Debates of Feb. 26th, 2021

Small Business

[Kelly McCauley, Conservative, Edmonton West, AB]

Madam Speaker, the second petition calls upon the Government of Canada to adopt the 2017 recommendation of the Alberta jobs task force and create a bipartisan equal membership committee to develop a small business action plan that will take into account the realities of communities of Canada, not just those that favour a particular election outcome.

Natural Resources

[Kelly McCauley, Conservative, Edmonton West, AB]

Madam Speaker, the third petition calls upon the government to immediately put in place a plan for an east-west energy corridor to replace foreign oil so Canada's source of oil and crude remains in Canada, serving the dual function of economic stimulus and environmental protection.

Transportation

[Patrick Weiler, Liberal, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC]

Madam Speaker, today I have the honour of presenting two petitions.

The first is petition e-2891. The petitioners, Gambier Islanders and friends, call upon the Minister of Transport to ensure long-term public access to the New Brighton dock, the primary port of Gambier Island's southwestern peninsula. They also call on the minister to assist the Gambier Islanders and friends in working with the Squamish nation, the provincial government and the Sunshine Coast Regional District to ensure that the New Brighton dock is permanently maintained as a public facility for the benefit of all.

Consumer Protection

[Patrick Weiler, Liberal, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC]

Madam Speaker, the second petition is petition e-2748, which I present on behalf of Canadians across the country. The petitioners request that the government require all financial institutions with more than 50,000 customers to offer free-of-charge, easily accessible multifactor authentication as an enhanced security option for online accounts.

Human Rights

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

Madam Speaker, I have four petitions to present today.

The first petition calls on the House and the government to recognize that Uighurs have been subject to and are subject to an ongoing genocide. This follows, of course, the recognition by this House, as well as that this week by the Dutch Parliament. I send my congratulations to our Dutch friends for taking this important step, as have, as well, two American administrations. Petitioners call on the government to impose targeted Magnitsky sanctions against those responsible for these gross violations of fundamental human rights.

Human Organ Trafficking

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

Madam Speaker, the second petition is with respect to organ harvesting and trafficking. It calls on the House and the Senate to work swiftly to pass Bill S-204, which would make it a criminal offence for a person to go abroad and receive an organ obtained without consent.

Medical Assistance in Dying

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

Madam Speaker, the third petition is in opposition to many of the provisions in Bill C-7. The government has piled many things into that bill that are completely unrelated to the Truchon decision. Those things include, for instance, removing the 10-day waiting period, which would create a mechanism by which there could be same-day death in Canada.

The government is now also trying to allow euthanasia for those with a mental health challenge. Petitioners recognize that mental health associations have said that mental health conditions are neither terminal nor permanent, and euthanasia for people in that situation goes against the advice and opinion of experts.

Carbon Pricing

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

Madam Speaker, the fourth and final petition is about the carbon tax. Petitioners are very concerned about the government's decision to hike the carbon tax, especially with that announcement being made in the middle of a pandemic. It goes against previous promises and commitments.

Petitioners call on the government to repeal the decision to increase the federal carbon tax to $170 per tonne. They also call on the government to have the carbon tax shown as a separate expense when products are bought so that citizens are aware of exactly how much money they are spending at any given time on the carbon tax.

Live Music Industry

[Ron McKinnon, Liberal, Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to table petition e-2995. This petition was initiated by Juno Award-winning musician Steve Sainas of Port Coquitlam and was signed by 2,066 Canadians from every province and territory.

The petition calls upon the Government of Canada to create an ongoing Canadian musicians support fund to provide sustainable financial relief to professional musicians, so they can earn an annual living wage; support rebuilding our music economy by providing professional live music performance incentives to venues; and provide additional funding for creative grants to support new Canadian music creation, as well as for public school music education to foster the development of future Canadian musicians.

The petition also calls upon the government to amend the Broadcasting Act to consider which regulatory tools would be most suitable to address fair and transparent remuneration for music artists.

Firearms

[Kerry Diotte, Conservative, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Madam Speaker, I am here to present two petitions.

The first petition is on the concerns law-abiding gun owners have with the Liberals' recent firearms regulations. The petitioners are rightly concerned that the changes miss the mark. The new regulations target lawful gun owners while ignoring the real issue of illegal guns being smuggled in from the U.S.

Carbon Pricing

[Kerry Diotte, Conservative, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Madam Speaker, the second petition is about the Liberals' carbon tax. The petitioners are rightly concerned about the cost of the job-killing carbon tax for their families and for Canadian industries.

Use of Imagery in Protests

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

Madam Speaker, I have the honour to table two petitions.

The first is e-petition e-2977. There are increasing concerns in my riding, within the City of London and across all of Canada, that groups have been gathering in protest and distributing leaflets displaying extremely graphic images of allegedly aborted fetuses. The petitioners are concerned by the impact that such imagery will have on individuals and children, and that it is triggering for persons who have suffered trauma and loss.

The petitioners ask the Government of Canada to work with provinces and municipalities to amend or create legislation setting out the limitations regarding what imagery and content can be used in a protest or demonstration that is subject to public viewing, and amend or create legislation regarding if and how graphic imagery can be delivered to homes across the country, for example, by putting such pamphlets in envelopes with a viewer discretion warning.

Relationship Violence

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

Madam Speaker, the second e-petition, e-2881, is about relationship violence in any form: physical, emotional, spiritual or financial abuse, or negative social control. The petition talks about violence in relationships impacting all Canadians and children; how the behaviour is learned intergenerationally, which normalizes violent behaviour; and the cost to Canadian society due to the loss of economic productivity and wages, social services costs and so on.

The petitioners ask the House of Commons and the Government of Canada to develop a national prevention plan that includes a media campaign on healthy relationships and the consequences of relationship violence, and to proactively address educational goals and societal change to establish a society with healthier and happier relationships.

Human Rights

[Nelly Shin, Conservative, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Madam Speaker, I would like present a petition that is asking the government to not remain silent and to formally recognize that Uighurs in China are being subjected to genocide. It also asks the government to use the Magnitsky act and sanction those responsible for the heinous crimes being committed against Uighur people.

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

Madam Speaker, I am proud to present a petition from my neighbours in Milton.

The petitioners call upon the House of Commons to ensure that the human rights of Uighurs, Kazaks and predominantly Muslim minorities are protected. It also calls for an investigation into the human rights situation in Xinjiang, China be pursued, because Canada is obligated to confront the violation of international human rights in China against the Uighur Muslims and other minorities.

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns

[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]

Madam Speaker, if the government's revised responses to Question No. 314, originally tabled on January 25, 2021, could be made orders for return, these returns would be tabled immediately.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Question No.314

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

With regard to government business finance programs and government contracts, broken down by funding program, contracts and fiscal year, since 2011: (a) what is the total funding for (i) Facebook, (ii) Google, (iii) Amazon, (iv) Apple, (v) Netflix?

(Return tabled)

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Madam Speaker, I would ask that all remaining questions be allowed to stand.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

The House resumed from February 22 consideration of the motion that Bill C-14, An Act to implement certain provisions of the economic statement tabled in Parliament on November 30, 2020 and other measures, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2020

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Peace River—Westlock has three minutes remaining for questions and comments.

We will continue with questions and comments. The hon. member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan.