House of Commons Hansard #22 of the 43rd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was peoples.
John Williamson Conservative New Brunswick Southwest, NB
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. During today's question period, the member for Lakeland asked a question. She was reprimanded by you for charged language. It is not clear, on this side at least, why she was. Was it for using the word “crock”? Was it for saying that Alberta is bleeding? Was it for highlighting the dramatic spike in suicides?
The Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota
We are getting into debate. The word she used was the first term mentioned by the hon. member for New Brunswick Southwest.
I want to remind hon. members that they cannot do indirectly what they cannot do directly.
Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB
Mr. Speaker, I too rise on a point of order. It is with regard to comments made by the hon. member for Lakeland.
Today is a very big day. It has been a very passionate day in debate. However, threatening Canadian unity is never the way to go. I would ask the member in question to withdraw her remarks and make it clear that she believes in a strong, united Canada.
The Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota
I do not believe that is a point of order. That borders more on debate.
David Lametti LiberalMinister of Justice
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-7, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying).
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Ruby Sahota Liberal Brampton North, ON
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Orders 104 and 114, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the third report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs regarding the membership of committees of the House. If the House gives its consent, I intend to move concurrence in the third report later this day.
Peter Julian NDP New Westminster—Burnaby, BC
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-213, An Act to enact the Canada Pharmacare Act.
Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to introduce the Canada pharmacare act, a historic step in the history of our country.
The bill is seconded by the member for Burnaby South and supported by millions of Canadians across the country, like Jim, who has to beg at the entrance of Parliament Hill to find the money each month to pay for his medication, and Cole, a constituent whose family pays $1,000 a month for medication that keeps one member of their family alive.
The Canada pharmacare act would ensure universal, comprehensive public pharmacare that is accessible and affordable, the very principles of universal medicare. This would save Canadians billions of dollars. It would save the lives of thousands of Canadians who die from preventable causes because they lack medication coverage.
The Canada pharmacare act will benefit millions of Canadians. If members support this bill, we can tell everyone that our country is finally getting pharmacare.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Greg McLean Conservative Calgary Centre, AB
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-214, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (qualifying environmental trust).
Mr. Speaker, the bill is about equity for the Canadian resource industry. It would provide a level playing field in the oil and gas sector and a financial instrument that is already available for every other extractive industry in Canada, including pipelines. It would allow us to move forward in dealing with environmental liabilities associated with end-of-life wells, inactive wells and suspended wells from the oil and gas sector.
Qualified environmental trusts were brought in by a previous Liberal government, in 1994, in recognition of the fact that liabilities occurred at the end of well life and resource life whereas revenues occurred toward the beginning of resource life. This would match income with expenses. It is a good instrument for our oil and gas industry, particularly in these times when there is so much environmental remediation required in the industry.
Why was it was left out of that legislation in 1994? It is only because oil and gas companies at that time had a surfeit of opportunities that were at all stages of their development, and it was not recognized as being necessary. It is completely necessary now, given what is happening in the oil and gas industry and in Alberta.
We need to recognize that this industry provides so much for Canada. There is so much value to be brought by this new legislation, including $20 billion of economic activity over the next 20 years. This would be a boon to employment in Alberta and GDP across Canada.
The bill would level the playing field for an industry that has not been represented well at this level. I hope we can move it forward very quickly.
(Motion deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Kristina Michaud Bloc Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-215, An Act respecting Canada’s fulfillment of its greenhouse gas emissions reduction obligations.
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to introduce my first bill in the House of Commons. As an environmentalist and as the Bloc Québécois climate change critic, it went without saying that I would present the Canadian government with a practical solution to help the fight against climate change.
The climate change accountability bill seeks to compel the government to not only stop speaking out of both sides of its mouth, but also to show some consistency and take its place as a world environment leader. The commitments made around the Paris Agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions deserve to be kept, as does the commitment to become carbon neutral by 2050.
In this era of climate emergency, I hope that the government will recognize the importance of this bill and will come up with a real action plan, one that is both ambitious and realistic. I hope that the government will be open to working with the Bloc Québécois to ensure a healthy and responsible future for my generation and those to come.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
An Act to amend the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development ActRoutine Proceedings
Bloc
Louis Plamondon Bloc Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel, QC
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-216, An Act to amend the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Act with respect to supply management.
Mr. Speaker, the purpose of this bill is to protect supply management by making it non-negotiable in future international negotiations.
We recall that in recent negotiations—whether for the comprehensive economic and trade agreement with Europe, the Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership or the Canada-United States-Mexico free trade agreement—significant breaches were made in the supply management system, which lowered producers' revenues by approximately 8%.
This bill will amend section 10 of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Act by adding provisions that will make supply management non-negotiable.
I hope that all members will vote in favour of this bill, which is highly anticipated by producers.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Claude DeBellefeuille Bloc Salaberry—Suroît, QC
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-217, An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act (illness, injury or quarantine).
Mr. Speaker, last Wednesday, parliamentarians adopted the motion moved by the member for Beloeil—Chambly, the leader of the Bloc Québécois, calling on the government to increase the special employment insurance sickness benefits from 15 weeks to 50 weeks.
Today, I have the pleasure of introducing, on behalf of the Bloc Québécois and myself, a bill to amend the Employment Insurance Act respecting illness, injury or quarantine. This bill is designed to address the needs of the most vulnerable workers struggling with a serious illness. They are entitled to a fair and compassionate employment insurance program.
