Debates of March 11th, 2021

Housing

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years of absent federal leadership in housing, we brought in the national housing strategy, a 10-year, $70 billion plan to make sure that every single Canadian has a safe and affordable place to call home. Every other day we are making announcements either to build new affordable housing units or repair existing units, or to introduce the Canada housing benefit in yet another province. We have no lessons to take on affordable housing and housing affordability from the Conservatives.

Justice

[Dave Epp, Conservative, Chatham-Kent—Leamington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Dr. Mark Sinyor, a renowned psychiatrist, has stated with regard to MAID that “in medicine we quantify the harms of new treatments before deciding whether it is acceptable to use them.... The process that the Senate and the House of Commons propose to facilitate the provision of MAID for mental illness really reflects a sunset on the scientific method and usual medical standards. That should worry us all.”

So much for following medical and scientific advice. Does this not worry the Minister of Justice?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Minister of Justice]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question on this very sensitive and important topic and the very important bill that is currently before the House. We have, with mental illness, a very sensitive and serious challenge. We have proposed a committee of experts to look at it and to give us guidance moving forward, and in recomposing the parliamentary committee to review what was Bill C-14, passed in 2016, we are sticking to our original plan to look at that question with all seriousness.

[Patricia Lattanzio, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government recently announced the coming into force of the new version of the Divorce Act. The legislation, which passed in 2019, marks the first substantive changes to family laws in 20 years.

Could the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada please update the House today regarding the changes that can be found in the new version?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Minister of Justice]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel for her wisdom and her hard work.

The changes made to the Divorce Act will modernize the justice system so it supports all Canadian families. The act puts the best interests of the child first and helps address family violence in order to make the family justice system fair and effective for everyone.

I have to thank our provincial and territorial partners for their co-operation. Together, we have been able to ensure that the laws in place are truly beneficial to families who are often going through difficult times.

Financial Institutions

[Dane Lloyd, Conservative, Sturgeon River—Parkland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, credit unions are vital to our rural communities. Farmers, small businesses and residents rely on their services. Unfortunately, unlike big corporate banks, the tax code does not exempt credit union investment services from the GST. Rural Canadians who use credit unions have just as much right to access sales-tax-free investment services as those who use the big banks.

Will the government take action to treat credit unions and the rural Canadians who use them equally?

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

Mr. Speaker, I strongly agree with the member opposite about the important role that credit unions play, certainly in rural communities, and also in municipalities across the country. Credit unions are an essential part of the Canadian economy and of Canadian communities, and I am very glad to hear the member offering suggestions on how we can allow credit unions to do an even better job serving their members.

Public Safety

[Eric Melillo, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Conservatives support common-sense measures to stop gun violence. The Liberal government claims to, but its actions show that it would rather criminalize regular Canadians than get tough on real criminals. Right now, it is moving to confiscate legally purchased guns from responsible hunters and sport shooters, while just a few weeks ago it voted against increasing sentences for criminals with smuggled guns.

If the government is serious about ending gun violence, why did it vote against tougher sentences for gun smugglers?

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

Mr. Speaker, we promised Canadians that we would strengthen gun control while the Conservatives have promised the gun lobby that they will weaken it.

After the Conservatives cut hundreds of millions of dollars and thousands of border service officers and RCMP officers, it is a bit tiresome to hear more empty Conservative tough talk on gun crime. Canadians need a government with the resolve to put Canadians' safety first. That is why we are strengthening gun control, investing in law enforcement and in our communities.

We will do the work that is necessary to keep communities safe, and we will not take any lessons through more tough talk and empty words from the Conservatives.

The Economy

[Ted Falk, Conservative, Provencher, MB]

Mr. Speaker, for decades there had never been a gap of more than two years between budgets, until the current Liberal government. Despite COVID-19, all other G7 countries produced budgets last year. So too did our provinces and territories, but the Liberals could not manage. It has now slipped out that they have no intention of releasing a budget this month either.

Either the Liberals do not have a plan for reopening the economy, or they are refusing to be transparent with Canadians. Which is it?

