Debates of March 24th, 2021

The Environment

[Julie Dzerowicz, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Madam Speaker, I rise today to present petition e-2962 on behalf of one of my Davenport residents, Christopher Keefer. This petition has received almost 6,000 signatures and has been duly certified. It concerns the use of nuclear power in Canada as an option for a more environmentally friendly energy source.

The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to uphold its commitments under the Paris Agreement by maintaining its CANDU nuclear reactor fleet in Canada and abroad and to continue to support research and deployment of small modular reactors.

As Canada looks to fulfill our commitment to achieve net zero by 2050, we have to put all options on the table in order to reduce our emissions. This petition presents one great idea of how we might be able to do that.

Conversion Therapy

[Ted Falk, Conservative, Provencher, MB]

Madam Speaker, I wish to table a petition from Canadians highlighting how Bill C-6 restricts the choices available to Canadians and the LGBTQ community.

The petitioners call upon the House of Commons to do five things: one, ban coercive, degrading practices that are designed to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity; two, ensure that no laws discriminate against Canadians by limiting the services they can receive based on their sexual orientation or gender identity; three, allow parents to speak with their own children about sexuality and gender, and to set house rules about sex and relationships; four, allow free and open conversation about sexuality and sexual behaviour; and five, avoid criminalizing professional and religious counselling voluntarily requested and consented to by Canadians.

These issues were raised at the justice committee during its study on Bill C-6, and appeals were made to parliamentarians by witnesses to better define conversion therapy in the legislation. The goal is to ensure that no Canadians are restricted in terms of access to any professional or spiritual support that they have freely chosen.

All of us in the House should consider the concerns raised by these petitioners, and the bill should be amended accordingly.

Canada-China Relations

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

Madam Speaker, it is an honour to present this petition, which has signatures from across Canada.

The petitioners are concerned about Canada's trade relationship with China. They are calling upon the House of Commons to, one, make policies to ensure Canada rebuilds its manufacturing base for essential goods and focuses on trade partnerships with democratic countries that respect the rule of law; two, ensure Canada reduces dependency on countries like China, where evidence supports violations of human rights, and takes punitive measures for violations of human rights; and three, direct the Standing Committee on International Trade to investigate and provide a report on Canada's trading relationship with China, including the ongoing implications of the Canada-China FIPA agreement, and specifically examine human rights violations in China and Canada's supply chain dependency on China.

Seniors

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased and honoured to table petition e-3106 in the House. The petition seeks to improve seniors' financial situation and improve their lives in general via the services available to them and how they can access those services.

Over 20,000 petitioners endorsed these demands on behalf of seniors. This is a spectacular demonstration of how powerful my fellow citizens in the Lower St. Lawrence and across Quebec can be when they join forces, and this is just the beginning.

Human Rights

[Earl Dreeshen, Conservative, Red Deer—Mountain View, AB]

Madam Speaker, last month, honourable members voted overwhelmingly to support a motion from Canada's Conservatives on Communist China. Our motion called on the government to recognize that a genocide is currently being carried out by the People's Republic of China against Uighurs and other Turkic Muslims in China.

Today it is my honour to table a petition from Canadians across this country that calls on the government to formally recognize that Uighurs in China have been and are being subjected to genocide. Canadians are once again calling on the Liberal government to follow Parliament's lead by recognizing the Uighur genocide.

It is time for this government to respect the will of this place as well as the will of Canadians.

Justice

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Madam Speaker, the residents of Cypress Hills—Grasslands are very concerned about the rising rate of domestic violence here in Canada. As such, the petitioners are calling upon the federal government to amend subsection 8(2) of the Privacy Act to allow for disclosure of personal information to a third party for the purpose of implementing Clare's Law. The RCMP needs to have every tool at its disposal, and Clare's Law is another tool that it could use.

Falun Gong

[Kerry Diotte, Conservative, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Madam Speaker, I am proud to present a petition today that is signed by my constituents and other Canadians. They are concerned by the horrific mistreatment of the Falun Gong by Communist China. There are credible allegations of torture, murder and organ harvesting. The petitioners want the government to impose Magnitsky act sanctions, which would include barring entry to Canada to 14 officials and freezing their Canadian bank accounts. The official petition I am submitting spells out the names of these officials.

As the member of Parliament for Edmonton Griesbach, I believe it is vital to support human rights worldwide.

Human Rights

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

Madam Speaker, I want to present a number of petitions today.

The first is from Canadians from across the country who are very concerned about the treatment of the Uighurs in China. They are looking for the Canadian government to recognize the genocide, as the House of Commons has done, and for the government to impose Magnitsky sanctions on Chinese officials with regard to the Uighur genocide.

Medical Assistance in Dying

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

Madam Speaker, the second is a petition from Canadians from across the country. They are especially concerned about the lives of the elderly with regard to Bill C-7 and the inclusion of mental illness. The petitioners call on the government to support measures to protect human life, as all human life should be regarded with great respect. They are calling on the government to support Canadians who are the most vulnerable and defenceless, instead of facilitating their deaths.

Firearms

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

Madam Speaker, the next petition is from Canadians from across the country who support the health and safety of Canadian firearms owners. The petitioners recognize the importance of owning firearms and are concerned about the impact of hearing loss caused by damaging noise levels from firearms, and the need for noise reduction. The petitioners acknowledge that sound moderators are the only universally recognized health and safety devices that are criminally prohibited in Canada.