Parliamentarians have a great opportunity to amend the existing act, and we remind the government that it is very important to support the bill introduced today.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Ruby Sahota Liberal Brampton North, ON
Mr. Speaker, if the House gives its consent, I move that the third report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs presented to the House earlier this day, be concurred in.
(Motion agreed to)
Gord Johns NDP Courtenay—Alberni, BC
Mr. Speaker, it is an honour and privilege to table a petition on behalf of constituents from Courtenay, Denman, Hornby, Lasqueti Island and Cumberland. They want to draw the attention of the Government of Canada to the fact that Pacific herring in the Salish Sea has dropped one-third between 2016 and 2019. That drop will be more than 50% by 2020. They also are raising concern that this fishery is now deemed a high-risk fishery and the department recommends it should be curtailed from 20% to 10%. The unexpected drop in the herring population has led to overfishing of existing stock. Pacific herring is a primary food source for salmon, killer whales and humpback whales, cod, halibut, seabirds and other independent species on the Pacific coast.
As well, they want point out to the House that first nations have constitutionally protected rights to herring, which is an important food source and an integral part of first nations culture. The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to suspend the 2020 Salish Sea herring fishing until a whole-of-ecosystem plan is developed, to fairly compensate local fishers for economic losses and to ensure that decisions are made with the full participation of first nations and local communities. They cite this as an urgent matter.
Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
Mr. Speaker, the petitioners are raising Canada's commitments in the Paris Agreement within the United Nations framework on climate change. They point out that the text of the agreement specifically references the appointment of just transitions, the principle that ensures that, in phasing out our dependency on fossil fuels, workers in those sectors receive assurance and protection of meaningful employment.
The petitioners call for the House of Commons, along with oil and gas workers, to create a plan for a just transition and include within it the recommendations that have been put forward by the Task Force: Just Transition for Canadian Coal Power Workers and Communities. They cite that report as a cutting-edge document of key principles for just transition.
Paul Manly Green Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC
Mr. Speaker, it is pleasure to rise today to present two petitions.
One was gathered by the Body Shop in Woodgrove mall in Nanaimo, with residents up and down the island. It calls on the Government of Canada to bring our standards up to the EU standards in relation to cosmetics and ban the sale and/or manufacture of animal-tested cosmetics and their ingredients in Canada.
Paul Manly Green Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC
Mr. Speaker, the second is in regard to the Trans Mountain pipeline.
The people who signed this petition were opposed to the purchase of the pipeline and now do not want to see this project expanded. We have seen the cost of this pipeline rise from $5.6 billion to $12 billion, and they do not think it is a good use of taxpayers' money and will end up being a stranded asset.
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure for me to present two petitions.
The first petition is in support of Bill S-204. The text actually refers to Bill S-240. That was the name of the bill in the last Parliament. In this Parliament the same bill has been proposed as Bill S-204. It would make it a criminal offence for a Canadian to go abroad to receive an organ for which there has not been consent, and it would also create mechanisms to make people impermissible to Canada if they were involved in the horrific practice of forced organ harvesting and trafficking.
This requires the urgent attention of members of Parliament. Members have been working on getting a bill like this passed for over a decade, so petitioners hope that the 43rd Parliament will be the one that gets it done.
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
Mr. Speaker, the second petition highlights the plight of Pakistani asylum seekers in Thailand.
Very often, Christian asylum seekers who face persecution as a result of the application of Pakistan's blasphemy law flee to Thailand. They face many challenges there, including being able to receive fair access to the refugee certification process.
Petitioners call on the Government of Canada to lobby the Government of Thailand in defence of these asylum seekers and to push for them to be able to receive appropriate support from the UNHCR.
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 all questions be allowed to stand.
The Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota
The Chair has notice of a request for an emergency debate from the hon. member for Lakeland.
Shannon Stubbs Conservative Lakeland, AB
I rise today to request an emergency debate with grave concern on the cancellation of Teck Frontier.
This is an economic crisis for Alberta, costing 10,000 direct jobs and $20 billion in investment, but billions more for all levels of government and indirect jobs for all of Canada. It is a crisis of national unity from the perspective of western Canadians, who have witnessed the double standards for oil and gas compared to other sectors and other provinces. It is a crisis of investor confidence in the entire Canadian economy, because energy is the biggest private-sector investor in Canada and because Teck exceeded every federal requirement and still could not secure timely and predictable political approval even seven months after the recommendation from the independent and expert joint panel.
After investing $1 billion securing local indigenous agreements, unanimous support with all those directly impacted and the evidence and science recommending Teck Frontier in the best public interest of Canada, within a week of the final project decision, media reports say Teck sources say that public safety and political risk in Canada made it too great for them to proceed with their project. This is a company that considers their multiple projects in unstable South American countries less risky than here in Canada.
In the past five years, the loss or stalling of oil and gas projects and jobs is the equivalent of losing both the auto and aerospace sectors in Canada. I know every single member in this House of Commons from every community in every corner of the country would consider that a grave emergency. Teck is just the latest. The Alberta government even recently accepted new measures just to see this project go ahead.
There is precedent for granting emergency debate when Kinder Morgan was forced to abandon the Trans Mountain expansion and more recently to debate the terrible job losses in auto in Ontario. For all those reasons and for all of Canada, I plead with you, Mr. Speaker, to grant this emergency debate.
The Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota
I would like to thank the member for Lakeland for having raised her emergency debate request.
While I recognize the importance of the issue, I do not believe that her request meets the exigencies of the standing order at this time.
The House resumed consideration of the motion that Bill C-6, an act to amend the Citizenship Act regarding the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's call to action number 94, be read the second time and referred to a committee, and of the amendment.