Debates of Dec. 10th, 2020

COVID-19 Emergency Response

[Jenica Atwin, Green, Fredericton, NB]

Mr. Speaker, 2020 turned out to be a year that no one could have imagined, and the government was able to respond quickly to enact programs to help Canadians cope during the pandemic. We saw support for workers who lost their employment; youth and students who lost summer income opportunities; and parents, predominantly women, who had to make the difficult decision to stay at home with children and forced into double duty or forced to leave their jobs. What that effectively means is that millions of people received something like a basic income for the first time in their lives this year, and yet so many people are still falling through the cracks.

Will the government, in the spirit of the holiday, offer the life-changing gift of compassion to Canadians and, finally, a guaranteed livable income for all?

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

Mr. Speaker, I agree that, working together, all members of this House have provided unprecedented support to Canadians, to Canadian businesses and to the Canadian economy, as we have faced together this unprecedented crisis. Now is the moment for us, as we face a very virulent second wave, including in New Brunswick, to focus on the crisis at hand, to focus on supporting Canadians as they fight the coronavirus, to focus on beating the coronavirus and to focus on deploying vaccines.

That is where our government is focused, and I hope that is work we can all do together.

Oral Questions

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions with other parties, and if you seek it, I believe you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: that, notwithstanding any standing order or usual practice of the House, Bill C-13, an act to amend the Criminal Code, single event sport betting, be deemed read a second time and referred to a committee of the whole, deemed considered in the committee of the whole, deemed reported without amendments, deemed concurred at report stage, and deemed read a third time and passed.

[The Deputy Speaker, Bruce Stanton]

As members will be familiar, 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 for Windsor West moving the motion will please say nay.

[Some hon. members]

Nay.

[The Deputy Speaker, Bruce Stanton]

There is no unanimous consent.

We have other points of order. I see the hon. member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan wanting one as well. We have two others ahead of him. The member could stand by for just a moment.

The hon. member for Elmwood—Transcona.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, today is Human Rights Day in the House, and we will soon be voting on the third reading of Bill C-7.

Whatever the outcome, the debate on that bill has shown beyond a shadow of a doubt the urgent need for Canada to respect the rights and dignity of people living with disabilities.

It is in that spirit that I hope, if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: that, in the opinion of the House, in the context of a medical assistance in dying regime that does not require a reasonably foreseeable death, it is more important than ever that the government provide the resources Canadians with disabilities need to live with dignity; and therefore the House call upon the government to properly fund services, like home care and palliative care for people across Canada; and ensure that people living with disabilities have an income that keeps them above the poverty line, including by transitioning people living with disabilities who currently qualify for federal, provincial or territorial disability income support or pension program to a federal benefit of $2,200 per month.

[The Deputy Speaker, Bruce Stanton]

Once again, 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 for Elmwood—Transcona moving the motion will please say nay.

[Some hon. members]

Nay.

[The Deputy Speaker, Bruce Stanton]

We do not have unanimous consent.

The hon. member for Mégantic—L'Érable on a point of order.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, during question period, my colleague from Calgary Nose Hill mentioned the WE Charity contract, which we learned today did not pass an official languages impact analysis before it was approved by the Treasury Board.

I am therefore seeking the unanimous consent of the House to table this government document stating that the analysis must mention the impact on the vitality of Canada's francophone and anglophone minority communities and foster the full recognition and use of both French and English in Canadian society.

[The Deputy Speaker, Bruce Stanton]

Does the hon. member for Mégantic—L'Érable have the unanimous consent of the House to table this document?

[Some hon. members]

Nay.

The House resumed consideration of the motion that Bill C-7, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying), be read the third time and passed.

Criminal Code

[The Deputy Speaker, Bruce Stanton]

It being 3:10 p.m., pursuant to an order made on Wednesday, September 23, the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion at third reading stage of C-7.

Call in the members.

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

Vote #39

[The Deputy Speaker, Bruce Stanton]

I declare the motion carried.

(Bill read the third time and passed)

Before we proceed to the next vote, we will pause briefly to allow employees who provide support for our operations to substitute each other for safety purposes. In doing that, members must recognize this group of technical and support people for their incredible efforts these past months.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

The House resumed consideration of the motion that Bill C-8, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act (Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's call to action number 94), be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Citizenship Act

[The Deputy Speaker, Bruce Stanton]

Pursuant to order made on Wednesday, September 23, 2020, the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion at second reading stage of Bill C-8.

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

Vote #40

[The Deputy Speaker, Bruce Stanton]

I declare the motion carried. Accordingly, the bill stands referred to the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs.

[The Deputy Speaker, Bruce Stanton]

I wish to inform the House that because of the deferred recorded divisions today, Government Orders will be extended by 73 minutes.

It is my duty pursuant to Standing Order 38 to inform the House that the questions to be raised tonight at the time of adjournment are as follows: the hon. member for Nanaimo—Ladysmith, Persons with Disabilities; the hon. member for Kenora, Regional Economic Development; the hon. member for Yorkton—Melville, Veterans Affairs.

Business of the House

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as per tradition, I would like my counterpart, the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, to inform the House and Canadians of what is on the legislative agenda from now until tomorrow.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

It is important for me to inform the House and the thousands of Canadians who are waiting to find out what we will be debating this week. Without further delay and so as not to make them wait, I will tell my colleague right away.

This afternoon and tomorrow we will continue with second reading debate of Bill C-10, the Broadcasting Act.

In the event that we finish debating Bill C-10, we will then give priority to the following two bills: Bill C-12 on net-zero emissions and Bill C-13 on sports betting.

Mr. Speaker, I will take the opportunity afforded to me by my colleague's question to thank you and your colleagues in the chair.

I also want to thank my colleague, the House leader of the official opposition, and our Bloc Québécois and NDP counterparts and their teams.

I want to thank the table officers, who do extraordinary work, all of the teams, and the pages who are patient enough to work with us every day and kind enough to always smile while doing so. I also want to thank the whips and their teams.

Finally, I want to thank all members for this very different session. It has not always been easy but, together, we were able to do a lot for the good of all Canadians.