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

Mr. Speaker, let me just point out a few things. First of all, in our fall economic statement, we offered extensive financial information, including extensive five-year fiscal forecasts, which took into account varying possibilities on the virus resurgence scenario.

The second thing I would like to say is our government has been there for Canadians throughout this crisis and we will continue to be there for Canadians. I would like to urge the Conservatives to join us in supporting Canadians by supporting Bill C-14.

Health

[Jean Yip, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today marks one year since the World Health Organization designated COVID-19 a pandemic. Today, we are wearing white to remember those we have lost. While Canadians have been practising public health measures to keep each other safe, scientists around the world have been working non-stop to find vaccines. News about vaccines in Canada is promising, and I know we are all looking forward to getting vaccinations when the time comes.

On the one-year anniversary of COVID-19, can the Minister of Health update us on the status of vaccines in Canada?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Scarborough—Agincourt for her incredible hard work and advocacy during this difficult time. This year has been incredibly challenging for all Canadians. I want to recognize the sacrifices of all Canadians on this national day of observance.

Throughout the pandemic, we have relied on science and evidence to keep Canadians safe, and our vaccine plan is no different. As of today, 3.8 million vaccines have been sent to provinces and territories with millions more on the way this month and well into the spring.

This is good news. We see the light at the end of the tunnel. I look forward to supporting provinces and territories to get every Canadian who wants it to be vaccinated by September.

Indigenous Affairs

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB]

Mr. Speaker, Doreen Saunders, an elder from York Factory First Nation, died a preventable death last week because of medical neglect by the federal government. York Factory has not had the number of nurses promised or a doctor in months. Doreen Saunders is not alone. York Factory is not alone.

There are no excuses. What will the government do to make sure first nations are getting the medical personnel they have been promised and need? What will the government do to achieve justice for Doreen Saunders and her family, for York Factory and for all first nations?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Indigenous Services]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of Canada, I offer my sincere condolences on this tragic passing. We know that first nations face a terrible health crisis, particularly during this pandemic. We know that coming out of COVID we must invest in health infrastructures in communities. We must invest in housing as a health crisis.

We know that this is the challenge. We know that this inequity exists and persists and have made communities more vulnerable. There are many examples of this across Canada, and it is entirely unacceptable, but this government has made massive investments in bridging that infrastructure gap and we will continue to do so.

The Environment

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

Mr. Speaker, the government's commitment to plant two billion trees is important to address climate change, but seedlings cannot replace the biodiversity of old growth forests or come close to matching their capacity to sequester carbon. We need old growth ecosystems for our survival.

Will the government work with first nations and the provinces to protect endangered old growth ecosystems on Canada's west coast, stop the destruction of the boreal forest and ban unsustainable forestry practices such as the use of whole trees for the creation of biofuel pellets?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, as the member indicated, we are committed to planting two billion trees and to restoring wetlands and grasslands as key elements of our focus on nature-based climate solutions. These investments will also be very important in addressing biodiversity concerns.

The government has also committed to a pathway to achieving 30% protection of terrestrial areas by 2030. There is certainly a key focus of securing these spaces. We will be working with provinces and territories, which control land management in most of the country, with a focus on protecting intact ecosystems and areas of high biodiversity value.

Business of the House

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

Mr. Speaker, as per tradition, it is time for the Thursday question.

We would like to know what Parliament can expect in the coming days, knowing that the schedule in March is a little strange. Last week we were in our ridings, this week we are in the House, next week we will be back in our ridings, then we will come back to the House, then we will go back to our ridings for two weeks, and then finally, we will start a good run in Parliament from mid-April to mid-June, when Parliament will be sitting for 10 out of 11 weeks.

My question today is the following: What does our government have on the agenda for the coming days?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague and friend for his question and for giving me an opportunity to talk about what we plan to do this week and once we return to the House.

This afternoon, we will resume our study of the Senate's amendments to Bill C-7, regarding medical assistance in dying. Tomorrow, we will resume debate on Bill C-24, which would increase the number of weeks of EI regular benefits and make international travellers ineligible for recovery benefits during their mandatory quarantine.

