provided that

(i), the Speaker may preside,

(ii) the Chair may preside from the Speaker's chair,

(iii) the committee be subject to the provisions relating to hybrid sittings of the House;

(iv) the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance be invited to appear and the minister shall be questioned for four hours, provided that

(A) the Chair shall call members from all recognized parties and one member who does not belong to a recognized party in a fashion consistent with the proportions observed during Oral Questions,

(B) no member shall be recognized for more than five minutes at a time which may be used for posing questions,

(C) members may be permitted to split their time with one or more members by so indicating to the Chair,

(D) the rotation used for questions be the one used by the former Special Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic, and

(E) questions shall be answered by ministers, and

(v) at the conclusion of the time provided for Committee of the Whole, the committee shall rise, the said bill shall be deemed reported to the House without amendment, and the House shall adjourn until the next sitting day; and

(d) the report stage of the said bill shall be taken up as the first order of the day on Friday, November 6, 2020, provided that

(i) the deadline for notices of report stage motions shall be 10 p.m. on Thursday, November 5, 2020, provided that copies of the notices shall also be provided to the House leaders of the recognized parties and, if required, the Order Paper and Notice Paper be published for the sitting day of Friday, November 6th, 2020,

(ii) the time provided for Government Orders shall be extended, if necessary, to allow for one representative of each recognized party to speak,

(iii) at the expiry of the time provided for Government Orders, when no member rises to speak at the report stage, or if the Speaker does not select any amendments for consideration at the said stage, whichever comes first, the Speaker shall interrupt the proceedings and put forthwith and successively, every question necessary to dispose of the said stage of the said bill, without further debate or amendment; provided that (A) any recorded division on any amendment considered at the said stage shall not be deferred, and (B) the motion for concurrence at report stage be deemed adopted on division, and

(iv) the said bill may be debated at the third reading stage at the same sitting, provided that, at the expiry of the time provided for Government Orders or when no member rises to speak at the said stage, whichever comes first, the said bill shall be deemed read a third time and passed, on division.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

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

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

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)

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 Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of the Republic of Panama on Air Transport, done at Ottawa on February 6, 2020, and the Exchange of Letters Between the Government of Canada and the Government of the Republic of Chile constituting an Agreement to amend the Free Trade Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of the Republic of Chile, done at Santiago on December 5, 1996, as amended, done at Ottawa on August 26, 2019, and Santiago on May 8, 2020.

I also have the honour of tabling the Exchange of Notes constituting an Agreement to renew the Framework Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of the United States of America for Cooperation in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes, done at Washington on 9 September 2009, done at Ottawa on 11 May 2020 and on 4 June 2020, and the Exchange of Notes between the Government of Canada and the Government of the United States of America constituting an agreement amending Chapter 4 of Annex IV of the Treaty between the Government of Canada and the Government of the United States of America concerning Pacific Salmon, done at Ottawa on 28 January 1985, as amended, done at Ottawa on 24 June 2019 and on 1 October 2019.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order.

I just want to point out that we did not see the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food on video when she voted. I was concerned that we did not see her. I do not want to compromise her vote, but we did not see her on video.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I consulted the clerks while the member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie was giving his speech and they saw the video. Sometimes there is a bit of a delay, but we saw the video.

I thank the member for his comments.

Product Labelling

[Eric Melillo, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to present a petition today that calls upon the Government of Canada to require that warning labels on hazardous products include braille or a tactile symbol to aid those who are visually impaired.

This was brought forward by a resident in my riding in honour of a young constituent Jo-Hannah, who was born visually impaired. The signatories to this petition hope to see the government take this action as soon as possible.

The Environment

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

Mr. Speaker, I am presenting petition number 10619712. The petitioners tabled this petition with the House of Commons some time ago. It was signed off at the point when the Government of Canada had not yet purchased the Trans Mountain pipeline.

However, since most of the funds are yet to be dispensed, it is timely to convey the petitioners' desires that all funds toward the Trans Mountain pipeline be cancelled, that no public monies be used to complete the pipeline and that the Government of Canada divert funds to renewable energies instead.

Human Rights

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

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise to present this petition, which calls on the House of Commons to formally recognize that Uighurs in China have been and are being subjected to genocide, and to use the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act, the Magnitsky act, to sanction those who are responsible for the heinous crimes being committed against the Uighur people.

