Debates of Sept. 28th, 2020

Health

[Sonia Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Ontario reported a record 700 new cases of COVID-19 this afternoon, and 104 of those cases are from the Peel region. These trends are extremely concerning.

Last week, the Minister of Health was in the Peel region to meet with public health officials. She also joined the Brampton South Youth Council to encourage young people to download the COVID-19 alert app.

Could the Minister of Health inform the House about ongoing work with the provinces to address rising cases in hot spots like Brampton? Could the minister also update Canadians about the latest in vaccine development?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, yes, indeed, it was my pleasure to meet with Dr. Loh and all of the hard-working officials with Peel Public Health just last week, to talk about what other supports we could provide to the region as it tries to combat COVID-19 in its own jurisdiction.

This is the approach that we have taken: supporting provinces and territories to enable them to have robust testing and contact tracing systems, but also working with local public health units and regions to ensure that we understand what more we can provide at the federal level.

We need to work together on COVID-19, whether it is at the local, provincial or federal level.

Telecommunications

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this pandemic showed us that high-speed broadband is an essential service for work and school. Sixty-three per cent of rural households do not have access to high-speed broadband. Some have no service at all. Those who do are seeing rising rates.

The Liberals have admitted their plan to connect Canada in the year 2030 is a failure for business and a failure for education. It fails research and ultimately fails the consumers with obscene pricing. The NDP broadband plan would get access to everyone within four years with affordable prices, without costing the government anything, and be supported by industry and consumer groups.

Will the Liberals just adopt the NDP plan and get on with the job?

[Maryam Monsef, Liberal, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development]

Mr. Speaker, I would also add the two-thirds of first nations communities that currently do not have access to 50/10 high-speed Internet.

We are aware. Since we formed government, over a million households have been connected in over 900 communities, including 190 indigenous communities. Our plan is on track and we are determined to add accelerated efforts.

I look forward to support from colleagues, supporting the Speech from the Throne and subsequent measures, to ensure that every household is able to connect to high-speed Internet.

Taxation

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

Mr. Speaker, during the pandemic shutdown, Canadians banged pots and pans to thank front-line workers, including grocery store workers who were among the most at risk of contracting COVID-19. Meanwhile, over the past six months, Canada's 20 richest billionaires, including the owners of Canada's largest grocery store chains, increased their wealth by a staggering $37 billion.

Will the government implement a wealth tax so that Canada's wealthiest citizens contribute fairly to the public services that their businesses and employees rely on?

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for the important question.

Right now, as our country is facing a global pandemic, it is important for us to unite rather than divide. It is more important than ever. Having said that, it is also really important for everyone in Canada to pay their fair share. That is why in the Speech from the Throne we committed to taxing Internet giants, to taxing stock options paid to executives at mature companies and to being sure that we have an inclusive society and an inclusive economy.

COVID-19 Response Measures Act

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-4, An Act relating to certain measures in response to COVID-19.

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

Human Rights

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to introduce in the House a petition by 44 Canadians who raise the issue of the campaign against the Uighur population in communist China. Among other things, the Chinese government is implicated in things such as political and anti-religious indoctrination, arbitrary detention, separation of children from families, compulsory abortion, organ harvesting and all those ugly things.

The petitioners call upon the House to formally recognize that the Uighurs in China have been and are being subjected to genocide, and secondly, that the government use the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act, commonly known as the Magnitsky act, to sanction those who are responsible for the heinous crimes being committed against the Uighur people.

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Mr. Speaker, members may have seen the images of people lined up at the train station, being loaded into cattle cars and taken off to concentration camps. No, I am not talking about the Nazi era. I am talking about right now, today. Uighurs in China are being loaded into cattle cars and taken to concentration camps.

I have a petition here from Canadians who are formally asking for Canada to recognize the genocide of the Uighurs and are calling for the Canadian government to use the Magnitsky act in order to end this horrible human tragedy.

Foreign Affairs

[Yasmin Ratansi, Liberal, Don Valley East, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I present a petition on behalf of concerned Canadians regarding the situation in Kashmir. The petitioners are asking that the Canadian government send a fact-finding mission of MPs, journalists and human rights workers to assess the situation. As well, they are asking that the Canadian government work with the UN to ensure a resolution of the conflict.

Human Rights

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

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to join my colleagues in tabling a petition with respect to the horrific crimes happening in East Turkestan. This is what one expert, Adrian Zenz, has called the largest mass detention of a minority community since the Holocaust, and it is time we act to deliver on the promise of “never again”.

I thank members of communities across Canada that have been active in mobilizing public response and signing petitions. This petition calls for the recognition of the gross violations of human rights against the Uighurs as an act of genocide. The petitioners also call for the use of the Magnitsky act against those involved in these abuses.

The Environment

[Richard Cannings, NDP, South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I stand today once again to present a petition from young people across my riding of South Okanagan—West Kootenay and the neighbouring riding of Kootenay—Columbia.

They are extremely concerned about the accelerating impacts of climate change and wonder whether they will be able to grow, survive and thrive in an uncertain future. They point out that Canada's climate targets are completely insufficient to play our role in keeping global warming below two degrees and that continued subsidization of the fossil fuel sector is sending us in the wrong direction.

