Debates of Feb. 19th, 2020

Copyright Act

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

moved for leave to introduce C-209, An Act to amend the Copyright Act (Crown copyright).

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise to reintroduce my bill which proposes to amend the Copyright Act. In particular, section 12 would be dropped, and that is without any prejudice to any rights or privileges of the Crown. No copyright subsists in any work that is or has been prepared or published by or under the direction or control of Her Majesty or any government department.

As things stand now, the government has a closed door when it comes to government publications, research and a number of published periodicals. This costs taxpayers a significant amount of money. It is against open government, and is based upon a law that Canada enacted in 1921, which was based on a law from 1911 in the U.K.

Therefore, the bill would save money for taxpayers, it would provide open government for educators and innovators, and it would bring accountability. Most importantly, the bill would bring Canada in line with so many other countries that have information available for business or civil society for national advancement.

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

Canada Revenue Agency Act

[Len Webber, Conservative, Calgary Confederation, AB]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-210, An Act to amend the Canada Revenue Agency Act (organ and tissue donors).

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to reintroduce my private member's bill that I had originally introduced in the previous parliamentary session.

Last year, the bill passed unanimously through all stages in the House in just 25 sitting days. Unfortunately, it died on the Order Paper at second reading in the Senate when the election was called. I am here, once again, to introduce this bill.

There are approximately 4,600 Canadians currently awaiting a life-saving organ transplant. While 90% of Canadians approve of organ and tissue donation, only about 20% of Canadians actually have registered consent with their provincial or territorial registries. This is an absolutely unacceptable number, and this is where we can help as parliamentarians.

My bill would assist Canadian provinces and territories in growing and maintaining their organ and tissue donor registries. The bill is simple. It would ask Canadians on their annual income tax return if they consent to having their provincial or territorial government be informed of their desire to be added to their organ and tissue donor registry. It is that simple: a question of consent on the income tax form.

Currently, the Canada Revenue Agency prohibits the use of the income tax form for any purpose other than the administration of taxes. In order to allow for a question regarding organ and tissue donation on the tax form, a legal exemption must be created.

This was done once before on the tax form so that Elections Canada could ask Canadians for updated contact information. Again, what I am proposing is that a simple question of organ and tissue donation be placed on the tax form alongside of the Elections Canada question.

I want to thank the hon. member for Calgary Shepard for seconding my bill, and also the 20 members of Parliament from all the parties in the House who have officially seconded my bill in a remarkable display of parliamentary co-operation.

I ask all members of the House to pick up the torch and consider passing this bill again with the same amount of enthusiasm, so that we can help save the lives of hundreds of Canadians.

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

Procedure and House Affairs

[Ruby Sahota, Liberal, Brampton North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, if the House gives its consent, I move:

That the Second Report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, presented to the House earlier this day, be concurred in.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Does the hon. member have unanimous consent of the House to move the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The House has heard the terms of the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

(Motion agreed to)

Human Organ Trafficking

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present four petitions in the House today.

The first petition deals with proposed legislation that was discussed in the last Parliament, and we now have a similar bill proposed to the Senate in this Parliament. In the last Parliament, it was Bill S-240. In this Parliament, it is Bill S-204, and it seeks to combat the scourge of forced organ harvesting and trafficking by making it a criminal offence for a Canadian to go abroad to receive an organ without consent.

It would also create mechanisms by which someone could be deemed inadmissible to Canada because of their involvement in organ harvesting and trafficking.

The petitioners are in support of this concept and of the bill.

Afghan Minority Communities

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

Mr. Speaker, the second petition highlights the particular challenges faced by the Sikh and Hindu minorities in Afghanistan. It is a long-standing call to action by members of those communities here in Canada for the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship to use the powers granted to him to create a special program to help persecuted minorities in Afghanistan to be privately sponsored by the communities to come to Canada.

The petition further urges the Minister of Foreign Affairs to raise the persecution faced by these communities with her Afghan counterpart and to strongly advocate for more to be done to protect them.

Falun Gong

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

Mr. Speaker, the third petition highlights specifically the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. The petitioners call for more to be done by this Parliament and by the government to combat this gross violation of fundamental human rights.

Human Rights

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

Mr. Speaker, the fourth petition highlights challenges faced by the Pakistani Christian community as a result of the blasphemy laws and other conditions in Pakistan, and the abuse of those laws as well to target minorities. In particular, the petitioners highlight Pakistani Christian asylum seekers in Thailand and their challenges as the result of detention, crackdowns, inhumane conditions, etc.

The petitioners urge the Government of Canada to take up this matter urgently with the Government of Thailand and call for the protection and humane treatment for Pakistani asylum seekers, and that they be able to apply for refugee status with the UNHCR and for resettlement without fear of being arrested, detained or deported.

Bank Protection

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today I am presenting a petition calling on the government to restore a program to protect the banks of the St. Lawrence River. The government has abdicated this responsibility for more than 20 years at the expense of those living along the river who have been severely impacted by erosion.