Foreign Affairs

[Len Webber, Conservative, Calgary Confederation, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition today from Canadians for peace in Cameroon. They are an informal network of people from across Canada, who are raising awareness about the humanitarian catastrophe in Cameroon, in particular in two minority English-speaking regions, since late 2016. More than 3,000 people have died, more than 200 villages burned and over 650,000 have been displaced. For almost four years, 800,000 children have not been to school.

These petitioners are calling on the Liberal government to publicly condemn the violence and human rights abuses perpetrated by all sides in the anglophone regions of Cameroon. Further, they want to see Canada's government put direct and sustained diplomatic pressure on the Government of Cameroon to engage in meaningful negotiations for peace, mediated by an independent third party such as the proposed Swiss talks.

Firearms

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure for me to be presenting four petitions in the House today.

The first petition draws the attention of the House to the order in council on firearms that was put forward on May 1 of this year. The petitioners highlight the fact that this order in council will do nothing to address the real problem of gun crime in this country because virtually all gun crime in Canada involves illegal or smuggled guns. Therefore, the petitioners call on the government to reverse that order in council and to instead put in place effective measures that combat the flow of smuggled guns into Canada.

Physician-Assisted Dying

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition deals with Bill C-7, currently being considered at the justice committee. Petitioners highlight, as witnesses have also highlighted, the significant problems with the elimination of the mandatory 10-day reflection period and the elimination of other safeguards. The petitioners want the government to leave in place the 10-day reflection period, so that we do not have the possibility of same-day death taking place in Canada.

Human Organ Trafficking

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the third petition is in support of Bill S-204, currently before the Senate. Bill S-204 addresses the horrific practice of forced organ harvesting and trafficking, and seeks to make it a criminal offence for someone to go abroad and receive an organ when there has not been consent from the person giving the organ.

Human Rights

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the fourth and final petition highlights the situation of Uighurs and other Turkic Muslims in China. This petition asks the government to formally recognize that Uighurs in China have been and are being subjected to genocide, and to use the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act, the Magnitsky act, to sanction those who are responsible for the heinous crimes being committed against the Uighur people.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

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

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour and privilege to present petition e-2615. This is a petition that was initiated by constituents in Nanaimo—Ladysmith who are concerned about the investments of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and in particular, investments in fossil fuels.

The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to direct the CPPIB to divest of all fossil fuel investments and to no longer entertain any fossil fuel investment opportunity; hire a qualified independent consultant to examine the total Canada pension plan fund portfolio of investments for the purpose of completing a value-at-risk analysis in 2020 and every four years thereafter, which will also be publicly reported; refrain from making private equity investments and to progressively divest the fund of these investments; and discontinue the use of borrowed money.

I would like to thank Brian Fisher and Erik Anderson for their work on this petition.

Opioids

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to table this petition on behalf of people in my riding around the opioid crisis.

The petitioners cite that the preventable opioid overdoses resulting from fentanyl-poisoned drug sources requires action. More people have died in this public health crisis than from all public health emergencies in the last 20 years. They also cite that the current war on drugs has been costly, grossly ineffective and has resulted in widespread stigma towards addiction and those who use illicit drugs.

Criminalization of particular substances has resulted in the establishment of a drug trade that now traffics dangerous and lethal products such as fentanyl. By regulating to ensure safe sources with proper measures and bylaws, this will reduce the criminal element associated with street drugs.

The petitioners are calling on the government to declare the current opioid overdose and fentanyl poisoning crisis a national public health emergency under the Emergencies Act in order to manage and resource it with the aim to reduce and eliminate preventable deaths.

Human Rights

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I present a petition on behalf of Canadian citizens. They are drawing the attention of the House to an ongoing campaign against Uighurs within China, who are being suppressed, who are being arbitrarily detained and who are being separated from their children and other family members. Invasive surveillance is being used. The destruction of cultural sites has happened, as has forced labour and even forced organ harvesting. There is a concerted effort to take out this people group.

In fact, the petitioners note that the Chinese government's treatment of the Uighurs meets most, if not all, of the criteria for genocide as outlined in the UN's Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, and therefore, Canada cannot and should not stand idle.

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 would ask that all questions be allowed to stand at this time.