I would also like to inform the House that for the week of March 22, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday shall be allotted days.

Until then, I wish all of our colleagues an excellent week working in their ridings.

Motion That Debate Be Not Further Adjourned

[Catherine McKenna, Liberal, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities]

Mr. Speaker, in relation to the consideration of the Senate amendments to Bill C-7, an act to amend the Criminal Code on medical assistance in dying, I move:

That the debate be not further adjourned.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Pursuant to Standing Order 67(1), there will now be a 30-minute question period.

I will ask members to be as concise as possible with their questions and comments.

The hon. Leader of the Opposition.

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the use of closure is quite unprecedented in Parliament, particularly on a topic as important as medical assistance in dying. In fact, the Minister of Justice, in question period today, said that this is a sensitive and important topic, yet he is limiting discussion of this important topic. There are literally hundreds of thousands of Canadians, those disability groups, indigenous leaders and mental health advocates, who have reasonable questions about this bill.

The minister knows the Senate substantively changed Bill C-7. Medical assistance in dying is no longer a standard of reasonably foreseeable death. It is no longer a standard of a irremediable condition. It is now going to include mental health conditions, even though there is the ability for people to get treatment and help, which is not the context first intended by Bill C-7 when the minister introduced it.

Just a month after Bell Let's Talk Day, when we talked about the need to talk when people are struggling, and when mental health advocates and thousands of Canadians have questions about this substantive change to how we address vulnerable people, people in the palliative stage of a disease and our publicly funded medical health system, why would the government limit reasonable questions of concern, particularly when it comes to mental health, and use closure in this way on Bill C-7?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Minister of Justice]

Mr. Speaker, we have given the House more than ample opportunity to debate this bill. I note that 139 members have spoken for close to 45 hours on this critical piece of legislation.

We did not stop there. We offered to extend debate at least three times, and each time the Conservatives refused. This is over and above the dilatory tactics they have been practising with this bill and other bills for months. They do not want more time; they just want to stop it altogether. The court was clear that it will not grant us another extension.

With regard to mental health, it was always going to be the subject of a parliamentary review. It will still be the subject of a parliamentary review. We have added an expert medical panel to give us expert guidance on it, but ultimately it will be up to parliamentarians to do what was always planned: to study this criterion as it has to be studied before bringing it within the Carter parameters.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is rare for the Bloc Québécois to support a closure motion. Historically, if we look at the list of events involving the Bloc Québécois since its inception, it is extremely rare.

We support the principle on compassionate grounds, because people are suffering while they wait for us to do our job. It is time for us, after so much deliberation, to take action and show compassion.

The Bloc Québécois defends the interests of Quebeckers, and we are interested in their needs only. We acknowledge that, often, the needs of Quebeckers and other Canadians coincide. In Quebec, there is a broad consensus in favour of MAID, and we have been going our own way on this issue for years. For that reason, the Bloc Québécois will support the closure motion.

The Conservatives want more time to debate the issue. Since the report stage of this bill, 67 of the 83 speeches made have been made by the Conservatives. Last week, the government asked three times to extend a sitting into the evening to continue the debate and allow the Conservatives to continue saying what they had to say. All three times, the Conservative Party refused.

The judge extended the deadline a fourth time to give Parliament the time and space it needed to adopt the bill. The judge granted a final extension until March 26, a deadline we must respect. For these reasons, the Bloc Québécois will support the closure motion.

I have a simple question for the Minister of Justice: In his opinion, why is March 26 really our last chance to adopt the bill?

[David Lametti, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for La Prairie for his comments. Obviously, I share his opinion that we are here to reduce the suffering of Canadians across the country.

I agree that there is a consensus not only in Quebec, but across Canada. Canada is ready to take the step. As we saw in the debates, and especially in the contribution of the Senate, which I thank, our society is awaiting other changes that go even further. Canada is ready to accept this practice, which is aimed at reducing suffering and showing compassion, and which respects life in a very profound way.

To answer my hon. colleague's question, the Superior Court was clear: There will be no more extensions. It is time that the Conservatives cease their stalling tactics and start putting Canadians before partisanship.