Debates of Feb. 22nd, 2021

Public Safety

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, our government promised Canadians that we would strengthen gun control, and of course, the Conservatives have promised the gun lobby that they will weaken it.

There are three ways in which criminals get their hands on guns: They are smuggled, stolen or diverted. Through the important and necessary measures of Bill C-21, we are taking strong action to strengthen gun control and cut off the supply of guns to criminals. We are also introducing measures to remove guns from dangerous situations that could be made deadly by the presence of a firearm.

Through investments in law enforcement and in our communities, along with strong, new gun regulations and legislation, we are keeping our promise to Canadians to help keep them safe.

[Gerald Soroka, Conservative, Yellowhead, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the government's new gun confiscation bill is overreaching. Not only will the legislation confiscate real firearms from law-abiding citizens, but it will also prohibit the sale of airsoft guns. One of my constituents owns a small sport shooting store that sells airsoft rifles. His livelihood depends on business from the local airsoft club.

Why is the government going after airsoft guns instead of criminals with illegal guns?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said, we have promised Canadians that we will strengthen gun control, and we know that the Conservatives have promised the gun lobby they will weaken it. We are also listening, not just to those who profit from the sale of these firearms, but also to those in law enforcement, who are tasked with the responsibility of keeping Canadians safe.

For over 20 years, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police has urged the government to take effective action on replica firearms, including the airsoft devices the member referenced. When we publish these new regulations, the CACP came out strongly endorsing those measures as necessary and important to keeping Canadians safe. We will keep our promise of taking action to keep Canadians safe.

Natural Resources

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have been asking the Prime Minister to pick up the phone and ask President Biden to keep Line 5 open to save 50,000 jobs. The Prime Minister has a meeting with him tomorrow.

Considering the importance of Line 5 to our economy, will the Prime Minister ask President Biden to intervene on this issue?

[Paul Lefebvre, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, we take the threat to Canadian energy security very seriously. Line 5 is vital to Canada's energy security. I would like to tell my colleague we appreciate her advocacy on this.

We know that Line 5 is vital to workers, producers and consumers in Canada and in the United States. We have always made the case that this is vital infrastructure, and we will continue to make that case.

Public Safety

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, Humber River—Black Creek, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I stand today, again, regarding another tragedy in my riding of Humber River—Black Creek. A 14-year-old girl was struck by a bullet in the head, and she is fighting for her life because of a gun that should never have been on the street.

How many more young lives will be ruined before we find a way to say that enough is enough? Could the government please elaborate on exactly what its plans are to eliminate the gunfire and the continued guns in our communities?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, let me acknowledge and thank the hon. member for Humber River—Black Creek for her decades-long advocacy against gun violence.

As I have indicated, there are three ways in which criminals get their hands on guns. They are either smuggled, stolen or diverted. Through the legislation we introduced last week, we are taking very necessary and strong action to strengthen gun control and cut off the supply of guns into the hands of criminals. We are also taking steps to remove guns from dangerous situations.

We have also, in addition to the legislation, made significant new investments in law enforcement and, most importantly, we are going to invest in communities, including the member's community, together—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Winnipeg Centre.

COVID-19 Emergency Response

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, throughout the pandemic, front-line organizations in Winnipeg Centre and across the country have used additional COVID funding to provide life-saving services for low-income families, unsheltered individuals and women experiencing violence.

However, on March 31 this funding will expire. We are not out of the pandemic, and people continue to need help. Organizations are demanding answers about whether the government plans to continue providing support.

Will the government commit to ongoing funding for front-line organizations so they can continue assisting their communities during the pandemic?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, we recognize the important work that front-line organizations do to support the most vulnerable, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

That is why, very early during the pandemic, we provided an emergency community support fund in the amount of $350 million, so that those organizations that are facing a drop in donations and a drop in the number of volunteers could continue the critical work they engage in every single day to provide goods, services, counselling and other supports to the most vulnerable members of our community.

Health

[Derek Sloan, Independent, Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we have heard hundreds of questions in this chamber about vaccines, but nothing on what else the government is doing to find treatments for COVID-19. Does it have a team working night and day, creating clinical trials for promising treatments and research into repurposing of existing drugs for potential use? The New York Times has a tracker listing treatments that have shown promise, for example the drug ivermectin.

What is the government doing to test drugs like this, amongst other research, so these endless lockdowns and the detention of people at airports can end now?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I am so proud to be part of a government that has heavily invested in science and research since 2015, when we took over from the Conservative government, which had in fact slashed investment in research, slashed investment in science and slashed investment in the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

In fact, because of that prescient investment we made in 2015 and onward, we have been supporting our researchers, our scientists and our medical health researchers to not only look at solutions around vaccination, but certainly solutions around treatment. We will continue to support science every step of the way.

The House resumed consideration of the motion, and of the amendment.

Opposition Motion—Religious Minorities in China

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

It being 3:08 p.m., pursuant to order made on January 25, the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the amendment to the motion by the member for Wellington—Halton Hills relating to the business of supply.

Call in the members.

And the bells having rung:

Business of Supply

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The question is as follows. May I dispense?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

No.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

[Chair read text of amendment to House]

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

Vote #55

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I declare the amendment carried.

The next question is on the main motion, as amended.

If a member of a recognized party present in the House wishes to request a recorded division or that the motion, as amended, be adopted on division, I invite them to rise and indicate it to the Chair.

[Alex Ruff, Conservative, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would request a recorded vote on this motion.

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

Vote #56

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I declare the motion, as amended, carried.

Hybrid Vote

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

Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, as we know, during a hybrid vote, members who are not sitting in the House have to say that they are for or against. We all know that sometimes people are making some comments. There is some tolerance that we have, and we recognize that there is no problem with that, but I think that what we have seen today in the second vote is a breach of this rule, and a serious one.

When he voted, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said he was voting on behalf of the Government of Canada.

No one here votes on behalf of anyone other than himself or herself. That is what our constituents have mandated us to do. The Government of Canada is made up of ministers and the Prime Minister. They have decided not to vote in favour of the motion. That is their decision, and they must live with the consequences. Conversely, no member can speak on behalf of anyone but their constituents. In the case of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, he represents the people of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount.

I want to say this: The Minister of Foreign Affairs is an honourable man, a experienced parliamentarian who has brought honour to Canada throughout his professional career and has inspired millions of Canadians. Over the past few years, he has always behaved in an exemplary manner in the House. We believe that he failed in his duties today.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Mr. Speaker, to add to that, when it comes to a vote, the votes of all members are equal; no one member's vote carries greater weight than any other member's. What we have seen and unfortunately witnessed time and again, including with today's vote, is a number of members saying that they stand in solidarity with a particular group and that they vote yes. I know you have tried to curb that in the past, and regrettably that has not worked, but I think it warrants your consideration in this matter given the fact that you have tried to curb this behaviour. Unfortunately, we seeing it from all sides of the House.

I am sure that if you go back and count the number of times an intervention of that sort was made during the votes today, you would find that there were more Conservatives who did it than anybody else, so I would encourage you to consider that—