The majority of G7 countries have recognized the health and safety benefits of sound moderators, and allowing them for hunting, sport shooting and noise reduction would be welcomed. The petitioners are calling on the government to allow legal firearms owners the option to purchase and use sound moderators for all legal hunting and sport shooting activities.

Mental Health

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

Madam Speaker, the next petition I am presenting is on behalf of Albertans. They want to draw the House's attention to the recent StatsCan report, which highlights that a disproportionate number of young men died between May and October. The petitioners also recognize that young men are three times more likely to commit suicide.

Albertans have suffered an energy downturn, an oil price war and a federal government unwilling to support major pipeline investment projects. Alberta has one of the highest unemployment rates in Canada.

The petitioners are calling on the House to approve shovel-ready projects across the country, letting Albertans get back to work, and to ensure the TMX expansion is complete, that local communities and organizations are supported, and that the 988 national suicide hotline is quickly created.

Pornography

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

Madam Speaker, the next petition is from Canadians across the country. These petitioners are concerned about the accessibility of violent and degrading sexually explicit material online and the impacts on public health, especially on the well-being of women and girls. They recognize that we cannot say that we believe in preventing sexual violence toward women while allowing pornography companies to freely expose our children to violent, sexually explicit material day after day. This is a form of child abuse.

They note that the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child requires Canada to develop the means to protect children from forms of media that are injurious to their well-being. As such, these petitioners call on the House of Commons to enact meaningful age verification on adult websites.

Conversion Therapy

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

Madam Speaker, the final petition I am presenting today is a petition from Canadians from across Canada who are opposed to conversion therapy, but are concerned with the current definition of conversion therapy in Bill C-6. They want coercive and degrading therapies banned, but are concerned about the definition in Bill C-6. They also are concerned about private conversations that would be limited, and the chilling effect that Bill C-6 is having. They ask for a clear and fixed definition of conversion therapy.

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

I will just remind members to have very short comments, particularly when they have more than one petition to introduce.

The hon. member for Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound.

Human Rights

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

Madam Speaker, I have two petitions to present.

The first petition, similar to some of the other members', is with respect to the genocide against the Uighur population. It is calling upon the government to follow up on what Parliament has already passed to formally recognize the genocide in China, as well as to call for the use of sanctions in the Magnitsky act against those responsible for the heinous crimes in China.

Human Organ Trafficking

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

The second petition, Madam Speaker, calls upon Parliament to move quickly with the proposed legislation to amend the Criminal Code and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to prohibit Canadians from travelling abroad to acquire human organs removed without consent, or as a result of a financial transaction, and to render inadmissible to Canada any and all permanent residents or foreign nationals who have participated in this abhorrent trade in human organs.

Iran

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

Madam Speaker, I am tabling eight petitions in the House today. The member for Kingston and the Islands wants me to table more. I am gathering signatures on a day of solidarity with him after his struggles over being blocked on Twitter, but I do not have that petition today. People can find that petition online to sign. I have eight other petitions.

The first petition I am tabling calls on the government to list Iran's IRGC, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as a terrorist organization.

The petitioners note that, in response to the storming of Capitol Hill in January 2021, the Liberal government listed Proud Boys as a terrorist organization within less than a month, thus demonstrating an ability to move quickly and efficiently in listing a terrorist organization. However, it has been nearly three years since a motion passed in this House calling for the listing of the IRGC as a terrorist entity. No action has been taken by the government.

The petitioners call on the government to immediately list the IRGC as a terrorist entity and to explain why there has been a three-year delay.

Falun Gong

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

Madam Speaker, the second petition highlights the plight of Falun Gong practitioners in China and the horrific persecution they have faced at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party.

The petitioners call for the use of Magnitsky sanctions, as well as other measures, to address the horrific forced organ harvesting and trafficking that is taking place in that context.

Human Organ Trafficking

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

Madam Speaker, the third petition zeroes in on the issue of forced organ harvesting and trafficking in the context of Bill S-204, a bill that has just passed second reading stage in the Senate and will now be considered by the justice and human rights committee.

The petitioners are calling on all parliamentarians in this and the other place to work to get Bill S-204 passed as quickly as possible. This bill would make it a criminal offence for a person to go abroad and receive an organ that has been taken without the consent of the person from whom the organ came.

Medical Assistance in Dying

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

Madam Speaker, the fourth petition I am tabling deals with Bill C-7, the government's euthanasia bill.

The petitioners are very concerned about the fact that the government is, through this bill, removing safeguards it said were vital not so long ago. They are expressing particular concern about the removal of the 10-day reflection period, the reduced requirement around witnesses, and other problems in the bill, including the government's inclusion, at a late stage, to allow euthanasia for those with mental health challenges.

Ethiopia

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

Madam Speaker, the fifth petition I am tabling highlights the plight of Uighurs. The petitioners are calling on the government to recognize the genocide and apply Magnitsky sanctions to those officials who are responsible for that genocide.

The next petition I am tabling highlights the human rights and humanitarian situation in Tigray, Ethiopia. The petitioners are calling on the Government of Canada to take a number of steps, including engaging directly with Ethiopian and Eritrean governments on this conflict, and promoting short- and long-term election monitoring.

Conversion Therapy

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

Madam Speaker, the second-to-last petition calls on the government to fix the definition in Bill C-6.

The final petition—

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

I am sorry, but that is all the time we have for today. You will have to bring it back at another opportunity.

Questions on the Order Paper

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Madam Speaker, I would ask that all questions be allowed to stand at this time.

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

Is that agreed?