This petition echoes another petition that was presented in the last Parliament. Unfortunately, in addition to refusing to meet with those living along the river who travelled to Ottawa for the occasion, the Minister of Transport added insult to injury by not tabling a response to the petition. As a result of the election, we were unable to follow up with the Speaker of the House in order to have the minister's response to this petition.

I hope that the hon. Minister of Transport will be more respectful of the petitioners and will provide a response that is as positive as possible.

Human Rights

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

Mr. Speaker, Saturday, February 22, will mark the one-year anniversary of the Algerian uprising, when Algerians started taking to the streets to demand democratic reforms, more justice, more freedom and respect for human rights. Once a week, millions of Algerians fill the streets to protest for those rights. Sadly, they are met with repression from an authoritarian regime that arrests people just for expressing an opinion, chanting a slogan or waving an Amazigh flag, a Berber flag. We believe that is totally unacceptable.

Hundreds of people have signed this petition calling for an end to the repression. The petition calls upon the House to urge the release of all prisoners of conscience and political prisoners in Algeria and to condemn systemic human rights violations in Algeria, as a Parliament, as supporters of democracy, and as citizens of Quebec and Canada.

Youth Criminal Justice Act

[David Sweet, Conservative, Flamborough—Glanbrook, ON]

Madam Speaker, it is my honour to present a petition signed by 1,281 Canadians.

After 14-year-old Devan Selvey's murder in Hamilton, Ontario, that was the result of continuous and unaddressed bullying, and since 1977 both the number and rate of youth aged 12 to 17 years accused of homicide has risen 41%, the petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to immediately and thoroughly review the Youth Criminal Justice Act and make the appropriate amendments to stem the tide of increasing violence.

Opioids

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

Madam Speaker, it is an honour to rise today with a petition. It is an e-petition, which strangely now omits the addresses of the people. I would love to know where the petitioners were from, but I am proud to present their petition.

It calls on the government to name the overdose crisis what it is in this country, a public health emergency, and to take the kinds of steps that are required based on evidence. The petitioners are concerned that we take a comprehensive, multi-faceted approach; recognize that the opioid crisis is primarily a health issue, not a criminal issue; and that we should listen to experts and front-line workers and decriminalize drugs in Canada.

Pacific Herring Fishery

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

Madam Speaker, I rise to table a petition on behalf of Denman, Hornby and Lasqueti islanders, as well as residents of Qualicum Beach, Parksville and Courtenay. They are calling on the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to suspend the 2020 Salish Sea herring fishery until a whole-of-ecosystem plan is in place, to fairly compensate local fishers for economic losses they might incur and to ensure decisions are made with the full participation of first nations and local communities.

The petitioners are highlighting that Pacific herring is the basis of the food web that supports Pacific wild salmon, killer and humpback whales, cod and halibut, sea birds and other interdependent species on the Pacific coast. The reason they are concerned is that herring dropped approximately one-third between 2016 and 2019. The unexpected drop in herring in 2019 was due to overfishing.

The petitioners are calling on the government to take action. I brought this issue up with the minister just yesterday.

Iran

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Madam Speaker, I am tabling two petitions.

The first is from my constituents regarding Ukrainian International Airlines flight 752. They remind the House that 176 people, including 57 Canadians, were killed in this atrocity. They blame this horrible atrocity on the Iranian regime alone. They remind the House that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is responsible for terrorist attacks all across the Middle East. They remind the Government of Canada that it has an obligation to ensure that Iran is held accountable and the families of the victims receive the justice they deserve.

The petitioners are asking for the government to immediately implement the Conservative motion passed by Parliament in 2018 to list Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization, that fair compensation be paid to the families and that the Iranian government and the Canadian government ensure the repatriation of the remains.

Carbon Pricing

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Madam Speaker, the second petition is also from petitioners in my riding.

The petitioners are drawing the attention of the House to the fact that on May 30, 2019, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney kept his campaign promise and gave Albertans the largest tax break in Alberta history by repealing the punishing NDP carbon tax. Therefore, they are asking the Government of Canada to scrap the leftover federal carbon tax that has been imposed on Albertans as of January 1, 2020.

Electoral Reform

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

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to present two petitions today.

The first petition is calling on the House of Commons to create a citizens' assembly on electoral reform and require the citizens' assembly to complete its work within 12 months and adopt any recommended changes to our electoral system before the next federal election.

An Angus Reid poll found that 85% respondents supported the citizens' assembly to deliberate on electoral reform and deal with the distorted results from our recent federal election. For example, one Green Party MP represents 378,000 voters and one Liberal MP represents 37,000 voters.

Falun Gong

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

Madam Speaker, the second petition I want to table to today is regarding Falun Gong adherents. The petitioners are asking that we pass a resolution to establish measures to stop the Chinese Communist regime's crime of systematically murdering Falun Gong practitioners for their organs, amend Canadian legislation to combat forced organ harvesting and publicly call for an end to persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China.

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.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I believe the hon. member for Red Deer—Mountain View has a question of privilege.