The petitioners call for meaningful legislated climate targets, effective carbon tax and redirecting fossil fuel subsidies into jobs and training for renewable energy systems, energy efficiency and low-carbon transportation.

Cannabidiol

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

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour and privilege to present this petition today.

Cannabidiol, or CBD, is a non-addictive, non-intoxicating, non-psychoactive part of the cannabis plant that is associated with a number of health benefits.

The petitioners call upon the House of Commons to amend the regulation of CBD and classify CBD as a natural health product, to remove CBD from the prescription drug list as certain dosages and to legalize the transportation of CBD products across the Canadian border.

Human Rights

[Damien Kurek, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to stand with many of my colleagues and also present a petition signed by Canadians, condemning and showing concern for the genocide taking place against the Uighurs by the Communist Party of China.

These Canadians call to formally recognize the Uighurs in China who have been and are being subject to genocide. They call for the use of the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act, known as the Magnitsky act, and sanction those responsible for these heinous crimes.

It is incredible. We see satellite pictures of these concentration camps and to think that is happening in our world today is absolutely unacceptable.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Before we continue, I want to remind hon. members that once they are done presenting their petitions to bring them to the table themselves, seeing that we are practising safe measures so the pages are not in danger.

Presenting petitions, the hon. member for Courtenay—Alberni.

Opioids

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

Mr. Speaker, sadly I am rising once again today to table a petition on behalf of constituents from Port Alberni, Qualicum and Parksville. They are raising concerns about the fact that over 15,000 Canadians died as a result of fentanyl-poisoned sources, which were preventable deaths. The number of these preventable deaths total beyond all public health emergencies in the last 20 years, including SARS, H1N1, Ebola and COVID-19.

The petitioners call on the government to declare the current opioid overdose and fentanyl poisoning crisis a national public health emergency; that it reform current drug policy to decriminalize personal possession; and create, with urgency and immediacy, a system to provide safe, unadulterated access to substances so people who use substances experimentally, recreationally or chronically are not at imminent risk of overdose due to a contaminated source.

Human Rights

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Edmonton, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition signed by Canadians who wish to bring to the attention of the House the gross human rights violations that are taking place in China by the Communist Chinese regime against Uighurs, including the unlawful detention of some three million Uighurs in what are modern concentration camps.

The petitioners call on the House to formally recognize that Uighurs have been subject to genocide and call for the imposition of Magnitsky sanctions on Communist Chinese officials responsible for these heinous acts.

Graduate Students

[Lindsay Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today with an e-petition from graduate students. They are calling on the government to provide assistance to them.

They face unique challenges as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, including the loss of research assistantships and fellowships, delays in program completion and the dwindling job market. They also emphasize that the insufficiencies with CERB, the Canada emergency student benefit and, of course, the Canada student service grant have not helped their case and certainly have not helped the case for international students.

They ask the Government of Canada to not forget graduate students and to broaden the eligibility for hopefully potential future student grant and assistance programs for their sake and for their future.

Human Rights

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

Mr. Speaker, I too am honoured to rise, but it is unfortunate that I have to present a petition from Canadians who are profoundly concerned with what is going on in East Turkestan, also known as Xinjiang province in China. The Chinese Communist Party has been subjugating the Uighur Muslim population to crimes against humanity that amount to genocide.

The petitioners ask the House and the Government of Canada to recognize these acts as a genocide and also to implement the Magnitsky act and sanction those individuals in the Chinese Communist Party who are responsible for these outrageous crimes against humanity.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise in the House today to present a petition highlighting the plight of Uighur Muslims in China.

Uighur Muslims are being persecuted and going through unimaginable hardships under the Communist Party of China's dictatorship, from forced sterilizations to forced abortions to birth suppression and forced organ harvesting, just to name a few. Uighur Muslims are facing genocide, as outlined in the UN convention.

I urge all parliamentarians to support this petition to recognize that Uighur Muslims are being subjected to genocide in China and also to use the Magnitsky act to sanction those committing these heinous crimes against the Uighur people and human rights violations.

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am here to submit a petition on behalf of Canadians who are concerned about the situation in China, where the Uighur Muslim population has been subjected to isolation in a variety of acts. They are very serious.

The petitioners would like to see the Government of Canada formally recognize that the Uighurs in China have been and are being subjected to genocide and to use the Magnitsky act that was passed in the chamber to isolate those officials who sponsor these acts.

I ask that the government respond not just to the petition but to the concerns in this in a real way that shows Canadian morals on the world stage.

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I too am rising on the issue of the ongoing genocide in East Turkestan or Xinjiang province. Three million Chinese Uighurs are being imprisoned in concentration camps, rounded up, taken away from their families in what is clearly an act of genocide.

The petitioners point out that Canada must act against this by using the Magnitsky act. We cannot just do this against small countries; we must take a stand against great countries as well. Being a great power is no excuse to get away with something as horrible as what is going on in Xinjiang, East Turkestan, right now.

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 ask that all questions be allowed to stand.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.